Thai Coconut Soup with Prawns or Tofu

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 cups of chicken (or veggie stock)
2-3 kaffir lime leaves
4 Tbsp preserved lemongrass, or 1 fresh stalk
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup purple onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp ginger (or galangal), grated
3 cups pumpkin, cubed
1 1/2 cups sweet potato, cubed
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp lemon or lime juice
16 uncooked prawns OR
375g Earth Source Firm Tofu, cubed
3 small bok choy or pak choi, chopped
1/2 can Spiral organic coconut milk (fat reduced is okay to use also)
Optional: 1 fresh chilli (thinly sliced), 3 Tbsp fish sauce, basil or coriander to serve.

Summary

Thai Coconut Soup with Prawns or Tofu, like all good Thai food, is based around the principle of balancing flavours, textures, colours and smells; finding perfect harmony between sweet, salty, sour or tangy, hot and creamy, as well as the combination of aromatic spices and colours that delight the other senses. For a vegan or vegetarian option, use firm tofu instead of prawns, and omit fish sauce, using salt to add more saltiness if needed at the end.

Thai Coconut Soup with Prawns or Tofu

1. Place stock to heat over large pot on high heat.
2. Add the lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic, onion, galangal or ginger, and bring to the boil for 1 minute.
3. Add pumpkin and sweet potato. Bring back to the boil, the lower heat to medium and simmer for 8 mins, or until veggies are soft enough to eat but won’t fall apart.
4. While simmering add chilli powder, ground cumin and coriander, turmeric, brown sugar, lime/lemon juice, fresh chilli (optional) and fish sauce (optional).
5. Add prawns or tofu, and bok choy or pak choi, and then cook for another 3 minutes until prawns are cooked. If you’re not using prawns, cook until the bok choy or pak choi has softened a little.
6. Reduce heat to low and stir in the coconut milk. Add to measure, as you may  prefer a less creamy soup, in which case aim to use about 1/4 can.
7. Taste the soup. If it’s not salty enough add fish sauce or salt (if you’re vego/vegan). If it’s too salty or sweet, add lime/lemon juice. If it’s too spicy, add more coconut milk. Likewise, if it’s too sour, add more sugar. The aim of the game is to find a good balance between the sweet, sour, salty, hot and creamy flavours of the dish.
8. Serve hot with fresh basil or coriander on top, with steamed jasmine rice on the side if you wish.

Hints and Tips

For a vegan option, use firm tofu instead of prawns, and omit fish sauce, using salt or additional veggie stock to add saltiness if needed.