Gaeng Liang – spicy Thai soup with pumpkin and shrimp

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 chili peppers
• 2 pieces of ginger, Chinese (finger root, krachai), not to be replaced by anything else!
• 5 shallot(s), Thai
• 1 tbsp peppercorns, white
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste (gapi)
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp (usually frozen in Asian stores)
• 1 small pumpkin(s), pumpkin flesh about twice the amount of zucchini
• 1 m.-large zucchini
• 10 baby corn, the small ones from the Asian store
• 10 mushrooms
• 3 pieces of Chinese ginger (fingerroot, krachai)
• 4 stalks of basil (Bai Maenglak, lemon basil), leaves and tips
• 10 large prawns, peeled, deveined
• 1 liter of broth
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 6 chili peppers or more
• Sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

as part of a menu enough for 6 guests

Peel and deseed the pumpkin, and cut into bite-sized pieces. Halve the zucchini lengthwise and cut into thick slices. Quarter the sweetcorn lengthwise. Clean and quarter the mushrooms. Flatten 2 krachai fingers with a knife, and thinly slice 1 finger. Blend the ingredients for the paste with a little water using a hand blender until smooth. Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot and add the paste. Then gradually add the vegetables. First the pumpkin, then after a few minutes the zucchini, then krachai, chilies, mushrooms, and sweetcorn. Finally, add the shrimp to the soup and let it simmer. Season to taste with fish sauce and a little sugar, add the bai maenglak, and serve.