Creamy Thai-style Sorrel soup – a fusion of flavours
This Creamy Thai-style Sorrel soup is a great example of fusion cuisine. It amazingly combines Oriental and European flavours with the magic of sorrel, which grows in great abundance almost everywhere. There are numerous sorrel soup recipes to get inspired. The 5-element one is a super simple but really tasty version, with no need for chicken or veg stock, of course.
To make the Thai-style spice paste
Use a mortar and pestle and mash together the following ingredients:
- Sweet 1 teaspoon brown sugar,
- Pungent 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped, 1 inch (2,5cm) long ginger root roughly chopped, 1 fresh hot chilli pepper sliced, a pinch of black pepper,
- Salty 1/2 teaspoon salt,
- Sour 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice,
- Bitter a pinch of turmeric.
The preparation
Wash thoroughly 3 medium-sized/large potatoes. If you wish you can peel them but there is no need for that. Cut them into large cubes and rinse thoroughly. Peel and cut in semi-circles 1 large onion or 2 medium-sized ones. Wash thoroughly 3 generous handfuls (about 200g) of sorrel leaves.
To make the soup
In a large pan add the following ingredients:
- Sweet 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil, heat it up, add the potato cubes and fry for about 2-3 minutes,
- Pungent add the spice paste and stir it in the potatoes, add the onion and fry for another 2-3 minutes,
- Salty 1/2 tablespoon of salt, water to cover all the vegetables, bring the soup to a boil and simmer at medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and good to eat.
Blend the soup and add the remaining ingredients:
- Sour sorrel leaves roughly chopped,
- Bitter a pinch of turmeric, if the soup is too thick add a splash of boiling water,
- Sweet 5-6 tablespoons of coconut cream (optional), 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Serve hot garnished with chopped scallions and chilli. Also, take a look at another variation of sorrel soup: green borscht or creamy sorrel soup.
