Vegetable Soup with Coconut Milk

How to make vegetable broth

1. We make coconut milk soup on vegetable broth. The broth turns out especially well with white salad onion: it is not sharp, and the flavor is a little sweet.

2. Prepare the vegetables: peel the carrot, onion and garlic cloves. Cut the carrot lengthwise into quarters or in half, and the onion into several pieces.

   If you can’t get fresh cauliflower, you can replace it with fresh-frozen. You won’t notice much difference. Fresh cauliflower is almost always in the shops, though.

   

3. Put the spices in a bag. Slice a piece of peeled fresh ginger into thin plates and put it, together with the star anise, dried chili, bay leaf and dried lemongrass (if you have it), into a sachet or cheesecloth so the spices don’t “float” in the broth.

   

4. Make the broth. Pour 3-4 cups of cold water (600–800 ml) into a pot, add the spice bag, carrot, onion and garlic, and a pinch of salt. Put the pot on the heat, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat, uncovered, for 20 mins, until the carrot is soft. Then take out the spice bag and throw it away, since it has done its job.

   

How to make the coconut milk soup

1. For this soup we use canned coconut milk of low fat content. It comes in different kinds, so check for yourself. The fat can range from the bare minimum to 15% or more. By the way, you can use cream instead: it is much higher in calories, you need less of it by volume, and you should add more water to the broth.

2. Pour in the coconut milk. Shake the can well and open it, then pour the contents into the pot of broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 mins.

   

4. Cook the cauliflower. Cut the florets off the head, cover them with water, then rinse and add to the boiling soup. After it returns to a boil, cook the cauliflower for 3-4 mins. It should keep just a hint of firmness: al dente.

   

   Add curry powder to the soup, as much as you like. We add roughly half a teaspoon. You can replace curry with turmeric, but it has a pronounced “special” taste that not everyone likes.

5. Puree the soup. Take the pot off the heat and blend everything. We usually use a handheld immersion blender. You can use a countertop blender, but remember the soup is very hot, and pouring the scalding mass from one container to another is not very comfortable. Blend thoroughly to get a uniform, smooth mass with no lumps or pieces. You can add more salt to taste.

   

Serving

1. Ladle the soup into bowls right away. Small, medium-sized rounded bowls, similar to small dishes, are perfect for pureed soups. Add 1-2 tbsp of canned corn (12–24 g) or previously cooked lentils, small beans or chickpeas to each bowl, plus a pinch of finely chopped parsley or green onion tops. Don’t stir the soup, just serve it straight away.

   

   This is a wonderful thick first course with a delicate, pleasant flavor. You can clearly taste the coconut and make out the spices. You could try broccoli in the dish (the color will be different), celery root, parsnip or even zucchini.