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Aubergine and Mushroom Soup

This is a delicious soup from the book Coconut and Sambal which has some absolutely amazing Indonesian recipes. This soup is hearty and feeds 4 people fo sho.

Ingredients

  • 1 large aubergine, cut into bite-sized chunks (about 2cm)
  • 150g shiitake mushrooms (or brown, chestnut or white mushrooms), stems removed, thinly sliced
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 800ml coconut milk
  • 400ml vegetable stock
  • 100g broccoli, cut into large chunks
  • 100g dried rice vermicelli noodles, or other thin noodles
  • 2–3 tbsp kecap manis
  • 1–2 tbsp rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • Coconut oil or sunflower oil, for frying
  • Lime wedges, to serve

For the spice paste

  • Large bunch of coriander
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • 3 shallots, peeled and sliced
  • 4 long red chillies, half deseeded, all sliced
  • 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 1 lemongrass stalk, outer woody layers removed, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp ground coriander

Directions

  1. Blend spice paste ingredients to a paste. It can have some chunks.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wide, deep saucepan over a medium heat and fry the spice paste until fragrant, about 10 minutes.
  3. Add the eggplant chunks and sliced mushrooms with another 1 tablespoon of oil and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes.
  4. As soon as they have started to soften, add the tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
  5. Add the broccoli and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, place the noodles in a heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water and leave for 10 minutes (or follow instructions on bag). Drain and toss with a little oil to prevent them sticking together.
  7. When ready to serve add the noodles to the soup
  8. Season with kecap manis, lime, rice vinegar and salt.
  9. Eat it