Burning mouth - unbelievably too spicy hot. This Thai soup from Vegetarian Times Magazine sounded wonderful as a cold winter soup to warm up- ha! Not only will anything unwanted perish in my digestive system, so too will my internal organs!! Guess I should have known when the recipe called for four cups of veggie broth and 15 Japones Chiles. Duh.
If you're brave, give it a go...
Chili Paste:
- 15 dried arbol chiles (or japones chiles)
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 stalks lemongrass, minced
- 2 shallots, minced (1/2 cup)
- 1 teaspoon red miso
Soup
- 4 cups vegetable broth (preferably low sodium)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 cups sliced beet leaves (or Swiss chard or escarole, turnip greens, kale, etc.)
- 1 cup fennel, diced (or turnips)
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup firm tofu, diced
- 1 cup coarsely chopped arugula
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
- Soak chiles in a bowl of boiling water 30 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and finely chop.
- Combine garlic and salt in mortar, and pound with pestle (or food processor). Add lemongrass, shallots, miso and chiles, pounding and crushing after each addition to make a thick paste (or use food processor).
Soup:
Bring the broth to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Stir in soy sauce and chile paste.
Add greens, fennel, and mushroooms, and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer 5 minutes. Add tofu, and cook 2 more minutes. Stir in arugula, mint and parsley. Simmer 1-2 minutes, or until herbs wilt. Enjoy and burn everything out!
