Ingredients

Vegetables & Aromatics

• 3-4 red onions, thinly sliced
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks, thickly sliced
• Half a thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled
• Half a thumb-sized piece fresh turmeric, peeled
• 4 garlic cloves
• ½-1 lemongrass stalk, root removed

Spices

• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp ras el hanout
• 1 tsp cumin powder

Main Ingredients

• 1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 1 fish stock cube
• 1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
• 300g salmon fillets (about 2 fillets)
• 150g frozen peas (or as much as you like)
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• 400ml water

Method

1. Prepare aromatics paste
   Chop the ginger, turmeric, garlic, and lemongrass into small pieces. Blend in a mini chopper or spice grinder until smooth, adding a splash of water if needed to help it blend.
2. Fry onions (7 minutes)
   Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and salt immediately. Fry until the onions develop good colour, stirring occasionally. Remember: colour is flavour!
3. Add leeks (5 minutes)
   Add the leeks to the pan with a bit more oil if needed. Continue cooking until the leeks gain some colour.
4. Add celery (5 minutes)
   Stir in the celery and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Cook aromatics and spices (20 seconds) 
   Add the prepared aromatic paste, curry powder, garam masala, ras el hanout, and cumin to the pan. Stir and cook for about 20 seconds to toast the spices.
6. Add tomatoes and liquid
   Pour in the chopped tomatoes and water (use the empty tomato tin to measure). Add the fish stock cube.
7. Add shrimp paste
   In a small bowl, dilute the shrimp paste with a few tablespoons of the hot liquid from the pan until runny, then stir back into the soup.
8. Simmer (20 minutes) 
   Bring to the boil, then reduce to a very low simmer. Cover with a lid. The heat should be low enough that no steam escapes from the lid. Let it simmer away for 20 minutes.
9. Prepare salmon
   While the soup simmers, remove skin from salmon if needed and cut into nice big cubes.
10. Add coconut milk
    After simmering, stir in the coconut milk. Taste and adjust spices if needed.
11. Cook salmon and peas (2-5 minutes)
    Add the cubed salmon and frozen peas. Cook for 2-3 minutes for medium-rare salmon (like dad and me prefer), or 5+ minutes if you prefer it cooked all the way through.
12. Serve
    Ladle into large pasta bowls. Serve with boiled new potatoes on the side or plonk them right in the bowl. Cut the potatoes in the bowl, mix with the soup, and eat with a spoon.

Cooking Tips

• Adding salt early develops the natural flavours of the ingredients rather than just making things taste salty
• "Colour is flavour" - don't rush the caramelization of the onions and vegetables
• For the aromatics paste, fresh turmeric and ginger give the best flavour, but you can substitute ground turmeric (1 tsp) if needed
• Buy large garlic heads to save time peeling tiny cloves
• Adjust cooking time for salmon based on your preference - a few minutes for medium-rare, 5+ minutes for fully cooked
• The shrimp paste adds depth but can be omitted for a vegetarian version (use vegetable stock instead)