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Gaeng liang (peppery pumpkin and lemon basil soup)
Gaeng liang (แกงเลียง): central Thai vegetable soup with pumpkin, baby corn and lemon basil, vegan
Older cooks in Ayutthaya and the central plains make this soup for new mothers and anyone feeling run down: a cloudy broth of pounded shallot, white pepper and krachai (fingerroot), packed with pumpkin, baby corn, sponge gourd and handfuls of lemon basil. It is eaten as one of several dishes with rice at a home meal, never as a creamy starter. The everyday version pounds dried shrimp and shrimp paste into the base and seasons with fish sauce; here dried shiitake and tamari give the savouriness, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: add the lemon basil off the heat at the very end; boiled basil turns black and loses the peppery perfume the soup is named for.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the paste
- 4 shallotsabout 60 g, chopped
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- 1 oz krachai (fingerroot)peeled and chopped, or 15 g ginger
- ½ tsp salt
For the soup
- 6 dried shiitake mushroomssoaked in the water below for 15 minutes, sliced
- 4 ¼ cups waterincluding the mushroom soaking water
- 9 oz pumpkinpeeled, cut into 2 cm chunks
- 8 baby cornhalved on the diagonal
- 1 sponge gourd (luffa)peeled, sliced 1 cm thick, or 1 courgette
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 2 handfuls lemon basil (bai maenglak)leaves picked, or Thai basil
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What you'll need
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Pound 4 shallots, 1 tsp white peppercorns, 1 oz krachai (fingerroot) and ½ tsp salt in a mortar to a coarse, moist paste.
5 minStep 2: Bring 4 ¼ cups water to the boil in a pot with the sliced 6 dried shiitake mushrooms. Stir in the paste and simmer for 2 minutes so the broth turns cloudy and peppery.
2 minStep 3: Add 9 oz pumpkin and simmer over a medium heat until a knife slips in easily but the chunks still hold their shape, 6–8 minutes.
8 minStep 4: Add 8 baby corn and 1 sponge gourd (luffa) and simmer until the gourd turns translucent, about 3 minutes.
3 minStep 5: Season with 2 tbsp tamari, then taste: it should be peppery and gently savoury, not salty.
Step 6: Take the pot off the heat, stir in 2 handfuls lemon basil (bai maenglak) and serve straight away with rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 75 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gaeng liang (peppery pumpkin and lemon basil soup) take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
- What can I use instead of dried shiitake mushrooms?
- Aubergine, diced, same weight.
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