Ingredients

• 450g/1lb fresh spinach
• 175g/6oz lean fillet steak
• cut into thin slices about 5cm (2 in) long
• 2 shallots
• finely sliced
• 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1.2 litres/2 pints homemade chicken stock or good quality bought stock
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 small
• fresh red chilli
• seeded and chopped

Directions

• Remove the stalks from the spinach and wash the leaves well.
• Blanch the leaves for a few seconds in a large pan of boiling water until they are just wilted
• then drain well and refresh in cold water to prevent further cooking. Drain again
• squeezing out excess water.
• Combine the steak with the shallots
• garlic
• one tablespoon of the fish sauce and some freshly ground black pepper
• then set aside. (The soup can be prepared in advance up to this point.)
• Just before you are ready to eat
• bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan and season it with the remaining fish sauce
• the lemon juice
• sugar and chilli.
• Add the blanched spinach and stir in the beef and its marinade. Bring the soup back to simmering point
• add a few grindings of freshly ground black pepper to taste and serve at once.