Fragrant tofu and vegetables in coconut broth

Name: Fragrant tofu and vegetables in coconut broth
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h 5 min
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 100 g (3½ oz) green beans, ends trimmed cut into 2 cm (¾ inch) lengths; 2 x 400 g (14 oz) tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 100 g (3½ oz) snow peas (mangetout), ends trimmed, thinly sliced; 5 cm (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated; 1 French shallot, finely chopped; 3 kaffir limes leaves, scrunched up; ½ bunch coriander (cilantro), (optional); 10 cm (4 inch) piece lemongrass stalk, white part only, cut in half lengthways and crushed with a wooden spoon or rolling pin; 2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped; 1 teaspoon white or brown sugar; 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced (optional); 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) good-quality vegetable stock; 400 g (14 oz) butternut pumpkin (squash), peeled and seeded, cut into 1 cm (½ inch) dice; 400 ml (14 fl oz) tin coconut milk, shaken; 1 lime; 2 tablespoons soy sauce (see Tip); 200 g (7 oz) egg noodles (optional); 200 g (7 oz) tofu puffs, cut in half (see Tip)

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
3 hr 30

Appears in

Slow Cooker Vegetarian

By Katy Holder

Published 2018

About

This broth contains several of my favourite flavours of Asian cooking but without the spice – unless you want it, in which case it can be added at the end. Lemongrass, ginger and lime leaves blend together beautifully as they slow cook in coconut milk.

Ingredients

½ bunch coriander (cilantro), (optional)
10 cm (4 inch) piece

Main course
Vegetarian

Method

Pick the leaves from the coriander, if using, and set aside for serving. Finely chop the stems. Put the stems, lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic, shallot, ginger, pumpkin, coconut milk, stock and chickpeas in the slow cooker and cook on low for 3 hours.

When the broth has 15 minutes left to cook, put the beans into a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water for 10 minutes. (If using no