Thai Mull Lobster and Crab Wonton Soup by The Ninth Wave Restaurant, Mull

For more information visit: www.ninthwaverestaurant.co.uk

INGREDIENTS: serves 4
For the red Thai paste:
3 shallots, diced

15g lemongrass paste

1 chilli, diced

5 garlic cloves

15g galangal

15g fish sauce

15g palm sugar

5 kaffir lime leaves, powdered 
5g turmeric

45g fresh coriander 

For the soup:
1⁄2 tsp of vegetable oil

45ml red Thai curry paste 
580ml water

165g tin of water chestnuts (save 4 for wonton filling) 
Water from water chestnuts 
15g palm sugar 
60ml fish sauce 
1 tin coconut milk

1 spring onion, sliced 
1 chilli thinly sliced

1 lime, juiced 

For the wontons:

1 package wonton wrappers 
170g white crab meat (drained) 
170g lobster meat

2 tsp Thai red curry paste

Pinch sea salt

1 tsp spring onion, finely chopped
4 water chestnuts, finely diced 

METHOD
1 For the red Thai curry paste, puree all ingredients for two minutes in a processor. 
2 For the soup, heat the oil in a pot on a low heat. Sauté the red Thai curry paste for five minutes. 
3 Add the water, chestnuts, chestnut water and sugar to the pot, stirring all the paste into the liquid. Bring to the boil. Add fish sauce and coconut milk. Heat until steaming and almost boiling, while whisking in the solids of the coconut cream. 
4 Add the lime juice and mix. When re-heating, make sure not to boil, as the coconut oil will separate out and float on the top of the soup. 
5 For the wonton filling, squeeze the excess water out of the crab or leave in a strainer for 10 minutes to drain. Mix all ingredients, except the water chestnuts, in a food processor on pulse setting just until mixed into a ball. Stir in the water chestnuts by hand. 
6 For the wontons, place a wonton wrapper on a cutting board, keeping the rest wrapped well to avoid drying out. Brush the edges with water and then place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the middle. Diagonally fold the edges together to make a triangle, ensuring that no mixture gets between the edges. Crimp with your fingers to seal completely. Set finished wontons aside on a tray lightly sprinkled with corn flour. This recipe usually makes 24 wontons. 
7 Just before you are ready to serve the soup, boil a large pan of salted water. Add the wontons to the boiling water and stir gently with a wooden spoon, making sure the dough doesn’t stick to the bottom or sides of the pan. Boil for two minutes and transfer the wontons using a slotted spoon into warm serving bowls before pouring in the heated soup. 
8 Garnish with spring onion, fresh coriander or fresh chillies. 

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