Thai coconut-vegetables soup with brown rice

Thai cuisine is one of my favourites after everything Mediterranean. I don’t have a large repertoire in Thai dishes and the few things I make are simple and we tend to enjoy them now and then.

This is a simple soup with abundance of fresh vegetables suspended in a lime flavoured coconut broth. you can serve it on its own or spoon it over brown rice in a soup bowl. Top it with Thai basil, fresh cilantro, a lime wedge and even chopped nuts such as pistachios.

I happened to have baby zucchini and little yellow baby squash and used them in the soup together with carrots, thinly sliced, and snow peas sliced on the diagonal. You can use any vegetables you have in the fridge, about 3-4 in terms of variety.

One thing though, the soup will look freshest if made and served right away. Anything green will lose it’s colour if it sits in the hot broth. Mine had to sit while I was photographing the dishes, so the beautiful green colours faded somewhat. Oh well.

The soup will benefit from a squeeze of fresh lime wedge over so make sure you have some limes.

Enjoy.

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Ingredients:

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2 tablespoons butter or neutral oil (grape seed would work)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, minced
2 tablespoons green curry paste
A pinch of hot pepper flakes
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons green Thai curry paste
12 baby yellow squash, halved or quartered (can replace with 1 1/2 cups corn)
1 carrot, thinly sliced
A handful snow peas, sliced on the diagonal
8 baby zucchini sliced vertically on a mandolin or 1 large zucchini cut into cubes

A handful of  freshThai basil or Italian basil (Thai is better for this)

1 can coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock

Salt and pepper

Lime juice to taste

3 cups cooked brown rice

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Directions:

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Melt butter in a soup pot, add onion and cook until translucent.

Add garlic and jalapeno and cook until fragarant, being careful not to brown.

Add the vegetables, one at a time, cooking and  stirring briefly before adding the next. This should not take very long.

Add the curry powder, curry paste and a few basil leaves and stir to dissolve the spices.

Add coconut milk and stock and bring to a slow boil.

Add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.

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Serving:

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Place 1/3 cup rice on the side of a bowl, spoon the soup into the bowl beside the rice.

Serve with additional lime wedges and hot sauce of your choice if you wish.

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