Vietnamese lemongrass coconut seafood soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound spot prawns
• 1 pound clams
• 1 pound mussels
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, pale inner green core, cut into 2 inch batons and crushed
• 5 makrut lime leaves, crushed with the back of a knife
• 1 1-inch ginger knobs, smashed
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsps tomato paste
• 2 cups shellfish stock / fish stock
• 1 can coconut cream, 14 ounces
• 2 ounces palm sugar
• 2 tbsps fish sauce
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat.

2. 2

   Add lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger, shallot, and garlic and cook until they become fragrant and soft, about 3 minutes.

3. 3

   Add tomato paste, shellfish stock, coconut milk, fish sauce, and palm sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Put the prawns in the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

5. 5

   Add the mussels and clams and cook for 3 minutes with the pan covered and until the shellfish have opened. Discard any clams and mussels that didn't open.

6. 6

   Taste the broth and and adjust with additional fish sauce, sugar, or stock to your taste.

7. 7

   Transfer the seafood to serving bowls, ladle the soup in the bowl, garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.