Asian beetroot soup

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 red Asian shallots, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 lemongrass stalks, white parts only, chopped
• 2 x 3 cm pieces galangal, finely sliced
• 2 thumb-size pieces of ginger, grated
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
• ½ bunch coriander, stalks and leaves chopped, a few leaves reserved for garnishing
• 1 bird's-eye chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
• 500 g cooked beetroot, roughly chopped (see Note)
• 400 ml tin light coconut milk
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• ½ tsp salt
• juice of 1-2 limes

Instructions

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, ginger and lime leaves and cook for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Add the coriander, chilli and 650 ml water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, then strain and discard the solids. If you prefer a spicier stock, then leave the seeds in the chilli.

Place the stock in a clean pan, add the cooked beetroot and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Using a stick blender, blitz the mixture until smooth, then add the coconut milk and return to a gentle simmer. Add the fish sauce, salt and lime juice to taste - the soup should taste sweet, salty and sour. Ladle into bowls and serve scattered with the reserved whole coriander leaves. 

Note

• Make sure you don’t use pickled or tinned beetroot for this soup as it will change the flavor. To cook the beetroot, boil or steam the chopped vegetable until tender. 

Photography by Benito Martin. Styling by Lynsey Fryers. Food preparation by Alice Storey and Georgi Larby.

Hilla napkin (set of four) from Country Road. Artistica cereal bowls from Tomkin.

Luke Nguyen's United Kingdom starts Thursday 14 May 2015 at 8pm on SBS ONE and finishes 2 July 2015. Visit the Luke Nguyen's United Kingdom website to catch-up on episodes online, scroll through recipes or find out more about the show.