Recipes › Coriander › Thai Coriander and Prawn Noodle Soup
Thai Coriander and Prawn Noodle Soup
A light but deeply aromatic broth built on a coriander-heavy paste of stems and roots, lemongrass, and galangal, with rice noodles and sweet prawns finished in the bowl with a generous tangle of fresh coriander leaves. This is the dish that makes you realise coriander can carry a whole soup rather than just sit on top of one. It comes together fast and tastes like it took far longer.
Coriander is usually ready May to October. More coriander recipes, or see what to sow this month where you are.
Ingredients
- 80 g Fresh coriander with stems, stems and roots finely chopped for paste, leaves reserved for serving
- 400 Raw king prawns, peeled and deveinedor cooked prawns added at the very end off the heat
- 200 g Dried rice noodles, medium width, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes before cooking
- 2 Lemongrass stalks, outer leaves removed, finely sliced
- 25 Galangal or fresh ginger, peeled and roughly choppedginger works well if galangal is unavailable
- 4 Garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 Red bird's eye chillies, roughly choppeduse 1 for a milder soup
- 1200 ml fish stockvegetable stock also works well
- 3 tbsp Fish sauce
- 45 ml Lime juice
- 200 ml Coconut milk
- 1 tsp Sesame oil (optional)
- 4 Spring onions, finely sliced
- 4 Lime wedges (optional)
Contains: cereals gluten, crustaceans, fish, milk, nuts, sesame.
Method
- Soak the rice noodles in cold water for 10 minutes. While they soak, separate the coriander stems and roots from the leaves. Set the leaves aside for serving.About 10 min
- Place the coriander stems and roots, lemongrass, galangal, garlic and chillies into a small blender or pestle and mortar. Add a splash of water or a tablespoon of the stock and blitz or pound to a rough paste.About 3 min
- Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the paste and fry, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until intensely fragrant.About 2 min
- Pour in the stock and bring to a steady simmer. Add the coconut milk and fish sauce, stir to combine, and simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavours develop.About 7 min
- Drain the soaked noodles and add them to the simmering broth. Cook for 2–3 minutes until just tender.About 3 min
- Add the prawns and cook for exactly 2 minutes, until they are just pink and curled. Do not overcook them.About 2 min
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the lime juice and sesame oil if using. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce or lime as needed.About 1 min
- Ladle into bowls, piling the noodles and prawns in first. Top with a generous amount of fresh coriander leaves, sliced spring onions, and a lime wedge on the side.About 1 min
Tips
- The coriander stems and roots do the heavy lifting in the paste — this is a great recipe for when your coriander plants bolt and the stems get thick and tough, since they have even more flavour.
- Taste the broth before adding the prawns. It should be a little more intense than you want the final soup, since the noodles and prawns will mellow it.
- Get everything ready before you start cooking — this moves quickly once the paste hits the pan.
Ring the changes
- Replace the prawns with 300g of firm tofu, pressed and cubed, to make a vegan version — swap fish sauce for tamari or light soy sauce.
- Add a 400g tin of drained young jackfruit or shredded chicken poached in the broth instead of prawns for a completely different protein option.
Keeping it
Best eaten immediately. If storing, keep the broth and noodles separately and combine when reheating. Prawn soups do not reheat well after 24 hours. Broth alone keeps refrigerated for 3 days.
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