Kang Liang (Thai Spicy Vegetable soup)

Actually ‘Kang’ means curry in Thai due to curry paste is added. But Kang Liang is different from another curries, there is no oil added. That way it looks more like spicy soup. This dish is very healthy way to eat. You can put any kind of your favorite vegetables in the soup. I like to keep the vegetables crispy but if you like soft texture you can increase time of cooking.

Curry paste Ingredients

• 3 tbsp     Dried Shrimp
• 4 Dried   Chili, seeded if prefer
• 3 cloves Fresh Garlic
• 1 quarter medium onion, thin slice
• 1 tsp        Shrimp paste
• ¼ tsp     Salt

First, soak dried shrimp and dried chilies in warm water until soft; Drain. Put all ingredients in the mortar and ground with pastel until smooth. Or you can do with food processor. If you can’t find dried shrimp, roasted or grilled fish can be used.

Ingredients for the soup

• 6    Fresh medium shrimp
• 1½ cups      Zucchini, halved and cut to 1 cm thick
• 1 cup             Carrots, peeled and cut to 1 cm thick
• 1 cup            Cauliflower, cut to bite size
• ½ cup          Fresh basil leaves
• 3 ½ cups    water
• ¼ cup         Curry paste
• 1-1½ tsp    Salt

1. Bring water to boil in a saucepan over high heat, add salt and curry paste. Stir well
2. Add Carrot, cook for 5 minutes
3. Add zucchini and cauliflower, cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add shrimp and basil leaves, cook for 1-2 minutes or until shrimps turn pink, do not over cook
5. Remove from the heat, and transfer to serving bowl. Serve hot with steam white rice.