Thai Sweet Potato Soup

I am really excited about this recipe!  I have fallen in love with Pacific Natural Foods’ Thai Sweet Potato Soup, and wanted to recreated it at home, for you.  I gathered a bunch of ingredients listed on the box, and this is what I came up with; a creamy, spicy and oh-so-good Thai Sweet Potato delight that is pretty dang close to the original.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped ginger

2 small stalks of lemongrass (remove tough outer layer and sliced 2/3 of the way up from the bulb)

1 thai red chili (remove seeds and use only half the chili if you don’t like spicy)

1 can reduced fat coconut milk

1 heaping tablespoon almond butter

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup  diced winter squash (I used acorn)

1/2 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced sweet potato

2 limes, including zest

Method:

Heat 1/4 cup water in a soup pot on medium low heat. Add onions and saute for 5 minutes.  In a small chopper, add sliced lemongrass, thai chili, ginger and garlic until finely chopped.  Add this mixture to the onions.  Saute for a couple more minutes. Add diced acorn squash and carrots.  Stir to coat and add the can of coconut milk, 1 can of water, and a heaping tablespoon of almond butter.  Bring to bowl over medium heat and add zest of 1 lime and juice.  When soup comes to a bowl, reduce heat to low.  Add the just squeezed lime to the pot, rind and all, to infuse a bright citrus flavour to the soup while it simmers.

When the winter squash is tender, take off the heat and let cool enough for blending.  When the mixture has cooled, blend until very smooth in your blender or with a hand mixer.

Add the blended soup back to the soup pot, add the diced sweet potato, cover, and bring to a simmer over medium low heat. When the sweet potato is tender, take off the heat and squeeze the juice of 1 lime into the soup and serve hot.

Ta-da!  I think I achieved a very tasty and comparable version of Pacific’s Thai Sweet Potato Soup, minus the cornstarch and rice flour.  The nutritional information seems to work out to be the same, according to my calculations

If you are so inclined, pick up Pacific’s version and then attempt this version also, and do a taste comparison yourself.  It can be so fun trying to figure out how to make your favourite store bought or restaurant favourites, at home!

~The Vegan Project

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