Spicy peanut + coconut noodle soup
This spicy South East Asian soup takes inspiration from a Laksa but is gently simplified for a quick mid week meal. The peanut butter adds depth to the sauce and makes for a really delicious creamy broth.
Prawns, chicken or extra steamed vegetables can be added too. Add as many chillies as you like, remove the seeds for less spice and leave them in if you want a hotter soup.
The paste could be made ahead, simply blitz the paste and cook out ahead of time, chill and refrigerate in a sealed container up to 2 days before.
Ingredients
- 3 small shallots, peeled and halved
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 5cm ginger, peeled
- 1-3 birds eye chillis
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 400g tin coconut milk
- 300ml stock
- 2 tbsp Meridian Crunchy Peanut Butter with Anglesey Sea Salt
- 1 tsp soft brown sugar
- 150g rice noodles
- 1 lime, juiced
- To serve
- Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- Spring onion, sliced
- Coriander, leaves picked
- Extra chilli, sliced
- Extra lime wedges
Method
- Start by making the paste, you’ll need a blender or food processor for this. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger and chillies with a generous splash of water and blitz to a smooth paste.
- Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat, once hot add the paste along with the spices. Cook for 10-15 minutes stirring often. The paste will reduce down and the colour should darken.
- Add the tin of coconut and cook for another 5-6 minutes until completely combined. Add 200ml hot stock, the peanut butter and the sugar. Once the peanut butter has melted into the sauce, taste and adjust by adding a little salt if needed. You can also add more stock and reserve some broth for another serving if you like.
- Prepare your noodles according to packed instructions, drain and blanche in cold water before draining again and dividing between two bowls. Pour over the broth. Squeeze half a lime into each bowl. Top with peanuts, spring onions, coriander and maybe some extra chilli and lime if you like.
