Thai Kabocha Soup

I love Thai food. The smell of yellow curry sends me into a fit of hunger that isn't settled until I leave a restaurant with Thai food baby. I don't get to eat it out often these days, but always feared making it at home because it just seems like a cuisine that is always better made by the professionals. Plus, all the exotic (re: expensive) ingredients deterred me because I didn't want to spend $30 for one dish.

Well, last night I had a horrible craving for Thai food, so I threw caution to the wind and begrudgingly went to Whole Foods. Shocking, I know. After carefully scouring the produce section for what I needed, dropping stalks of lemongrass all over the floor, and forcing myself to put down the chocolate goat cheese, I left ready to take on a new challenge.


Thai kabocha soup
Ingredients
- 1 large kabocha squash, peeled and cubed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 15oz can full fat coconut milk
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 1 1/2" knob of galangal or ginger
- 5 keffir lime leaves
- 1 hot chili (I used a serrano)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce*
- 1/2 tsp organic cane sugar
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Roasted peanuts, for garnish

Instructions
- First, prepare your ingredients. Cut the lemongrass stalk into thirds and bruise the pieces by bending them back and forth until slightly broken. Peel your galangal (or ginger) and cut it into slices. Remove the seeds from your chili and finely mince it.
- Bring broth to a boil. Add squash, coconut milk, and remaining ingredients and bring the soup to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the squash is very tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- After about 5-10 minutes, ladle half the soup into your blender and blend until smooth. Run the pureed soup through a strainer in order to remove pulp from the lemongrass and ginger. Continue until all the soup is smoothly pureed.
- Bring soup back to a boil and heat on low until ready to serve. Garnish with chopped cilantro and peanuts (and some chili flakes if you want an extra spicy kick).

* You can use fish sauce to be more authentic, but I think it's pretty vile so I opted to use soy sauce. Just use something to get that umami flavor.




I wish you all could have seen me when I was making this last night. I was so giddy I was practically skipping after I lifted the lid of the pot and was immediately hit by the scents I remember from my favorite Thai restaurant. The smell and the taste of this soup are spot on; the key to Thai cooking is to create a balance between spicy, umami, sweet and sour, and this dish does that well.



If you're tired of mashed or roasted squash, give this soup a try. You can find the ingredients at Asian supermarkets or Whole Foods and I promise that it's worth it to track 'em down.

Oh, and in case you have no idea what to look for, here are the star players:

Lemongrass, keffir lime leaves, galangal, serrano.

Thai Curry Cheat

I love Thai curry. I crave it on an almost daily basis. In fact, I think I had a dream about it once. I usually get my curry fix at Sea Thai, but since I have no way of getting there at the moment, I had to make do with what I had on hand to feed the curry monster. I didn't have some of the traditional ingredients to make an authentic curry (re: a warm hug in a bowl) so I used what I did have to come up with something semi-authentic that tastes 100% good.



Tofu & vegetables in red curry sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 block firm tofu, pressed and cubed
- 1 large bell pepper, cut in strips
- 2 Japanese eggplant, cubed
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp ginger, grated
- 1/2 Thai chili, minced
- 4-5 basil leaves, preferably Thai
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp raw sugar
- Optional: 4oz rice noodles (any size)

Instructions
- Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Set aside.
- Dry fry tofu in a non-stick skillet on medium/medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides. It shouldn't take more than 2-3 minutes on each side. Set aside.
- Add coconut oil to a large skillet or wok on medium/medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, chili and ginger and cook until translucent. Add peppers and eggplant and cook for 5 minutes.
- While vegetables cook, bring coconut milk to a low boil in sauce pan and dissolve red curry paste and sugar. Once boiled, add mixture to vegetables and stir to combine.
- Add lime zest + juice, basil and tofu. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. During the last few minutes of cooking, add rice noodles and stir to break them apart and coat them in the curry sauce. Plate with a garnish of lime and enjoy!

Serves 2




Sea Thai definitely does it better, but this was so, so good. It was just spicy enough to make my nose run a little bit and it had that creamy, warm hug consistency that I love. It's also a lighter alternative to typical curry since it's more of a stir fry than a soup, but it still had all the best elements of Thai curry. Definitely give this a try if you want an inexpensive, easy red curry fix!