Thai soup stock made with some of the herbs from my garden, to be frozen for later use.
An annual rite of passage for these plants is to be brought in to protect them from the winter cold. They will adorn my bathtub until spring of the following year. A good amount of the kaffir lime leaves have already found its way into my freezer and a few will go into my stock. The Jasmine and Curry plants are as you can see, in hibernation mode.
I tap the pots several times to get rid of the bottom feeders that cling to the pots. I move them onto stands and spray the underside of the pots with a homemade insecticidal soap, so any remaining creepies, crawl out. I keep it on elevated stands, away from the ground and check for insects for a week or so. Then one more final spray and I bring it in. I downsize the plants to just a few leaves for photosynthesis.
The Thai basil is an annual in this zone, so it is time to strip it of all remaining leaves before frost renders them unusable. I am going to chop up the leaves and mix it with oil and feeze it. Haven’t done it before, so I am curious as to how it is going to turn out. A few of the Thai basil leaves will go into my soup stock. The seeds, I’ll preserve for next seasons planting.
I pulled the lemongrass out. The tender inner core I will chop and store. The tough outer leaves not suitable for cookin, will flavor my stock.
A couple of the Tabasco peppers will go into the stock as well and the rest will be dried.
I put the above highlighted pickings from my garden along with some garlic and cilantro stems in a pot, added 5 cups of water and made a stock out of it. Cooled and strained, it is ready for the freezer. Next time a Thai soup will be a cinch, but most importantly I feel like I have put to good use, the last remnants from my garden.
I I did not want to throw away the strained flavoring, I crushed it, added a cup of water and heated it to make a secondary ‘frugal’ stock’. Added galangal, a few vegetables at hand and tofu for a simple flavorful soup.
Thanks for dropping by,
Best, S.
Sending this to ‘A way to garden’ for the fall festival.
9 comments
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October 27, 2010 at 1:07 pm
my little expat kitchen
I love these simple soups!
Thanks for dropping by my blog Sandhya.
Magda
October 27, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Ananda Rajashekar
Am a big fan of thai food, you have wonderful garden there, the simple soups are just awesome for this annoying cold climate 🙂
October 29, 2010 at 6:36 am
Deeba
Love it Sandhya. Not a twig wasted, and all the lovely flavours harvested so beautifully! I didn’t know Jasmine would go in as part of the stock. My neighbour has a couple of plants, so that’s one I’m gonna get. Kaffir lime is ne I haven’t been able to find here. Lemongrass, thai basil and curry leaves I have loads of. Thankfully the Indian winter allows plants to flourish happily!
October 29, 2010 at 12:48 pm
yum and more
Ohh I love that too Sandhya – actually would love some right now – so chilly here tonight just the thing to warm me up!
October 30, 2010 at 7:51 am
vegetarianirvana
Welcome, K.
October 30, 2010 at 10:25 am
tasteofbeirut
I read your post with a lot of interest; you see, I am trying to learn about gardening and the best way to preserve and make use of herbs; love Thai cuisine and this would be a motivation for me to acquire a few Thai herbs and use them and preserve them. Thanks!
October 30, 2010 at 10:47 am
vegetarianirvana
It is so rewarding to run out to your garden for a garnish. If you live in southern U.S you don’t have to bring it in for long periods like I do.
November 19, 2010 at 10:38 pm
pavithra
Wow this is just an awesome post.. fresh herbs stock..mmmmmm delicious and beautiful pictures. Just checked other recipes too just awesome..Keep up ur good work.
Pavithra
http://www.dishesfrommykitchen.com
November 22, 2010 at 6:40 pm
vegetarianirvana
Thanks Pavithra for dropping by. