Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

Name: Pumpkin and Coconut Soup
Yield: Serves Four to Six
Cuisine: Thailand
Ingredients: 30 ml/2 tbsp Thai fish sauce; 15 ml/1 tbsp dried shrimp soaked for 10 minutes in warm water to cover; 2 fresh green chillies, seeded; 600 ml/1 pint/2½ cups coconut cream; 600 ml/1 pint/2½ cups chicken stock; 450 g/1 lb pumpkin; 4 shallots, finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 lemon grass stalk, chopped; 2.5 ml/½ tsp shrimp paste; 10-12 fresh basil leaves; 2 fresh red chillies, seeded and thinly sliced; salt and ground black pepper; 115 g/4 oz small cooked shelled prawns (shrimp); 5 ml/1 tsp granulated sugar

Preparation info

Serves
Four to Six

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Thai Food and Cooking

By Judy Bastyra and Becky Johnson

Published 2011

About

The natural sweetness of the pumpkin is heightened by the addition of a little sugar in this lovely looking soup, but this is balanced by the chillies, shrimp paste and dried shrimp. Coconut cream blurs the boundaries beautifully.

Ingredients

450 g/1 lb pumpkin
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4

Asia
Thailand
Soup
Gluten-free
South East Asia

Method

Peel the pumpkin and cut it into quarters with a sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard. Cut the flesh into chunks about 2cm/¾in thick and set aside.
Put the garlic, shallots, shrimp paste, lemon grass, green