Thai Style Split Pea Soup

Bowl of hot soup is such a comforting meal on a chilly winter day. I'm not a big fan of soup, but this split pea soup is so hearty and delicious that I went back for seconds. Original recipe is from Culinate. To make it perfect for a weeknight dinner, I pressure cooked the split peas making it a perfect one-pot meal that can be made in less than 30 minutes. I also used ready made tom-yum paste that a dear friend gave me. But I have included the recipe for spice paste at the end.

Recipe adapted from Culinate:

Ingredients:

Split Peas - 2cups

Onion - 1 medium, minced

Carrot - 1 large, cubed

Garlic cloves - 3, minced

Coconut milk - 1 16oz. can

Tom yum paste - 2tbsp

Spinach - 2-3 cups, roughly chopped 

Cilantro - 1/2 cup, chopped

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tsp oil in a pressure cooker/ large sauce pan. Add onion and garlic and cook until they begin to brown, 3-4 minutes.
• Next add carrots and cook for few more minutes until softened a little bit.
• Add the split peas, coconut milk, 4 cups of water and tom yum paste and salt. Cover the pressure cooker and cook for 3-4 whistles. If cooking in open pot, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat; cover and cook for 45mins - 1hour, until split peas are completely soft.
• Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro and chopped spinach.
• Serve hot.

 

Tom Yum Paste:

Ingredients:

Lemon grass - 4tbsp, roughly chopped from 2-3 lemon grass ribs

Garlic - 5 cloves

Ginger or galangal - 1 thumb size

Fresh red chili - 1 (or use cayenne)

Coriander leaves & Stems - 1/2 cup

Vegetable oil - 1tbsp

Soy sauce - 1tbsp

Lime juice - 1/4 cup

Palm sugar/ brown sugar - 3 heaping tsp

Spring onions - 2-3

Method:

• Process all the ingredients to a smooth paste. This paste can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or in the freezer for couple of months.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up for Day 4 of BM# 10.