serves
4
prep
30 minutes
cook
50 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
50
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 red Asian shallots, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 4 lemongrass stalks, white parts only, chopped
- 2 x 3 cm pieces galangal, finely sliced
- 2 thumb-size pieces of ginger, grated
- 6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
- ½ bunch coriander, stalks and leaves chopped, a few leaves reserved for garnishing
- 1 bird's-eye chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
- 500 g cooked beetroot, roughly chopped (see Note)
- 400 ml tin light coconut milk
- 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- juice of 1-2 limes
Instructions
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, ginger and lime leaves and cook for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Add the coriander, chilli and 650 ml water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, then strain and discard the solids. If you prefer a spicier stock, then leave the seeds in the chilli.
Place the stock in a clean pan, add the cooked beetroot and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Using a stick blender, blitz the mixture until smooth, then add the coconut milk and return to a gentle simmer. Add the fish sauce, salt and lime juice to taste - the soup should taste sweet, salty and sour. Ladle into bowls and serve scattered with the reserved whole coriander leaves.
Note
• Make sure you don’t use pickled or tinned beetroot for this soup as it will change the flavor. To cook the beetroot, boil or steam the chopped vegetable until tender.
Photography by Benito Martin. Styling by Lynsey Fryers. Food preparation by Alice Storey and Georgi Larby.
starts Thursday 14 May 2015 at 8pm on SBS ONE and finishes 2 July 2015. Visit the website to catch-up on episodes online, scroll through or find out more .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
