First throw the carrot, celery, garlic and shallots into a food processor and blitz until they resemble fine confetti.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the frying pan you are making the risotto in and on a medium-high heat, cook the mushrooms through. Don’t brown them but you want them softened and they will turn a light golden brown in parts. Keep stirring the whole time to prevent them sticking. Put on a plate to one side.

Add the rest of the oil then tip in the confetti veg on a medium heat, no hotter, and cook until wilted down and softened. The garlic and shallots will smell wonderful as it cooks. Add in your rice and turn it in the vegetables until it looks a little glossy.

Slosh in the Shaoxing and stir until it is absorbed.

Now, have your stock in a saucepan next to the risotto pan with your stock in – keep it just below the simmer point or it will just evaporate before you use it. Add a small ladle full and stir into the rice and veg. Do not be tempted to add more until the stock is absorbed. Each bag of rice seems to be different in its absorption of stock so some cook faster, some need a lot more liquid. Slowly but surely, add stock in this fashion until the rice is just losing it’s opaque whiteness, stirring all the time I’m afraid.

Add back your mushrooms and turn in the almost fully cooked rice to warm them through again. Add one, maybe two more ladlefuls of stock until the rice is translucent and the pan is creamy and luscious looking. As there is no cream or cheese to be added to this recipe, you want the finished risotto to be extra oozy so don’t let the pan dry out too much. Add plenty of cracked black pepper (if you are as addicted as me).

Take off the heat and taste the risotto – depending on how salty your stock was, you may not need any/much fish sauce but if it is bland, add it a teaspoon at a time until all the flavours sing. Stir well.

Serve sprinkled with the chopped chilli and coriander.