Cambodian-inspired Celery Soup with Ginger and Lemon Grass

Posted Sat, 12/04/2010 - 1:10pm

Summary

Yield
SourceBetty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking by Raghavan Iyer
Prep Time45 minutes
NewsletterVolume 21 Issue 6
TopicsSoups and chilis

Description

Contributed by Duane McDowell.

This is a light, fresh, zesty soup with plenty of flavor. It was inspired by a dish at Cheng Heng Cambodian Restaurant in Saint Paul. It’s a favorite in our family for fighting off colds or a sore throat. The whole house smells fantastic when we make it, and best of all, it is fast and easy to prepare.

Ingredients

  • 2 T coconut oil
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup grated fresh ginger root
  • 2 bulbs grated fresh lemon grass (approx. 1/4 cup)*
  • 1 to 1 1/2 heads celery, cut across the grain into bite-sized crescents
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 q chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 q water
  • 1⁄4 c lime juice
  • 1 t salt
  • rice (optional
  • hot pepper sauce to taste (optional)

Instructions

Heat coconut oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir constantly until coated in oil. Add ginger and lemon grass.

Continue to stir constantly for 3–4 minutes. Add celery and stir for 1–2 minutes.

Add broth. As broth is coming to a boil, scrape bottom of pan to remove ginger and lemon grass that have stuck. Once broth has come to a boil, add water, lime juice, and salt. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until celery has reached desired tenderness.

Serve as a soup, or poured over rice.

Notes

Lemon grass can be chopped in a food processor and stored frozen for several months. Traditionally, only the white bulb is used, while the green part is discarded. I use the bulb and the bottom three inches of the greens.

Ginger can also be chopped in a food processor and stored frozen, although not for quite as long as lemon grass. Fortunately, we always find good uses for it!