Indulge your cold-weather cravings this season with a hot bowl of homemade soup. This spicy soup is a fusion of Ethiopian and Malaysian flavors. Asia and Africa meet in a big bowl. Fragrant spicy broth, firm rice noodles, delicious crispy tofu and sweet prawn. This is a flavour explosion in a bowl, created especially for you, my dear noodle soup lovers. Enjoy the slurp, the chili, and prepare your chopsticks.
The flavorful base of the soup is Ethiopian Wat sauce – basically red onion, tomato paste, chillies, shallots, ginger, olive oil and Berbere spice mix, all cooked up over many hours in small batches. Just add Mamia’s sauce to the heated saucepan and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add chicken stock, prawns and coconut milk. The noodle soup base is ready. It’s so quick and easy.
The crispy tofu absorbs the flavours of this fragrant, spicy broth. Crispy on the outside, meaty on the inside, it absorbs flavours fabulously.
Drained tofu absorbs liquids more readily. So, do not forget to drain well the tofu first. Do it for at least a half-hour.
This is how I drain it: place the block of tofu in a colander on a few layers of paper towel. Place a small plate and something heavy on top of it. Place the colander over bowl or pot.
Or press the tofu in a tofu press.
Mamia’s sauces are available in three options: medium spicy, mild and kiwi hot.
Ingredients
3-4 Serves
- 150g medium-sized rice noodles
- 500 ml chicken or vegetable stock
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1/4 cup mild spicy Mamia’s sauce
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts, washed and rinsed
- 200 g large banana prawns or king prawns, peeled
- 1/2 block of firm tofu, drained
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- cooking oil (I use grapeseed oil)
- salt or fish sauce
To serve:
- fresh coriander leaves
- fresh chilli, sliced
- pea shoots
- lime wedges
Directions
- Boil a large pot of water and cook rice noodles follow the directions on the pack. Place cooked noodles in cold water.
- Cut drained tofu into chunks about 1cm thick. Mix cornstarch, turmeric powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Coat tofu with a thin layer of cornstarch mix. Remove excess of starch. Set the skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Fry tofu both sides till golden and crispy.
- Heat a large saucepan, add 1 teaspoon oil and Mamia’s sauce. Cook slowly on a low heat until fragrant. Add 500ml of boiling chicken stock. Mix well and cook for about 3 minutes. Add prawns and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and mung bean sprouts. Season with salt or fish sauce. Remove from the heat.
- Drain well rice noodles, then transfer to the soup bowls, place the prawns and crispy tofu on top. Pour in the hot soup (reheat it if needed). Serve immediately with fresh coriander, pea sprouts, chilli, and lime wedges. Enjoy!
