“This vegetarian soup is one I have developed in my own restaurants to meet the demand for something a little different and delicious for our many vegetarian customers. While cauliflower is familiar as an ingredient in stir-fry recipes, prized for its crunchiness, here it is cooked with mushrooms and coconut milk, so the cauliflower absorbs the flavor of coconut, making it light and sweet.” Vatch

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups (28 oz. can) coconut cream

2 stalks of lemongrass, finely sliced

2 inches fresh galangal or ginger, peeled and finely sliced into rings

4 kaffir lime leaves, coarsely torn into quarters

1 small cauliflower, cut into florets

2 1/2 cups small white mushrooms, cut into halves or quarters, according to size

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

2 3/4 cups vegetable stock

4 fresh small red or green chilis, slightly crushed

3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

cilantro leaves, to serve

Put the coconut cream, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, cauliflower, mushrooms, soy sauce, sugar and stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cauliflower florets are al dente (cooked, but still firm). Remove from the heat and add the chiles and lemon juice. Stir once, pour into a serving bowl, and top with cilantro.

Note: If you are unable to find cans or cartons of coconut cream, use canned coconut milk instead. Don’t shake the can – you will find it has probably separated into thick cream and thin milk. Carefully spoon off the thick part to use in recipes that specify coconut cream.

Galangal is widely available in Asian food stores and sometimes in larger supermarkets. Fresh ginger is used as a common substitute in the West, though it has a totally different flavor and the recipes will not taste the same.

From Vatcharin Bhumichitr’s Vatch’s Thai Kitchen: Thai dishes to cook at home
(Ryland, Peters & Small, 2005, ISBN 1 84172 808x). Used here with permission from the author.