Thai-inspired slurpy noodles

When eating a noodle dish I don't always want the noodles to be the star of the show, occasionally, but not always. There are days when the soul wants a big deep bowl of spicy broth to furrow around in, slurping away with chopsticks and a spoon.

A lot of broths can be, well, a bit too broth-y and I wanted one with a bit more texture and flavour to it in order for it to be a worthwhile contender to the noodles. This thai flavoured mushroom one worked so so well. I was unsure at first. But the result is a creamy, nutty, spicy flavour that coats the noodles like a velvet glove.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves

1 red chilli
1 small thumb sized piece of ginger
2 celery sticks
3 field mushrooms
2 limes
3 tsps red thai paste
1 tin coconut milk
300ml organic vegetable stock
1 tbsp brown sugar

300g fresh egg noodles

small 15g bunch of coriander

3 shallots

100g salted peanuts

Finely chop the onion, celery and garlic. De-seed and finely chop the chilli. Peel and grate the ginger. Clean and roughly chop the mushrooms. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onions chilli and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and lime zest and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 3 minutes until they release their juices. Squeeze in the juice of one lime and add the sugar. Stir and add the red thai paste.

Make up the vegetable stock. Add the coconut milk; stir and bring to the boil then reduce the heat straight away back to a low simmer. Add the stock and give it a good stir. Cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes.

Stir in the noodles and leave and cook for 2 minutes. Whilst these are cooking finely chop the shallots, coriander, and peanuts. Before serving squeeze in the juice of the last half of lime, add half the chopped shallots and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir well before serving and check the taste.

Divide the noodles in to big deep bowls, pour plenty of the excess broth on top, and sprinkle generously with the remaining chopped shallots, coriander and peanuts.

This makes enough for two big bowls for two hungry people.