Thai Coconut Soup with Mushrooms

Mushroom lovers will adore this light and wonderfully fragrant Thai-spiced soup made with fresh and dried mushrooms. And cooks will love the simplicity. The freshness of the broth is enhanced by preparing fresh coconut milk from dried grated coconut, but you can use light coconut milk from a can as well. When you smell the broth cooking you will be very glad it doesn't take long to cook.

This is my contribution to this month's mushroom-focused edition of No Croutons Required.

Thai Coconut Soup with Mushrooms

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from World Vegetarian Classics: Over 200 Essential International Recipes for the Modern Kitchen Cuisine: Thai Published on April 15, 2008 Simple, fragrant, elegant and fresh-tasting light Thai mushroom soup with lemongrass, ginger and fresh pressed coconut milk Print this recipe Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups dried grated unsweetened coconut 5 cups boiling water 1/2 to 2/3 cup dried mixed wild mushrooms 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed 1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger or galangal, minced or grated 2 tablespoons tamari (soy) sauce 2 teaspoons brown sugar 2/3 cup button mushrooms, chopped juice from 1 small lemon (2 tablespoons) 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste small handful of fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped Instructions: Cover the coconut with 5 cups of boiling water in a large bowl. Leave to cool to room temperature. When cool, press the coconut through a sieve, taking care to extract as much coconut milk as possible. You should have about 4 cups of coconut milk. (Alternately, use 4 cups of canned light coconut milk — about 2 1/2 14 oz cans.) Soak the dried mushrooms in a small bowl of hot water for 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid, squeezing out as much liquid from the soaked mushrooms as you can. Chop and set aside. Bring the coconut milk to a boil in a large saucepan with the lemongrass, ginger or galangal, tamari sauce and sugar. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the fresh and soaked dried mushrooms along with a few tablespoons of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until the fresh mushrooms are tender but still plump. Remove from heat and discard the lemongrass. Add the lemon juice and salt, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with fresh chopped cilantro or parsley. Makes 4 servings