Cookbook Challenge
The weather has definitely turned. I needed to put on my winter coat this morning when I headed to the gym. The other tell tale sign is that I am hungry almost every single hour and all I like to do is to hide under the doona and watch Lifestyle food channel all day.
Many Thai soups and curries are perfect for the cold weather. It warms our tummy and the I love the warming aroma of the herbs that fills the kitchen and the house. I turned to a old Thai cookbook – Thai Cooking by Judy Bastyra & Becky Johnson. I can’t remember where I picked this up but it must have been on sale! I was a little suspicious if the recipe was going to work. It says curry but it seems more like a spicy soup to me. Anyway, I adapted the recipe and added my own take on it.
apple aubergines
Ingredients:
- 900g salmon fillet, skinned and cubed
- 1 medium size calarmari, cleaned and ringed
- 700g of lady fingers, diagonally sliced
- 250g of apple aubergines, diced
- 1L of vegetable stock
- 3 large shallots, finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 1inch piece of galangal, finely chopped
- 2 lemon grass stalks, bruised and finely chopped
- 1.5 tsp of dried chilli flakes
- 40ml fish sauce
- 2tsp of palm sugar
- 4 whole fresh chilli
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander
- Salt and white pepper for seasoning
** I usually use a lot of off cuts of vegetables to make the stock.
Vegetable stock
Method:
- To make it easier to cube the salmon, place the fish in the freezer for about 45mins. Make your own stock if you can.
- Bring the stock to a boil, then add the garlic, galangal, lemon grass, shallots, chilli flakes, sugar, fresh silt chillies and fish sauce. Turn down to medium heat and simmer gently for about 15mins
- Add the fish and calamari, bring back to the boil and then turn off the heat. Let it stand for 10 – 15 minutes. The fish should be cooked by then. Serve hot with white rice
Northern spicy fish soup
Maybe I am used to a curry being either coconut or tomato base. It is a very light, refreshing and aromatic fish soup. I guess without the heavy coconut milk, it makes this dish super healthy as well. Maybe too healthy for me. I am off to make some compost cookies!
Why do you think makes this a curry?
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
@jeroxie Hey, congrats. They accepted it. I knew they would. What about the other one?
@DivinaPe not news yet. let's see ….
RT @jeroxie: Finally! Thanks to @tastespotting for http://jeroxie.com/addiction/cookbook-ch... http://bit.ly/daMaqz
I like clear soups as well with all the flavors – sweet, salty, spicy, sour or maybe even umami are present. It really wakes up your senses. Too hot right now. But I will saving this for the rainy weather. Lovely photos Penny.
Love those soups! very healthy and flavorful. Last time I bought those eggplants (or aubergines as you say) they were full of seeds, is it usual? salmon and calamari are too great of a combo!
.-= citronetvanille´s last blog ..Not that ordinary – Chives crêpes stuffed with herb marinated salmon and leek mustard sauce =-.
Being a Malaysian, my curry always means with coconut milk or at least with milk. Yours look more like a soup to me. Looks delicious and healthy.
.-= MaryMoh´s last blog ..Condensed Milk Sweet Potato Cake =-.
Just look at those birdeye chilies! Please stand by a fire-engine! hahaha….
.-= kristy´s last blog ..Lavender Meringue & Dulce De Leche Square =-.
Love spicy soup, esp. those with lots of veggies, pretty good for the cooler weather here. The apple aubergines look gorgeous. I haven't tried them before. How do their taste like?
.-= Christine@Christine's Recipes´s last blog ..Chinese Fish Cakes with Stir-fried Bok Choy =-.
I see how it is hard to call this a curry because of its light and watery consistency but the core ingredients of lemon grass, galangal, chilli, garlic, fish sauce, palm sugar and coriander are very curry like. All this lacks is coconut milk and shrimp paste.
.-= Mark @ Cafe Campana´s last blog ..Easy as Pie – Key Lime Pie =-.
It must be very tasty with all the herbs and homemade stock…..definitely going to try. Thanks for sharing!
.-= Liz´s last blog ..Ayam Nasi Briyani =-.
Wonderful well-written post. Great photos. Love the flavor profile of the soup.
I am usually not a big seafood eater, but I can't resist thai food and love how simple this is to make. Bookmarking this for future reference when making some fish curry. Yumm!
I think the herbs and spices make it technically a curry, but I agree with you it's hard to think of it as one without a thicker sort of consistency … that said, it looks and sounds delicious!
.-= Trix´s last blog ..Very Veggie, Very Healthy, Very Spicy Hungarian Goulash =-.
