I don't follow soup recipes. They're more of a source for inspiration, serving as an amendable plan or a general aim. Although doing this has lead me to cook a few irreversibly damaged soups, I still find that the most enjoyable soup-making style is to simply build the flavor one ingredient at a time without a recipe (which is why you won’t hear me talking too much about exact quantities - I just eyeball everything!).

Last night, I had a plan to make a Thai-curry style soup. I knew I wanted it to be somewhere between a red curry with vegetables and a Tom-Kah style soup (my favorite). Each have complex flavors, and they take a while to build - but taking it one step at a time makes it very easy.

First I chopped a yellow onion and threw it into an oversized pot that I had heated up with a few ounces of butter. I let the onions brown while I prepped my veggies, potatoes and mushrooms. Then I poured in a large container of chicken broth, two cans of coconut milk, a can of fish stock and a few cups of water. I brought that to a boil and added chopped carrots and Yukon Gold potatoes. Then I added four cloves of garlic (chopped), a few ounces of red curry paste, and palm full of grated ginger. Things started smelling more soup-like at this point, but the flavor was still in the early stages of development.

Ginger in soup seems lonely to me without lime, so I zested two and squeezed the juice in with the zest. To balance out the citrus and ginger, I added brown sugar. It tasted a little oversweetened at first, but after adding soy sauce and some coarsely ground pepper, the broth was taking on a well-rounded flavor and aroma. Overall, it was still a little thin, so I added a few cups of quinoa to absorb some water and give it a thicker body - and a boost of protein.

Next I added chopped parsnips and sweet potatoes - ingredients uncommon to this type of soup, but I was feeling brave (and hungry). Then I tossed in julienned bell peppers and sliced shitakes. Five more minutes simmering and I finished it off with a handful of baby spinach leaves and some chopped cilantro.

In the end, the flavor had become rich and savory with a warming spice from the red curry. The sweet potatoes and parsnips turned out to be a risk worth taking. It was a successful new version to a comfort soup I can’t get enough of. If only all of my experimental soups could end on such a good note.