Carrot soup with Thai flavours

Jan 212012

My first inclination was to call this “Thai carrot soup”, but I wouldn’t want anyone thinking this is a traditional Thai recipe or anything, because it isn’t.

It is, however, exceedingly tasty. Nicely spicy from the Thai curry paste and [optional] chilli, and mellowed out with coconut cream.

I’ve tried carrot soups in the past, but they were all a bit… ordinary. And not, in my opinion, blog-worthy. This one definitely is.

Nice served with crusty bread to mop up every last drop from the soup bowl.

You can substitute 1/2 of a 400ml (14 oz) can of coconut milk for the creamed coconut/water mixture, if you like.

Enjoy!


Carrot soup with Thai flavours

British American
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil 1 tablespoon
100g finely sliced leeks generous cup
1 small fresh chilli, minced (optional) 1 small
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root 1 tablespoon
4 cloves garlic, minced 4 cloves
1 lemongrass stalk, finely sliced 1
100g finely chopped fresh tomatoes 1 medium
1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste 1 tablespoon
450g peeled & chopped carrots 3 cups
1 litre water, divided 4 cups
50g pkt creamed coconut 2 ounce
to taste salt to taste
Fresh coriander (cilantro) for garnish

1. In a heavy saucepan, saute leek and chilli (if using) in vegetable oil for five minutes, until softened.

2. Add ginger, garlic & lemongrass and saute for an additional minute or two.

3. Add tomatoes and Thai curry paste and continue to saute for another couple of minutes, until tomato starts to break down.

4. Add 750ml (3 cups) of water and carrots and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, until carrots are completely soft.

5. Remove from heat and let mixture cool for 15 mintues. Transfer to a blender in batches and puree (fill blender no more than 1/3 full with hot soup, unless you want to redecorate your kitchen ceiling in “carrot orange”). Return soup to saucepan (you’ll actually have to use another saucepan, unless you’ve got yourself a ginormous blender). Or you can use a stick blender to puree the soup and save some washing up.

6. Put coconut cream in a glass measuring cup and add boiling water to the 1/2 cup mark. Stir until dissolved, then add to the pureed soup.

7. Add additional water until soup it is at the consistency you like (I used about 1 litre (4 cups) water in total.) Heat gently for 10 minutes, until soup is hot and flavours are blended. Add salt to taste.

8. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh coriander (cilantro).

Makes two servings.

Posted by Felicity on January 21, 2012 soup, Thai 1 Response »

Thai curry with winter squash & potatoes

Mar 052009

Thai curry with winter squash & potatoes

Yesterday, I wanted to make a quick yet flavourful meal and was in the mood for something spicy. I found a Thai curry recipe here, and adapted it to be vegan.

The squash was from our allotment and had been stored since September. Baby bear pumpkin, I think.

The curry was delicious! I liked it better than any other Thai curry I’ve made. It does require Thai red curry paste, which is fairly easy to find, though check the label as some brands contain fish sauce. Also be sure to buy red curry paste, not red curry sauce.

Instead of coconut milk, I used creamed coconut, which comes either in a 200g block or a small box of 4x50g sachets. I find the sachets the most convenient. The sachets cost around 60p a box, so one packet works out to just 15p, a lot cheaper than a tin of coconut milk!

Cauldron’s marinated tofu pieces are on special offer at Tesco at the moment for £1.18 (£1 off). They were perfect in this dish, as they absorbed the sauce and added a chewy element to the soft vegetables. You can, of course, fry your own tofu, or use tempeh or seitan.


British American
50g creamed coconut 1-1/2 ounces
250ml water (approximately) 1 cup
1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste 1 tablespoon
200g peeled and diced new potatoes 2-2/3 cups
100g peeled & diced winter squash 3/4 cup
50g green beans 2 ounces
100g mushrooms, halved or quartered 1-1/2 cups
80g cherry tomatoes, halved 2/3 cup
150g fried tofu 5 ounces
salt to taste
3 tablespoons fresh minced coriander (cilantro) 3 tablespoons
150g basmati rice generous 3/4 cup

1. Place creamed coconut into a glass measuring cup and add boiling water until the mixture equals 300ml (1-1/4 cups). Stir to dissolve coconut.

2. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over low heat and fry the curry paste for a minute until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, stir and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the potato and squash and cook, covered, for about 12 minutes until almost tender.

4. Meanwhile, cook the rice. Put rice in a fine strainer and rinse under running water. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add rice. Lower heat and cook at a gentle boil for 10 minutes, or until rice is tender. Drain well, then return to pot and cover.

5. When potato and squash are almost tender, add the rest of the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Add tofu, then cover and cook for another 3 minutes, until tofu is hot. Season with salt to taste.

7. Spoon curry over basmati rice and sprinkle with fresh coriander (cilantro).

Makes two servings.

