Sweet potato is an amazing vegetable, because of it's starch it's best actually cooked in order for the body to digest it. There's several different varieties of sweet potato, usually you can tell by their colour, which also indicates the type of antioxidants they contain. The orange ones are an excellent source of beta-carotene, but the purple kind contains a different type of antioxidants called anthocyanins like those also found in blueberries and eggplants, helping to prevent against cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The Japanese sweet potato "Satsumaimo", which is purple on the outside, and white on the inside, is a great source of this particular antioxidant.
This purple variety is also less sweet and more starchy than the usual orange ones, which makes it a great base for soups that need thickening up without changing too much the flavour. Unlike most starch foods, sweet potato actually improves blood sugar regulation - when boiled or steamed the glycemic index (GI) rating is approx 50, which is on the lower end of the scale and combined with their superior fiber content, this means that their caloric energy is used more slowly and efficiently.
Together with the pumpkin and coconut cream it will create a thick creamy soup full of flavour. The kaffir lime leaves adds an aroma of Thai cuisine and adds some zest to the soup. Enoki mushrooms are the ones with the long slender stems. Usually they are sold in bunch, make sure you cut off a good 2 inches off the base, then you can gently separate the stems by hand. Add this last into the soup as it cooks quite quickly, it will add a slight crunch and texture to the soup.
This is a great soup for the cooler weather starting right now, it's a great base for a thai style soup so you can add extra items into it like coriander, tofu, different types of mushrooms, chilli etc.
Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup
1 large Japanese purple sweet potato
3/4 cup butternut pumpkin puree
(or 1 cup chopped pumpkin)
1/4 yellow onion
1 cup coconut cream
1 cup vegetable stock
6 - 8 kaffir lime leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 inch piece ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup enoki mushroom
2 stalks spring onion
1. Peel the sweet potato, cube and put into a blender with either the chopped pumpkin or puree, add in onion as well
2. Add the coconut cream and vegetable stock into the blender and blend until it's a puree
3. Cut the spring onion into big inch length sizes, once the soup starts boiling it will shrink in size considerably
4. In a soup pot put the puree mixture with the rest of the ingredients except for the mushrooms and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to med low and simmer for 10 mins
5. Chop the ends off the enoki mushrooms and rinse with water, separate the mushrooms and add into the soup, continue to simmer for a further 8 - 9 mins
6. Pick out the kaffir leaves, garlic, ginger pieces from the soup, serve with fresh chopped coriander
2. Add the coconut cream and vegetable stock into the blender and blend until it's a puree
3. Cut the spring onion into big inch length sizes, once the soup starts boiling it will shrink in size considerably
4. In a soup pot put the puree mixture with the rest of the ingredients except for the mushrooms and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to med low and simmer for 10 mins
5. Chop the ends off the enoki mushrooms and rinse with water, separate the mushrooms and add into the soup, continue to simmer for a further 8 - 9 mins
6. Pick out the kaffir leaves, garlic, ginger pieces from the soup, serve with fresh chopped coriander
