Best Hot And Sour Pumpkin Soup Recipes

Hot-and-Sour Pumpkin Soup image

Provided by Ming Tsai

Yield Makes 6 to 8 servings, or about 10 cups

Number Of Ingredients 15

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (3-lb) sugar or cheese pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 cup dry white wine
2 qt chicken stock, or 1 qt canned chicken broth and 1 qt water
6 lemongrass stalks (bottom 5 inches only), coarsely chopped
1 (1-inch) piece galangal (thawed if frozen), peeled and coarsely chopped
3 to 5 fresh (1 1/2-inch) Thai chiles or 2 fresh jalapeño chiles, trimmed and coarsely chopped (seed chiles if a milder flavor is desired)
4 kaffir lime leaves (fresh or frozen)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
shrimp toasts

Steps:

Cook onion, garlic, and ginger in 1 tablespoon oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Add pumpkin and wine and boil, uncovered, until wine is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Stir in stock and simmer, covered, until pumpkin is tender, about 20 minutes.
Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté lemongrass, galangal, and chiles to taste, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Purée pumpkin mixture in batches (use caution when blending hot liquids) and return to pot. Stir in lemongrass mixture, lime leaves, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Pour soup through a sieve, discarding solids, and season well with salt and pepper.

Hot and Sour Pumpkin Soup with Chive Cream image

Provided by Ming Tsai

Time 1h5m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 16

1 large onion, peeled and diced large
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 (2 to 3 pounds) pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into large cubes
1 cup white wine
2 quarts chicken stock
8 stalks lemongrass, white part only, chopped roughly (may substitute with zest of 2 lemons)
5 kaffir lime leaves, optional
5 Thai bird chiles (may substitute with 2 jalapenos)
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

Steps:

In a medium stockpot coat with 1 tablespoon oil, sweat the onion, garlic, and ginger until the onions are translucent. Add the pumpkin and wine and simmer until the wine is reduced by half. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, continue cooking for about 20 minutes until the pumpkin is tender.
In a hot saute pan coated with 1 tablespoon oil, sear the lemon grass and Thai bird chiles until lightly browned, remove from heat.
When the pumpkin is tender, puree smooth using a hand blender or a blender and return to a simmer. Add the sauteed lemon grass, chilies, sugar, kaffir lime leaves (optional), lime juice, and fish sauce. Gently simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the soup through a medium strainer, discarding the solids, and season well with salt and pepper. The soup should be medium in body and may require additional chicken stock or water.
In a small bowl, mix the sour cream with the chives.
PLATING Serve the soup hot with a dollop of sour cream and chives in the center as garnish.