COCONUT LEMONGRASS SOUP

This unusual looking grass is the hero of this recipe:

LEMONGRASS

Flavours for One Serving

2 teaspoons fresh chopped and blitzed lemongrass, loosely packed (one stem makes roughly 6 teaspoons)
4 kaffir lime leaves
I teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 small chilli, thinly sliced, seeds removed if you prefer, I leave mine in
1 teaspoon fish sauce, optional. This is a flexitarian meal with fish sauce, or pure plant-based if you leave out the fish sauce
2 drops of stevia
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

prepare lemongrass

lemongrass is stringy and unpleasant to eat if not processed properly, however it is so delicious and the chopping efforts are worth it
only use the white parts inside
first I use a kitchen hammer and smash the stem until it is bruised all over
then I chop it as thinly as possible with a very sharp knife
finally I use a strong blender to blitz it super finely
I use a Ninja food processor which has a 1500 watt engine and it gets it fine enough to use in the soup
if you don't have a strong food processor, you can chop it super finely by hand. After simmering for 15 minutes check how soft the pieces are
if they are still too hard, strain the soup through a stainless steel strainer before serving

I fry all these one after another and keep them aside, they will re-heat in the hot soup
a handful of mushrooms, sliced and fried in a little olive oil, I love oyster mushrooms, but any mushroom would work
1 bok choy, thinly sliced and fried till slighlty soft
1 large chilli, sliced and fried with the bok choy
a hand full of baby spinach, fry a few seconds till just starting to wilt
fresh coriander chopped and basil torn into small pieces to throw on top when serving

270 ml Ayam coconut milk
400 ml water, with 2 teaspoons of bouillon (optional), click here for homemade bouillon recipe
2 teaspoons fish sauce, my favorite brand is Red Boat Fish Sauce
add these ingredients and all the flavours to a pot and heat it to a medium simmer
simmer for about 15 minutes, remove lime leaves
while the soup simmers cook your noodles

rice vermicelli or rice noodles are fine, just make sure they are rice noodles not bean thread....
I use about 100 gr per serving
throw them into boiling water and taste often. Cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the noodle and the brand
strain and rinse under cold water
cut with scissors to a manageable length if they are too long