Cabin Fever and Thai Coconut Soup

Not long after Hurricane Sandy trashed the landscape, not far into winter, I decided to take on the chef in our kitchen who consistently produces the most intensely flavored, exotic, delightful Thai dinners. His answer to a recipe request for his coconut soup is to say he never makes it the same way twice; nor is he exactly keeping secrets, because the taste does vary as much as the ingredients.

I wanted a coconut soup that was light, fresh and delicious. So I Googled "thai coconut soup," compared the recipes, picked one, adjusted to serve 40 people, and tried it out. No kidding, it tasted very much like the coconut soup at my favorite takeout Thai place! Unlike every other recipe I have given you here, the broth is an exact science: I make it the same way every time. It is very simple. The yellow lined paper on which I computed the original proportions has become an icon. This soup is wildly popular, and people ask for the recipe all the time. Here it is.

THAI COCONUT SOUP FOR 40

broth:
8 quarts of vegetable broth
4 15-oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup tamari
1 heaping tablespoon turibinado sugar
7 basil leaves, chiffonaded
one bunch cilantro, stems included, chopped

vegetables:
5 to 7 bell peppers of any color, cut into long strips that are then chopped in thirds
2 lb. small white mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 to 5 roasted sweet potatoes, chopped

Bring the broth to a boil, add the coconut soup and reheat, but do not boil. Add the vegetables, bring to a boil, and turn off the heat. Add the rest of the ingredients. Serve.

Okay, you're not cooking for forty, are you. I will give you my adjusted version of the scaled-down recipe, serves 6. But first, a few comments on finishing the soup.

I have used Frontier powdered vegetable broth, because the ashram kitchen stocks it. I can't unequivocally endorse it, because the first ingredient is corn syrup solids. But the powder is a workhorse for the kitchen, and it works for this recipe: 2 cups of broth powder for 8 quarts of water. I bring the broth to a boil and let it sit on the stove for a while. Before proceeding, I usually add as much as a quart of water, depending on how long the broth has been simmering and how much water has boiled off.

This is a fresh soup, a midwinter antidote to Northeast cabin fever from an exotic Pacific locale. You don't want to cook the vegetables overlong; you don't want to boil the lime juice, the tamari or the fresh herbs at all.

A note on the vegetables: The addition of peppers and mushrooms comes from the Thai restaurant's version. Theirs always had red peppers. I have always used green peppers, because that's what we had on hand. To compensate for the reduction in sweetness, I added some leftover roast yams (also on hand). That worked so well I go out of my way to roast yams for the soup. I have also tried green peas, which are fine. Add them at the last minute, even if frozen; they will turn gray if boiled for long. One quarter of a cabbage, finely shredded, can substitute for the peppers.

How to roast a sweet potato: wash it, rub it lightly with oil, put it on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 375 degrees. After half an hour, it should be done (soft). Check by sticking a knife or fork into it.

THAI COCONUT SOUP

serves 6

broth:
6 cups vegetable stock
1 15-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1/2 to 1 teaspoon turibinado sugar
1 or 2 basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

vegetables:
1/2 to 1 bell pepper, cut into short strips
1 cup small white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small sweet potato, roasted and chopped

Bring stock to a boil, add coconut milk and bring almost to a boil. Add vegetables and simmer one to three minutes. Add all other ingredients just before serving. Note: This soup is richer than the high-quantity version; you can reduce the amount of coconut milk to taste. And see the comments above on suggestions for other vegetables.

After the Holidays: Winter Squash Soup

It's the slow season. Except dozens of people are still showing up for lunch at the ashram, some from yoga class, some still in residence after the holidays. What to feed them? The kitchen stores are depleted, yet there's a backlog of winter squash and just enough else to make a hearty winter soup. This soup is a variation on an ashram favorite that I usually make with red lentils instead of squash.

TO COOK FOR A CROWD

We have a 60-cup pot with nice curves -- we call it the sexy pot -- that feeds 35 to 40 people, full. I drag it out and fill it two-thirds full with butternut squash (peeled, deseeded, cut in chunks) and enough cold water to cover. While that's coming to a boil on the stove, I add my spices: a big thumb of ginger (flurried), half a tablespoon of cumin, a pinch of allspice, a pinch of cayenne and a bay leaf. While the squash cooks, I slice two of the enormous carrots we have in the cold room; that's equivalent to about four or five carrots of normal size. I saute the slices in coconut oil.

