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For the soup:
3 fresh lemongrass stalks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 3-inch section ginger, unpeeled, sliced into rounds
1/2 large shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
10 cups vegetable stock
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 10-ounce package Thai rice noodles (white or brown)
1/2 pound firm tofu, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro for serving
For the chili-garlic paste
1 small fresh green chile (jalapeno for mild, serrano for medium, habanero for hot)
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
Trim the root ends off the lemongrass and remove any outer leaves that are tough or brittle. Chop off the tops if they are dry. Coarsely chop the remaining lemongrass.
Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the lemongrass, ginger, shallots, and garlic. Cook until the mixture is fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, raise the heat to high, and bring the broth to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the broth simmer for a couple of minutes. At this point, if you do not plan to serve the soup right away, cool the stock and store it until you are ready to use it.
Before you are ready to serve the soup, pour it through a strainer into a soup pot. Using the back of a wooden spoon, mash the solids against the strainer to remove all of the liquid.
Bring the broth to a boil. Add the carrots and broccoli and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the noodles and cubes of tofu and cook until the noodles are just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently stir in the lime juice.
While the soup is cooking, make the chile paste. Finely chop the garlic and chile. Using a mortar and pestle, mash the chile, garlic, and olive oil together until the mixture becomes a chunky paste. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, just mince the chile and garlic finely and mix them together with a fork. You will just have a chunkier mixture.
Serve the soup steaming hot, with a generous sprinkle of cilantro. Pass the chile paste at the table for anyone who would like to stir it into their soup. I recommend eating the soup with chopsticks and drinking the broth right out of the bowl.