I used to call it Thai soup, but yam & peanut butter is an African taste that I love. This recipe has developed over the years.
Ingredients in bold
A can of beans – black beans or chickpeas or other (small or big can, doesn’t matter)
Rinse beans and put in soup pot with enough water to well-cover the beans (about 2 cups) and some salt and put on to boil.
Find a cup of broth (homemade or a cup of hot water with bouillon cube) and add to pot.
Peel and cut in very large chunks – a big yam or 2 medium ones. Add to pot.
Boil all this until beans are soft and yam is still in chunks. If you overboil the yams or cut them too small, they will disintegrate into the soup and it will become orange. Man, that will happen by the second or third day anyway, and it’s yummy that way too.
While the beans and yam are boiling away, prep the rest of the veg you want to add. They will take less time to cook. Pop them in when they’re cleaned and trimmed and the timing will be right. (You could add green or yellow beans, carrot, celery, cauliflower, cooked chicken, cooked rice… or nothing. You don’t need much. Today I only added a handful of green beans. If you want to add spinach or other delicate veg, wait until the very end.)
Add a can of coconut milk when veggies are almost done. Turn it down to simmer.
Then add a few big pieces of red pepper (or green, but red is better).
Thai flavours are a balance of sweet (yam, coconut milk), spicey (ginger, chili), salty (fish sauce, tamari) and sour (lime, rice vinegar).
Taste as you season, then balance again at the end to suit your tastebuds.
Add the seasonings:
1 Tablespoon of peanut butter
Chili to taste (Use what you know: hot sauce, fresh chili, chili powder, cayenne powder, red or green curry paste. I like to use ground fresh chili paste from a bottle. Today I added ½ teaspoon.)
2 Tablespoons fish sauce (vegans replace with tamari sauce)
1 tablespoon or more ginger - grate fresh
1 teaspoon tamari sauce (or soy but soy is stronger, so cut the amount in half or to taste)
4 teaspoons rice vinegar (can be replaced with lemon or lime juice)
Simmer a while and taste again.
Garnishes, optional but they make a big difference, add what you have on hand:
Chopped peanuts
Lime – squeeze a quarter or half a lime into the soup bowl
Cilantro / coriander leaf chopped
Pumpkin seeds are nice too