Posted by Felicity on March 5, 2009 Thai, vegetables 7 Responses »

Thai curry (sort of) with mystery vegetable!

Nov 132008

Thai curry

I don’t think this is terribly authentic… anytime I’ve had Thai curry in a restaurant, it’s with lots of sauce and not many veg. This recipe is the opposite… lots of veg (plus tofu) with a nice bit of sauce coating them.

Now for the “mystery” vegetable. I know what it is… but do you? Hint: we grew it on our allotment this year, and just today harvested the first of the crop. It was one of several veg in the curry, and it’s rather difficult to distinguish in the photo above. So to make it easy for y’all, I’ve included a photo of it in its raw and nekkid state:

Mystery veg

Thai curry (non-authentic version)

British       American
2 teaspoons   vegetable oil   2 teaspoons
1 tablespoon   minced fresh garlic   1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon   minced fresh ginger   1 tablespoon
1 sachet (50g)   creamed coconut   2 ounces
    (or substitute 1 can coconut milk)    
1 tablespoon   Thai curry paste (I use red)   1 tablespoon
450g   assorted vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces   1 pound
250g   tofu, raw or fried   8 ounces
    salt to taste    
handful   minced fresh coriander (cilantro), optional   handful

1. Heat oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Gently fry garlic & ginger for 30 seconds (do not brown).

2. Add creamed coconut plus water to equal 400ml/13 ounces (or substitute coconut milk). Heat until creamed coconut melts (or until coconut milk is hot). Add curry paste and salt to taste.

3. Add vegetables in stages, harder vegetables like potatoes will need more cooking time than softer ones like courgette (zucchini). (Total cooking time will be about 10-15 minutes, depending on which vegetables you’ve used.)

4. When vegetables are almost done, add tofu and continue cooking until vegetables are tender but not mushy and tofu is heated through. Stir in coriander (cilantro) if using, and serve over rice, noodles or quinoa.

Makes two large servings.

Posted by Felicity on November 13, 2008 Thai, vegetables 7 Responses »

Thai-style noodles

Oct 062008

veganmofo

This is a dee-lish all-in-one meal. Not sure the recipe is authentically Thai (hence Thai-style noodles), but it’s a tasty dish that comes together very quickly after all the chop-chop-chopping is done.

Thai-style noodles

I made this dish tonight with summer squash, broccoli, red pepper, mushrooms and celery, but you can substitute different vegetables. Any suitable for a stir-fry would work, like cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, green beans, mange tout (snow peas), baby corn, etc etc. It looks best if you use a variety of different-coloured veggies.

I use creamed coconut mixed with water as a substitute for coconut milk, as it’s a lot less expensive, has no preservatives and uses a lot less packaging. The type that comes in individual 50g sachets is the most convenient. (The one I buy is made by Patak’s, and is available in most supermarkets… in the UK, anyway.) But you can substitute coconut milk.

I use dried eggless Chinese noodles, though do check the label as a lot of Chinese noodles are made with eggs.

There is ample protein owing to the coconut milk and cashews, but you could of course add strips of fried tofu or seitan if you were really craving a protein hit.

This recipe serves two, though if you’re feeling peckish (or is that piggish?), you can add another dish; tonight we served this with crispy veggie duck (made with beancurd skin… bought alas, not homemade).

Thai-style noodles

British American
125g dried Chinese eggless noodles 4-1/2 ounces
50g creamed coconut 2 ounce
(or substitute 225ml [7/8 cup] coconut milk)
1 teaspoon Thai curry paste (I use red) 1 teaspoon
2 teaspoons groundnut (peanut) oil 2 teaspoons
  Salt to taste
1 garlic clove, minced 1
2.5cm piece fresh gingerroot, grated 1″ piece
1 small onion, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced 1
450g assorted vegetables, cut into matchsticks 1 pound
60g roasted cashews 2 ounces

1. Boil the dried noodles in boiling salted water for 4 minutes, or as package directs. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

2.  Empty the sachet of creamed coconut into a measuring cup and add water to equal 225ml (7/8 cup). Transfer to a small saucepan and heat gently until creamed coconut melts. (Alternatively, substitute 225ml (7/8 cup) canned coconut milk for the creamed coconut/water.)  Whisk in curry paste until smooth.

3. Heat oil over medium heat in a large wok. When hot, add salt to taste; then add ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add onion and the remainder of the vegetables, and stir-fry for 4 or 5 minutes, until veggies are softened but still crunchy. If it looks really dry, add a teaspoon or two of water.

4. Add coconut milk mixture and noodles. Continue to stir-fry until very hot.

5. Add cashews and serve immediately.

Makes two servings.

Posted by Felicity on October 6, 2008 Thai, veganmofo, vegetables No Responses »