Yesterday, a tweet from delicious. magazine wondered whether in January people were comfort eaters or healthy eaters, to which I replied “since when do the two have to be mutually exclusive?” I believe that, with the following recipe, je reste ma valise. No oil, no salt, hardly anything naughty at all, really, and still the most cleansing and comforting broth imaginable. If, like us, you need a little more to fill you up of an evening, serve some sticky rice and steamed spinach with garlic, ginger and soy sauce on the side.

Serves 2
750ml chicken/fish stock
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 birdseye chillies, finely sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, squashed
A small thumb of ginger, sliced
1 tsp palm sugar
A shallot, peeled and sliced
150g raw prawns
A handful of coriander leaves
A handful of Thai basil
A good squeeze of lime juice

– Put the stock, fish sauce, chillies, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, palm sugar, and shallot in a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, then strain into another saucepan. Bring back up to a simmer and add the prawns. Cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked. Serve with the herbs and a squeeze of lime.