Thai Cabbage Lentil Soup
Esperanza | esperanza spalding
A Soup for Cool Days
This Thai Cabbage Lentil Soup is packed with flavor and is the result of a happy experiment in which I tried red chili paste in place of curry paste and had extra tomatoes laying around. Nutritionally dense, vegan, and full of zing from the lime, ginger, and chili paste, it’s a winner. While you cook, enjoy listening to esperanza spalding. She is a legendary, once-in-a-generation bassist and vocalist. Her second album, Esperanza, features vocals in Spanish, English, and Portuguese and is a joyful, celebratory collection.
Genuine Dad Equipment Recommendation: Immersion Blender
Hello, dads and dad-adjacents. Here’s a Genuine Dad Equipment Recommendation* for your kitchen. An immersion blender is a critical tool for Thai Cabbage Lentil Soup and many other soup recipes. I primarily use it to make soups and frothy, fancy salad dressings without needing to mince garlic and ginger, which saves lots of time and cleanup. The blade goes straight in the dishwasher, so cleanup is easy with no handwashing involved. I like the Braun MQ5000 (Amazon link).
The immersion blender handles cooked potatoes, veggies, ice cream (for shakes!), fruit, etc. like a charm. Be warned though: I wore out the motor in my first blender when I tried to make garlic butter with near-frozen butter. So soften butter before trying to blend with add-ins if you have similar aims.
*Genuine Dad Equipment Recommendations are real, time-tested recommendations for equipment I’ve used for years in my kitchen. These recommendations are exclusive to Dads Jazz Cookbook. I only recommend products that I have personally found to be durable, high-utility, and nearly essential for my cooking (that’s why only some recipes have equipment recommendations). I may earn a commission if you buy through a link on my site.
Album Pairing: Esperanza | esperanza spalding
🎵 Listen to the album while you cook or eat 🎵
Thai Cabbage Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 C cooked brown lentils start with 1 C dry lentils
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 shallots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger
- 3 Tbsp Thai roasted red chili paste otherwise known as nam prik pao. Brand such as Thai Kitchen
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 3 C vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/2 head green cabbage chopped
- 2 medium fresh tomatoes
- 1 15- ounce can coconut milk
- 3 Tbsp sodium soy sauce
- 2 handfuls spinach
- 1 lime
- Cilantro basil, lime wedges, and sriracha for serving
Instructions
- Cook lentils according to package directions. This takes approximately 30 minutes. Meanwhile, continue with the rest of the recipe.
- Dice the 2 shallots, 4 cloves of garlic, and peel and dice the 1 Tbsp ginger. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, and ginger, and cook until aromatic and tender (3-5 minutes).
- Stir in the 3 Tbsp chili paste and 2 Tbsp tomato paste and cook for another couple minutes, stirring almost constantly.
- Roughly chop the tomatoes and cabbage. Pour broth into pot and add cabbage and tomatoes.
- Raise heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, partially cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to blend approximately ⅔ of the soup. Avoid blending the tomato chunks if possible.
- Add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and lentils. Increase heat to medium.
- Chop the 2 handfuls of spinach. Once the soup is heated through, add the spinach and juice from one lime.
Notes
Love this recipe-album pairing? Get a copy of Dads Jazz Cookbook, including this and many other delicious treats!
