Thai Melon Soup

It’s July, and in case you hadn’t  noticed, melons have already made their debut at farmers markets and grocery stores.

Melons are sweet, luscious, and many have a floral scent. They epitomize everything that’s good and right about summer–even more so than homegrown tomatoes.

And that’s saying a lot.

Melons are wonderful just sliced and eaten without any adornment whatsoever.

However, if you want to try something different, something that will cool you off on a hot summer day, try this gorgeous Cold Thai Melon Soup from Caterer and Chef Quincy Adams Erickson of Austin, Texas.

Ingredients

• 1 medium size melon: orange or green flesh is best (orange has richer flavor)
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1 Tb. sriracha sauce (this is a Thai hot chili sauce available at Asian Markets)
• 1 Tb. sweet chili sauce (Thai sauce available at Asian markets)
• 1 Tb. Tiparos fish sauce (optional—available at Asian markets)
• 2 tablespoon sliced and diced fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup each of cilantro, mint and basil (more or less depending on your taste)
• Salt to taste
• Chiffonade of basil

Preparation

1. Place the coconut milk and the melon in the blender, and mix into a puree.
2. Add half of the lime juice and a pinch of salt, and blend again.
3. Add the ginger and blend until smooth.
4. At this point taste and adjust seasoning, adding more lime or salt as needed.
5. Next add a couple of squirts of the sweet and hot chili sauces, and blend to mix.
6. Once the melon soup is smooth enough and the seasoning is perfect, add all of the herbs to the blender at once and blend again until the herbs are chopped.
7. Caution here, do not chop the herbs so much that it changes the color of the soup if using orange melon. It’s okay to see a few leaves of the herbs.
8. Serve with a chiffonade of basil on top.