Indonesian shellfish and cuttlefish broth
This seafood stew is packed with Indonesian flavours, with a galangal and coconut milk broth.
Ingredients
For the paste
- 1 mango, peeled and roughly chopped
- handful salted peanuts
- 2 green chillies, roughly chopped
- 1 Thai red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 2 lemongrass sticks, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander stalks
- 6 spring onions, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 small piece of galangal, peeled and roughly chopped
For the cuttlefish balls
- 3 small to medium fresh cuttlefish, around 450g/1lb in weight, cleaned
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 red chilli, diced
- 1 tsp peeled and minced fresh galangal
- 2–4 tbsp Thai fish sauce
For the broth
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 small Thai shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 lime leaves
- 400ml/14fl oz coconut milk
- 400ml/14fl oz fish stock
- soy sauce, to taste
- 1 small cooked lobster, cut into pieces, head discarded
- 250g/9oz mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 250g/9oz clams, scrubbed and debearded
- 250g/9oz prawns, peeled and butterflied
- 2 limes, juice only
- 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh Thai basil
Method
To make the paste, blitz all the ingredients in a food processor and set aside.
To make the cuttlefish balls, blitz all of the ingredients to a smooth paste in a food processor. Form into small balls, place on a tray and chill in the fridge for an hour until firm.
To make the broth, heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the shallots until soft. Add the lime leaves and the reserved paste and cook out for a few minutes before pouring in the coconut milk and stock.
Season with the soy sauce to taste. Discard any mussels or clams with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. Add the prawns, mussels and clams to the broth. Simmer for a few minutes until cooked. Discard any mussels or clams that remain closed. Add the lobster and warm through in the broth.
Preheat a deep fat fryer (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Deep-fry the cuttlefish balls into the fryer for a few minutes until crispy.
Stir the lime juice into the broth and garnish with the fresh herbs. Drop the cuttlefish balls into the broth. Serve immediately.