Recipe(tried): Spicy Noodle soup with Shrimp and Coconut

I was craving noodle soup last night and I tried this. Thought you might like it too. It's taken from the Fine Cooking, March 2003 issue with a few slight changes. Perfect for a snowy night!

Spicy Noodle soup w/ Shrimp and Coconut

1 small onion, roughly chopped
2-inch piece of ginger (about 1 ounce), peeled and sliced
5 cloves garlic
2-3 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and roughly sliced
1 T freshly ground coriander seeds
1 t freshly ground cumin seeds
1/2 t ground turmeric
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 t light brown sugar
2 T peanut or veg oil
Shells from the shrimp
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 can coconut milk ( can use light version)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 t kosher salt

For the soup:
6-7 ounces rice noodles (flat like tagliatelle)
1/4 English cucumber
1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and dried
1 fresh chili (jalapeno or serrano). stemmed and sliced into rounds
1/2 c fresh cilantro, roughly chopped or torn
(1/2 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped or torn) optional
1 pound shrimp (31 to 40 per pound) shells removed and reserved, deveined
4 lime wedges

Soup Base: Put onion, ginger, garlic, chilis, lemongrass, coriander, cumin, turmeric, fish sauce and brown sugar in a food processor. Puree to make a past, scraping down the sides as needed. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the paste and saute, stirring often, until it softens, becomes very aromatic, and deepens in color, about 8 minutes. Stir in the shrimp shells and cook until they turn pink, about 2 mins. Add the broth, water, coconut milk, lime juice and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and return to a clean pot.

While the soup is simmering. Prepare the noodles by immersing them in boiling water and removing the pan from the heat. Let noodles sit for 5-10 minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse and split among 4 large or 8
smaller bowls.

Slice the cucumber into matchsticks. Toss with sprouts, chilis (if using them) and herbs.

Just before serving, add the shrimp to the broth and simmer until just cooked, about 3 minutes. Ladle the soup over the noodles. Top with the bean sprout mixture and a lime wedge.

I didn't like the mint but you could add scallions or cabbage-y bits too. Also, adjust the spiciness by adding/deleting the chilis.