A broth rich in flavour and abundant with scallops, mushrooms and spinach is served over a mound of gently steamed rice. It's simple but very elegant for a dinner party, and you can prepare most of it in advance, adding the scallops just before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 litre seafood or vegetable stock
• 2 Kaffir lime leaves or lemon leaves
• 2 stalks lemon grass
• 4 spring onions
• 100 grams shiitake mushrooms (see Cook’s Tips)
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 head bok choy
• 500 grams fresh scallops or firm white fish fillets

Method

1. Put the stock, and Kaffir lime leaves into a large pot and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat.
2. Cut away the dark green stem of the lemon grass and use only the white root end. Trim and slice finely. Trim the spring onions and slice finely. Add the lemon grass and spring onions to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Finely slice the Shiitake mushrooms and add them to the stock.
4. Wash the spinach and tear away the coarse leaves. Tear the spinach and bok choy leaves into pieces and add to the pan with . Simmer until the leaves have wilted and the mixture is hot.
5. Clean and wash the scallops and add to the saucepan. Poach the scallops for 3-4 minutes in the hot broth. Do not over cook as they will become like rubber. If using fish fillets, cut the fillets into large pieces the size of scallops and poach the same way.
6. Serve the broth over a mound of boiled Jasmine rice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Cooks Tips

- Shiitake mushrooms make this a special meal, but you can use ordinary mushrooms if you don't have them. Add 2 or 3 dried mushrooms if you want a stronger flavour. Slice them after they've been soaked.