Linguine in lemongrass and coconut broth

I’m still trying to shake off the thought of warmer California weather (though not as warm as it usually was) in the 50s, but I’ll take that over -11 Fahrenheit in Minnesota. Even my two Minnesota-born kids got shock of their lives by how bitter cold a winter can get over here. It was a nice two-week vacation we had at the West coast. It’s pretty tiring, but it’s nice at the same time. Plenty of scenic views. We had plenty of good food there. I still couldn’t get over the fact that the ramen noodles are so much cheaper compare to here and choices are endless. We met up with my brother-in-law and his family in LA and did the road trip together. I’m glad that my kids had a chance to meet their uncle, aunty, and cousins. It’s just precious when you live so far away from each other.

Even when we were in California, we often seek comfort food like noodle soup to warm up a little bit. Last week and this week have been really cold here in the tundra. Single digit and below zero. All I can think of is soup..soup…stew..stew…!! Linguine in lemongrass and coconut broth came to the rescue. I crave something soupy, slurpy, and easy to whip up while the weather is about -11 Fahrenheit as I’m typing this. This bowl of comforting noodle soup is inspired by Southeast Asian cooking. I used aromatic ingredients commonly seen in Southeast Asian kitchen: lemongrass, coconut milk, ginger, shrimp paste, turmeric, fish sauce. The addition of shrimp paste really adds a great depth of flavor to the broth. You sure are welcome to use other type of noodles like Asian rice noodles, spaghetti, vermicelli noodles, or even great to go with a bowl of rice !!!

Look at this wooden board that my sister-in-law got me. It has my name engraved on it. I felt so special and touched 🙂 It’s just so cool to have something with your name on, isn’t it ? Not to mention all the difficult-to-find ingredients she brought me all the way from Indonesia. I’m forever so grateful !!

Linguine in lemongrass and coconut broth (4 servings)

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb of linguine cooked as directed on package
• ▢ 1 Tbsp of cooking oil
• ▢ 1 Tbsp of shrimp paste
• ▢ 1 stalk of lemongrass trim off the woody ends and bruise with heavy objects
• ▢ 10 oz of boneless skinless chicken thighs trim off excess fat and cut into bite-size
• ▢ 3 cups of chicken stock
• ▢ 1 Tbsp of brown sugar
• ▢ 8 oz of cremini mushrooms sliced
• ▢ 1 cup of coconut milk
• ▢ Salt to taste

Ingredients to grind into paste:

• ▢ Thumb-size fresh ginger roots
• ▢ 1 tsp turmeric powder
• ▢ 2 cups of fresh cilantro leaves and the stems
• ▢ 8 oz green onion stalks cut into half
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic peeled
• ▢ 2-3 Thai red chili optional
• ▢ 1 Tbsp of fish sauce

Instructions

 

• Cook linguine as directed on package and set aside
• In a large preheated pot, add in the cooking oil. Add in the shrimp paste and saute until fragrant about 1 minutes. Add in the paste you grind earlier, the lemongrass stalks and saute until really fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add in the chicken pieces and cook until they turn color. Pour in the chicken stock and sugar. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to let the chicken cooked through, about 15 minutes or so. Add in the mushrooms and let it cook for another 5 minutes
• Add in the coconut milk and bring it back to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn off the heat to avoid the coconut milk turn foamy from overcooking. Have a taste. It should be savory and just a hint of sweetness. Add more salt if needed
• Portion the cooked linguine into serving platter or bowl. Spoon some of the chicken and mushrooms on top of the noodles and then generously spoon the broth over the noodles. Garnish with some fried shallots crisp, cilantro leaves, and slices of red chilis if you want. Serve immediately

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