Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons coconut oil (or other vegetable oil)
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 3 teaspoons red curry paste (or 2 teaspoons grated ginger, 1 clove garlic, 1 chili pepper)
• 800 ml broth
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or a pinch of salt to taste)
• 1/3 cup white rice
• 300 g sweet potatoes (sweet yams)
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon tamarind paste (1/2 teaspoon tamarind concentrate) or 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 100 g shrimp or cauliflower florets
• fresh basil and cilantro

Preparation

1. Place the oil in a medium pot and heat it. Cut off the dry ends of the lemongrass, split the remaining parts in half. Add to the pot and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the curry paste or grated ginger, grated garlic, and chopped chili without seeds. Fry, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about half a minute.
3. When the ingredients start to brown more, gradually add broth one tablespoon at a time (adding a few tablespoons total) and fry, stirring, for another half minute. Then pour in the rest of the broth and coconut milk, stir, and bring to a boil. In the meantime, add turmeric and fish sauce or salt to taste.
4. Add rice, peeled and cut into dice sweet potato (and cauliflower florets if using), and cook without a cover for about 12-15 minutes until the ingredients are tender. Add the paste (previously dissolved in a small amount of broth) and tamarind or lime juice.
5. Thaw frozen shrimp, rinse and dry them, check that they are thoroughly cleaned. Place in the broth and heat over minimum heat for about 5 minutes. Remove the soup from heat, add basil leaves, and serve with cilantro. Over time, the soup becomes thicker due to the addition of rice.