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Prawn

Thai-style sausage and coconut soup

This tasty and warming spicy soup is substantial enough to have for dinner as it contains balls of sausage meat.

Ingredients:

  • 3 bird's-eye chillies, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh root ginger
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 tsp shrimp paste
  • splash thai fish sauce, to taste
  • 6 pork sausages, skins removed and crumbled
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • for the soup base
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 shallot, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2cm/1in fresh root ginger, sliced
  • bunch fresh coriander, stalks finely chopped and leaves separated
  • 1–2 tbsp thai red chilli paste
  • 1–2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar
  • 500ml/18fl oz chicken or vegetable stock
  • 400ml tin coconut milk
  • 5 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
  • 100g/3½oz bamboo shoots, julienned
  • 50g/1¾oz green beans, cut into 1cm/½in pieces
  • 3 lemongrass sticks, cracked
  • 2 limes, for squeezing
  • bunch fresh thai basil, chopped, to garnish
  • splash thai fish sauce, to taste
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  • To make the sausage balls, blitz all of the ingredients, except the sausages, in a food processor and then mix in the sausage meat. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Roll into balls, half the size of golf balls, and set aside.
  • To make the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the sausage balls until coloured all over. Remove and set aside.
  • In the same pan sweat the shallot, garlic, ginger and coriander stalks for 5 minutes. Add the chilli paste, tamarind, palm sugar and stock. Add the coconut milk, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, beans and lemongrass. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  • Add the sausage balls back into the pan and poach gently for 4–5 minutes until cooked through.
  • Serve in bowls with the limes, fresh Thai basil and fish sauce to season as you like.