Here is a soup I made the other day:
12-16 oz cooked peeled shrimp
22 oz cubed pepper squash
2-3 red chiles, deseeded and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 thumb sized pieces of ginger, peeled
3 sticks of lemongrass, chopped
large handful of fresh cilantro
1 tsp chinese 5 spice powder
1 tsp cumin
peanut oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup water
1 cup brown basmati rice
2 14 oz cans coconut milk (I used one lite can and one regular)
salt and pepper
6 tblsp lime juice
chop up the squash and set aside. strip the leaves from the cilantro stems and put the stems and roots in a food processor with the first 2 of the tblsp of lime juice, chiles, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, 5 spice powder and cumin. get a wide high-sided fry pan (as in the picture), put this mix in there with some peanut oil and the onion, cook on medium for about 10 min, or until stuff starts sticking to the bottom of the pan.
next, add the squash and the vegetable stock and water. stir around, loosen the bits off the bottom and bring to a boil. add the rice. reduce heat to low and simmer with a lid on for 15 minutes or so. By this time the squash should be breaking up a bit you should be able to stir and break it down a bit. Keep simmering with the lid on until the rice is done. give it a good stir. Remove the lid and add the coconut milk and the shrimp - let it heat up until the shrimp is heated, taste and season with salt and pepper. Add some lime juice until it has a bit of sharpness in the taste. Sprinkle some cilantro leaves on top and serve.
