Thai prawns and mushrooms

I was going to make this for dinner: Spicy Prawn Soup. I never make soup for dinner, but after my success with the last kinda-soup, I figured I may as well try another.

Of course, I chickened out at the last minute. To be fair, I'd had soup for lunch, and there's only so many semi-liquid meals a girl can consume in a day. But I'd already bought the mushrooms (all the other ingredients are storecupboard/freezer regulars for me), and, as the boy is allergic to them, they had to be consumed tonight. So I changed the soup into a stir-fry.

A warning about curry pastes before you attempt this. Heat varies between brands. I used M&S's Red Thai Curry Paste in this, because I know it's coconutty and mild (and I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on it, inauthentic as it probably is). I've tried Bart's before and it is about three times as hot. Others might be even stronger. I know I can get away with stir-frying a couple of tablespoons of this paste, with nothing added to temper the heat, and not blow my head off. I'd suggest either: a. using a brand you know well and are happy with the heat of, or b. standing ready with vast quantities of coconut milk to temper it down (and turn it into the soup I didn't want in the process).


Thai Prawn and Mushroom stir-fry

125g pack Shiitake mushrooms (this is the size Tesco's sell them in; 40g or so either way doesn't make a big difference. If you can't get hold of shiitakes, just use normal button mushrooms.)
7 or 8 raw tiger prawns (defrosted if frozen)
2 tbs Red Thai curry paste
75g dried rice noodles (or other noodles, but thin rice noodles are my favourite.)
tbs lime leaves, or zest of one lime
tbs fish sauce (nam pla)

This is basically a construction jobby, so get everything ready before you turn on the cooker. Thickly slice the mushrooms, soak or cook your noodles according to the pack instructions (and drain them), and get everything around the hob in easy reach. You could even put things in little bowls if you want to look like you're on the tv.

Once that's done, stick some oil in a wok, and, once hot, tip in the mushrooms. Despite the name of this dish, don't stir them immediately. Leave them to sizzle and turn brown, then stir them and repeat until they are pleasantly brown all over. Move them to one side of the pan.

Place in the prawns, turning them over when they start turning pink (the business of a minute or so). Once pink through, again, push to the side of the pan.

Turn the heat lower, and spoon in your curry paste. It will probably sizzle and might spit a bit, so stand back. Give it 30 seconds, then stir everything in the pan in together. Add the lime leaves/zest and fish sauce, and a drop or two of water if it's looking dry. Stir again, add the noodles, and give everything a final toss together.

Eat.

(With chopsticks if you're pretentious. I am.)