Yeah I've had to start wearing a hoodie going to the gym, but luckily my winter coat remains unused for now!
This does look pretty healthy. Not sure what makes it a curry, exactly.. doesn't seem very curry-like but I'm hardly a food encyclopaedia
.-= Conor @ HoldtheBeef´s last blog ..Happy Easter! =-.
curry to me is a mash of many things and you got one going here – like the broth that must have come from that pot of wonderful veggies along with the spices and salmon, it really must have tasted refreshing like you said …
.-= Drick´s last blog ..Spring Chicken =-.
Love your post! We are getting ready for summer. I especially love the look of your stock! this is the secret isn't it. best from California
.-= s. stockwell´s last blog ..Celebrate! =-.
I'm not very well versed in the way of curry so I can't say what makes anything a curry, but from the ingredients and the chili peppers I can say that I would love to give this recipe a try
this looks great! I love Thai soups.
.-= kathy gori´s last blog ..One Stir Risotto, The Non Carpal Tunnel Version =-.
We saw these apple aubergines all over Laos last summer and I need to hunt them down here in Toronto's Chinatown. Love them!
.-= Mardi @eatlivetravelwrite´s last blog ..Through the eyes of a 7 year-old: Puerto Rico =-.
A good looking and healthy soup. I don't think I've ever seen apple aubergines in the markets. I'll be looking for them now (beautiful photos!).
Where did you get the apple aubergines? I want them!!!
I agree – it seems far more like a soup than a curry.
I think spices make a curry, whether it is a tomato, coconut milk or even yoghurt based one. The fact that this has so much broth pushes it into soup territory. But that's just my opinion.
Today is another good day to hide under the doona watching Lifestyle Food
.-= Joanne @ secondhelping´s last blog ..The Cookbook Challenge ~ Week 20 Tangy =-.
Footscray but I am sure that Victoria street will have them…. they are pretty yummy. good for curries curry, if you know what I mean.
This definitely looks like a soup….light, healthy and refreshing! I am into clear soups now with the weather warming up in the northern hemisphere
.-= Roti n Rice´s last blog ..Ocha-zuke (Rice in Green Tea) =-.
Congrats on Top 9!
Beautiful soup with lovely flavors! You can't go wrong with Thai flavors.
I think fresh galangal gives it that depth of flavor in so many Thai soups.
Mm, a warming soup would be good right now. I'm i Paris in the temperature is down to 5 Celsius. And I thought spring in Paris meant warmth and sunny whether. I'll keep myself warm with soups and Swedish food.
.-= Linn @ Swedish home cooking´s last blog ..Swedish Home Cooking "Swedish Meatballs" =-.
I love thai food but it is difficult to obtain ingredients such as pea eggplants, galangal and lime leaves, with substitutions it never comes out like I remember in Thailand. Great picture and congrats on the top 9 in foodbuzz.
Thank you so much to everyone that left all the comments. And it feels so good to have this on Foodbuzz Top 9, tastespotting and food gawker all in one week. This is the first time ever and thanks everyone again
xoxo jeroxie
That looks like a lovely soup, loved the vegetable broth made by scratch, and Congrats on top 9.
.-= Anna´s last blog ..Strawberries with “On The Lamb” =-.
I like that it does not have coconut milk. Sounds lovely.
LL
MMM spicy soups are the best. I love that this is nice and light, as much as I love coconut milk this is a healthier alternative. Great job!
.-= Joy´s last blog ..Shanghai Part 3: Wuxi & ShuZhou =-.
It looks more like a soup to me but a flavoursome one! Those appl aubergine look so cute! I've never seen them before.
.-= April @ My Food Trail´s last blog ..Recipe: Tom Yum Soup – The Cookbook Challenge Week 21 ‘Thai’ theme =-.
Hello,
We bumped into your blog and we really liked it – great recipes YUM YUM.
We would like to add it to the Petitchef.com.
We would be delighted if you could add your blog to Petitchef so that our users can, as us,
enjoy your recipes.
Petitchef is a french based Cooking recipes Portal. Several hundred Blogs are already members
and benefit from their exposure on Petitchef.com.
To add your site to the Petitchef family you can use http://en.petitchef.com/?obj=front&action=site_ajout_form or just go to Petitchef.com and click on “Add your site”
Best regards,
Vincent
petitchef.com
Who was the clown that asked what makes this a curry?
Simple answer would be that if you’ve ever been to Thailand you would know that the thais would call this a curry, as most curries in Thailand ARE more like a soup.
Got to help the ill-informed ánd/or ignorant don’t we!!!
{ 2 trackbacks }