Corn chowder, Thai-style

This, my friends, is delicious and just what these mellow autumn days require. It's a simple medley (get me!) of autumnal flavours which you will devour (I promise) and which I'm fairly confident your children may quite like too. This recipe is a very simple base which you can make from store cupboard staples. A tin of sweetcorn, some coconut milk and you're nearly there. Alternatively, go a bit mental and use the three corn on the cobs that you bought for a quid and you've gone all on trend and 'seasonal'.
Then you can jazz it up. Add mushrooms and it's more substantial and serves more people, less of a broth more of a stew. Serve with noodles and it's no longer a soup, more a, um, noodley-style dish. For children leave out the chilli at the beginning and just add some sweet chilli sauce to yours (and a little to theirs if you want to give them a flavour) before serving. The variations are endless. This is a dish we have all the time, from a simple broth as a starter if friends are round, to a robust noodle dish, perfect for a Monday night. You'll never go hungry if you've got some coconut milk and some sweetcorn in your cupboard.
Corn Chowder
Start to finish: 20 minutes

Serves: 2

A substantial glug of toasted sesami oil

10 spring onions, sliced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

a red chilli, chopped

a piece of ginger the size of your thumb, grated

1 tsp of fish sauce

One tin of sweetcorn or the corn from three corn on the cobs (just hold the cob upright at the top and place the bottom in a slightly rounded bowl. Use a sharp knife and slice downwards to remove corn. Hopefully the bowl will catch the more wayward kernels of corn.)

100ml chicken stock

Half a tin of coconut milk

Half a lime

A healthy sprinkling of chopped coriander

Heat the oil in large pan. Then add onions. After two mins add the garlic, ginger and chilli.

Fry for a couple of mins and then add a teaspoon of fish sauce. Stir. Then add the chicken stock and the corn. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes, then add the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Take off the heat, squeeze in lime juice and sprinkle over chopped coriander and serve.