When the squash is soft, I puree the soup with an immersion blender. I add the sauteed carrots and some leftover cooked kale, chopped into small pieces. Since we don't have cilantro, I add a bunch of curly parsley, chopped fine (stems included). I throw in some salt -- probably a tablespoon -- and there you go. It's surprisingly sweet, this soup; the coconut oil and the allspice are subtle brighteners.

WINTER SQUASH SOUP

serves 6
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2-inch chunks
water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 2-inch piece of ginger, grated
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 bay leaf
two carrots, sliced thinly
one small bunch of kale, chopped fine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Put the squash in a 4-quart pot and add enough water just to cover. Bring to a boil. Add cumin, ginger, allspice, cayenne and bay leaf.  Simmer till very soft. Remove bay leaf and puree soup. Return to stove and keep warm on a low flame.
Saute carrots in coconut oil till slightly browned, about five minutes. Add to soup.
Steam kale until tender, five to fifteen minutes depending on the kale. Add to soup.
Add parsley.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, or more to taste. Add pepper to taste.

Here's My Chai Recipe. What's Yours?

There are as many kinds of chai as there are people who make it. I learned to make chai from Ma Chetan Jyoti, a North American swami who lived in India and supported and promoted kirtan both in India and the U.S. I have made chai for years, and the recipe I use has changed to become my own. Usually, I make chai for 50 people, or multiples of fifty. I can give you those proportions later in this post; let's tackle the simple basic recipe first.

Ten cups of chai:
Okay, you can half this recipe, but only reduce the dry ingredients to two-thirds. Chai is for company; four cups is the least I would attempt.

7 cups of water
3 1/2 cups whole milk
4 teaspoons Brooke Bond red label tea (or equivalent)
one thumb of ginger root, sliced
about 12 cardamom seeds
1/3 cup sugar (or to taste)
pinch of dried rose petals

Put the water into a pot that is big enough to allow the milk and water, combined, to foam up as it boils. Add ginger and cardamom. Bring to a boil.

Brooke Bond Red Label tea is a well-known brand of mamri tea -- tea rolled into pellets -- and is often found in Indian groceries. Other brands can be available; I even found Lipton's version in Albany once.

Add tea: the general proportion is half a teaspoon per cup, plus half a teaspoon for the pot. Boil for the amount of time it takes to chant one round of japa on a mala. Obviously, if your mantra is Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, your tea is likely to be stronger than if your mantra is Om. I have no input to offer on this disparity.

Add milk. Watch carefully. When it boils, it will suddenly foam up -- and overflow the pot, unless you break the surface by adding a little cold milk. Stir and reduce heat so the milk is only simmering.

After a minute or so, bring the milk up to a boil again. Turn it down again. An American woman who was married to a Rajasthani temple musician once showed me her version of chai; from what I recall she brought the milk to a boil three times. The longer the milk cooks, the sweeter and richer the chai.

Add the sugar. Let someone else taste it and tell you when it's sweet enough. I follow the Indian practice of never tasting what I cook; it's interesting.

Add a pinch of dried rose petals. That's a recent addition that makes the tea more tri-doshic, according to my dried rose petal source and friend, Leslee. The rose petals are thus optional; but since I've started using them, I prefer the chai with them.

Let the chai sit for a minute or two. To serve, pour through a sieve into a cup. Try for a foamy surface: The greater the height you can pour from, the more foam you'll have on the surface of the cup.

Never yet having been to India, I can only say this is a very successful recipe by the response. I have made chai for pujas, concerts, kirtans and visiting swamis. At a recent yantra-painting workshop I attended and provided chai for, a group of Indian natives lined up for the chai early. Friends who knew my chai knew to get in early as well. By the break, I was preparing a second batch. The second batch usually disappears more slowly.

I perfected massive chai at a retreat center where, during the years I lived there, I did a lot of cooking and serving. We had enormous stainless pots that, when filled, took half an hour to come to a small boil, then another half an hour to boil the milk. So chai was made ahead and put in vacuum or plug-in coffee urns. Make sure there is NO coffee residue or smell. Eventually I noticed measurement lines stamped into the sides of the pots. That's how I developed my two-to-one ratio: eight quarts of water to four quarts of milk. One-half cup of tea. As much ginger as you have. Scant eighth cup of cardamom seeds, or five pods. Much sugar: Be attentive, as the tasting usually goes not sweet enough, not sweet enough, not sweet enough, oh, a little too sweet.

Chai is comfort, stimulation, fragrance, desire and conviviality all at once; it is also rich, and the first cup is always the best. BTW, always offer the teacher the first cup.

PLEASE TELL US YOUR CHAI RECIPE AND WHERE AND FROM WHOM YOU LEARNED IT. POST IN COMMENTS BELOW.