Creamy Coconut Noodle Soup

Creamy Coconut Noodle Soup

This is one of those soups we keep coming back to, especially when the weather turns and you just want something that feels like a proper hug in a bowl. The coconut base is rich and creamy, the lemongrass and ginger give it this gorgeous fragrant lift, and the noodles make it genuinely filling. We make a little paste from scratch and trust us, it makes all the difference compared to a jar. If you've got 40 minutes tonight, this is absolutely what you should be making.

Cook: 40 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Food processor
  • Large pan or wok
  • Microplane (for zesting lime)

Ingredients

  • 150g Shiitake mushrooms
  • 150g green beans
  • 150g mangetout
  • 1 pak choi
  • 175g pre-cooked butternut squash or sweet potato chunks
  • 5cm ginger fresh - or ginger paste
  • 2 stalks of lemongrass - or 2 tsp lemongrass paste
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 2 Bird's eye chilli - or 4 medium chillies
  • 2 tbsp palm or dark brown sugar
  • handful of coriander
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 lime
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 shallots
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 500ml vegetable stock
  • 4 nests rice noodles
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 lime
  • 1 x 400g can of coconut milk
  • small handful coriander sprigs
  • ½ lime
  • ½ shallot
  • handful of crispy onions
  • 1 chilli
  • 1 spring onion

Method

1

Prepare the stir-fry veg and stock 

  • Tear or cut any large veg into bite size pieces
  • Prepare the vegetable stock
2

Make the paste

  • Remove the tough woody outer stems of the lemongrass, then cut into thirds
  • Peel the garlic, ginger and shallots and halve
  • Halve and deseed the chillies if desired
  • Tear the coriander leaves away from the stems, and cut the stems into thirds
  • Zest the lime (reserve the body for juice later)
  • Add all these and the remaining ingredients for the paste and blitz until smooth
3

Make the soup base

  • Heat the coconut oil in the pan until melted
  • Add 4 tbsp of the sauce paste (there will be leftovers) and fry over a low-medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant
  • Add the coconut milk and mix to combine
  • Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil
  • Add the soy sauce and stir to combine, then reduce heat and simmer for around 10 minutes, until the sauce is starting to thicken
4

Cook the noodles and veg

  • Cook the noodles per package instructions
  • Drain and toss with a drizzle of oil to stop them sticking
  • Add the squash/sweet potato, mushrooms and green beans and simmer for 5 minutes
  • Add the remaining vegetables and simmer until cooked
5

Meanwhile, prepare the garnishes, then serve!

  • Finely slice or dice the red onion
  • Thinly slice the spring onion
  • Cut the lime into wedges
  • Thinly slice the red chilli
  • Pick the coriander leaves
  • Juice the zested lime from your paste into the soup to taste, and adjust with more soy sauce, sugar or salt and pepper to your taste
  • Add the noodles into bowls and ladle over the soup, and sprinkle with the garnishes

Tips & Variations

  • Veg swaps: We love this with tenderstem broccoli, pak choi, or sugar snap peas. Whatever needs using up in the fridge works brilliantly here, just cut everything to a similar size so it cooks evenly.
  • Noodle choices: Rice noodles keep it gluten-free and feel really authentic, but egg-free ramen or soba noodles are great too. Just cook them separately and add at the end so they don't go soggy.
  • Dial up the heat: If you like things spicy, leave the seeds in the chillies when you make the paste. Henry always throws in a little extra chilli on top when serving. It really does make it sing.

Why This Works

The trick here is building the paste properly from fresh lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots and coriander stems before anything else hits the pan. Those stems are where so much flavour lives and most people throw them away. Blending everything together first means the whole soup is packed with that deep, layered fragrance rather than it just sitting on the surface.