Lemongrass-Scented Seafood Stew with Summer Vegetables

This dish screams summer. It came together in a completely ad-hoc manner after an afternoon spent meandering through the Union Square farmer’s market. I let the market’s offerings of the day inspire the ingredients and ended up with a selection of black sea bass, porgy and mussels in the seafood side, and an assortment of summer squash and sugar snap peas on the veggie front.

You can vary the main ingredients easily with whatever is available locally. Try and include at least one firm white fish and one shellfish or mollusk. For the vegetables, any combination of fresh produce or greens will do, as long as it is fresh!

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
3 Shallots, finely sliced
2-inch piece Ginger, peeled and thinly slivered
6 cloves Garlic, finely sliced
1 stalk Lemongrass, finely sliced
6–8 fresh Green Chillis, minced
1 tbsp Red Chilli powder, made into paste with a little water
2 cups Coconut Milk
3 cups Chicken Stock (or Vegetable Stock)
1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tbsp Fish Sauce (or Soy sauce)
Juice of ½ Lime
6 Lime leaves
½ cup Basil, roughly chopped
1½ lbs [750 gms] assorted Summer Squash, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 lb [½ kg] Sugar Snap Peas
2 ½ lbs [1½ kg] Seafood—combination of firm white fish such as snapper or sea bass, cut into 1-inch pieces, and shellfish of choice
Salt (to taste)
1/3 cup fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large, deep pot over high heat. Add shallots, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and green chillis, and stir for about 3 mins until the shallots are wilted and translucent. Add chilli paste and stir for another 2 mins. 
2. Gently add coconut milk, stock, vinegar, fish sauce and limejuice, and bring to a brisk boil. Add lime leaves, basil, and squash, lower heat to medium, and cook for 7–10 mins, until the squash is fork tender. 
3. Add sugar snap peas, seafood and salt, stir, and continue cooking with the lid on for another 7 mins, until the white fish is cooked through, and the mollusks have opened-up. Turn off heat, add cilantro and stir. Serve immediately over rice.