This started from a recipe from a national newspaper. I made it just as they said and wrote “meh” on it as a review. This week I have three winter squashes sitting on my counter, so decided to give it another go, but do it with some serious changes. Two thumbs up, this time.

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut or honeynut squash, about 1 pound, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1/2″ cubes
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• approx. 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 small white onion, minced
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (about 1 1/2 cans, about 20 oz.)
• 1 teaspoon yellow curry
• 1 3″ piece peeled fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 stalk lemon grass
• 8 ounces curly flat egg noodles (or yolk-free noodles)
• 12 ounces raw shrimp, shells and tails removed
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded, cut in half and then in thin slices
• fish sauce to taste (start with 1 Tablespoon)

Method

1. In a medium pot, place the vegetable oil, then toss the squash cubes to coat. Sprinkle with salt, and let cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the minced fresh onion and stir. Let cook another 5-7 minutes, or until the cubes of squash have touches of golden on them.
3. Add the ginger, the curry and the turmeric. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Pour in the coconut milk and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Bring to a simmering boil and let cook until the squash is mostly tender. Turn off the heat and using an immersion blender, whir up the squash mixture until no large chunks are visible, and soup is mostly pureed. (It’s okay to have a few chunks.)
5. Add the rest of the chicken broth and return to the heat. [NOTE: Hold back on the full amount of chicken broth if it looks too thin. You need enough to cook the dry noodles, but you can always add more at the end if the soup is too thick.]
6. Snap (or cut) the lemon grass into three parts and drop into the simmering soup. Add the curly noodles, and simmer until the noodles are al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
7. Add the shrimp, submerging them, stirring only a bit until they are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove the lemon grass and discard.
8. Spash the fish sauce and the lime juice into the soup, and stir. Taste, then adjust the salt level. You can do this by either adding a bit more fish sauce, or using some kosher salt.
9. Serve with the jalapeño slices for garnish.

Not a “meh” heard around the table!