It is a rainy day. It is wet and cold and some of the puddles are getting so deep outside, I worry one of the dogs might fall in and not be able to get out! But it’s also the perfect weather for soup and one of my favourite soup recipes is this one for Thai Pumpkin Soup – or Thai Butternut Soup – whichever you have available. Of course, if you have any left over after the meal (a rare occurrence in our household), you can always freeze it in a 1 litre Sinchies pouch and save it for another rainy day.
This soup is also a great one to serve to guests because it sounds and tastes so exotic. The reality though, is that it is one of the quickest and easiest soups to prepare. Serve it with some fresh sour dough bread and thick farm butter and you can’t go wrong.
Some Notes on Thai Inspired Cooking and This Recipe for Thai Pumpkin Soup
If you are not sure where to get Thai Red Curry Sauce, it is available from most supermarkets and should be found close to the coconut cream.
You may also see that there is Thai Green Curry sauce available for sale. The green curry sauce is hotter than the red, which is why I’ve recommended the red. More flavour, less heat.
The secret to Thai inspired cooking is to find the perfect balance of flavours; sweet, savoury and sour. You may wish to add a tiny bit of lemon juice to the soup to balance the sour. The pumpkin (or butternut) and coconut cream should provide adequate sweet. For more authenticity, you can also add fish sauce instead of salt. Some people find the smell a bit too overpowering and shy away from it, although once it is in the food you don’t smell the fishy aroma. Beware of any fish allergies if you decide to use the fish sauce.
Thai inspired food is also great for those dealing with gluten intolerance as so few of the recipes include wheat flour.
- Some butternut or pumpkin cut into rough chunks
- 1 Onion chopped up
- 1 Green pepper chopped up
- 1 can coconut cream
- 1 stock cube vegetable flavour
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry sauce or to taste
- 1 clove garlic or two if they are small
- Salt to taste
- A little oil for frying
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Add all the vegetables to a large pot and fry until the pumpkin/butternut begins to caramelize
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Add some water and a stock cube and simmer until all the vegetables are soft
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Add the coconut cream, Thai curry sauce and garlic and blend with a stick blender. If your children don't like "hot stuff" be careful with the Thai curry sauce!
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Season to taste. If the soup is too thick add water.
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Simmer until the coconut cream has warmed through. Once hot, the soup is ready to serve
The onion and green pepper can be substituted with any vegetables you have available.
