Vegetable and coconut soup (Sayur lodeh)

Ingredients
60 ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, crushed
30 gm dried prawns, soaked in water for 5 minutes, rinsed
10 gm (2cm piece) galangal
4 kaffir lime leaves
200 gm cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 carrot, cut into 5cm batons
1 small eggplant (about 220gm), cut into bite-sized pieces
500 ml (2 cups) coconut milk
200 gm cauliflower, broken into florets
150 gm green beans or snake beans, cut into 5cm lengths
To taste: caster sugar
To serve: steamed rice

Spice paste
5 golden shallots, thinly sliced
5 candlenuts
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
2 tsp shrimp paste, roasted (see note)
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric powder

Preparation method
For spice paste, blend ingredients in a food processor, adding a little water if required, until smooth.

Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add spice paste and stir-fry until fragrant (3-5 minutes). Add lemongrass, prawns, galangal and lime leaves and stir-fry to combine (1-2 minutes), then add cabbage, carrot and eggplant and cook until tender (3 minutes). Add coconut milk and 500ml water and bring to the boil, stirring frequently to prevent coconut milk splitting. Add beans and season to taste with salt and sugar. Simmer until vegetables are just soft (2-4 minutes). Serve with steamed rice.