Over Christmas I went a little nuts, ate lots of sugar, too much meat, etc, and ended up with a nasty dose of my old 'friend', not to mention absolutely dreadful indigestion. Yuck. So, I'm going back to basics, at least until my system gets back on track. It's back to checking labels and not eating out for me. Boo.
This evening I really fancied something noodley and spicy and coconutty. The red chilli sauce I normally use as a base turned out to have corn syrup in it (I swear it didn't use to!), so I had to make do with other ingredients. This is what I came up with. It was surprisingly delicious and made enough for two generous servings.
Warming Coconut Noodle Soup
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or as much, or little as you like)
1 red chilli, finely chopped with seeds
About an inch of ginger peeled and shredded
Sesame oil
1 tin of coconut milk
1 yeast-free stock cube dissolved in a 1/4 pint boiling water
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp ground coriander (adjust to taste)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
half a tin of Marigold braised tofu (inc. the juices)
a sprinkle of Maldon salt
freshly ground black pepper
half a large onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper
a couple of handfuls of lettuce or something 'green'
1 nest of noodles
Add a splash of sesame oil to a hot wok. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir for a few moments. Add the onion. Fry for a couple of minutes, until the onion is starting to soften and turn golden. Add the red pepper. Fry for another couple of minutes until the pepper starts to soften. Add the basil, coriander and cinnamon. Stir well and fry for a few moments to release the flavours.
Add the coconut milk, stock and lemon juice. Stir well and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and add the 'chunked' braised tofu and juices (the liquid aminos replace traditional fermented soy sauce in this recipe). Stir and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Add the noodles. Coat them well in the soup mixture. Allow to bubble away and thicken slightly.
When the noodles are just about cooked, add the seasoning (to taste) and the lettuce. Give the mixture a good stir. Once the lettuce has wilted, the soup is ready to eat. Yum!
