Thai Broccoli Soup with Coconut
—Not On Website, Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 fat shallots, chopped
4–5 garlic cloves, rough chopped
2 teaspoons chopped ginger
1 medium-sized jalapeño pepper sliced ( ½ jalapeno for mild heat) seeds ok
1/4 cup chopped lemongrass
4 cups veggie or chicken broth or stock
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 kefir lime leaves (optional)
1 pound broccoli, chopped small ( slice tough or large stems small, to cook faster)
1 1/2 cups potato or sweet potato ( optional) diced, see notes.
1/2 -1 13-ounce can coconut milk (liquid and solids) saving a couple of tablespoons for garnish
1 teaspoon sugar, or alternative
a handful of spinach (optional, to enhance color)
½ cup cilantro -tender stems OK (divided)
2–3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Directions
Heat oil in a medium, heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven over medium heat.
Add the shallots, saute 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno. Saute 3 more minutes until the shallot is tender. Add lemongrass, saute 1-2 more minutes.
Add the veggie or chicken stock or broth, kefir lime leaves, salt and broccoli and bring to boil – it’s OK if the broccoli isn’t all submerged, it will still steam. SEE NOTES for potato.
Bring this to a boil, cover, lower heat and gently simmer 10-12 minutes, or until broccoli is fork-tender.
Once tender, turn the heat off, uncover. At this point, you could add a handful of optional spinach to give the soup a more vibrant green color. Add 1/4 cup cilantro (save the rest for garnish) and blend until very smooth using a submersion blender. Or cool and blend in batches using a regular blender (keeping in mind, blending a blender full of hot soup will explode! So either fill the blender only halfway full & place a kitchen towel on top of the lid and firmly hold the lid down while blending- or wait until it has cooled!
Place the smooth blended soup back in the pot, over low heat.
Stir in the coconut milk (solids and liquid) – you can start with half a can and add more to taste. Add sugar and stir until warmed through. Do not boil or you will lose the lovely color!
Add lime juice, and optional fish sauce to taste, or add salt. Find the balance.
Divide among bowls, garnish with any of the options above.
Notes
For a thicker soup add 1- 1 1/2 cups diced sweet potato or potato ( simmer with broccoli). If adding the potato, you can cut back on the coconut milk if you like, to lighten things up.
Crispy Shallots, Kefir lime leaves and Chili threads can all be found at Asian markets– and no, these are not essential, but add a nice touch. 🙂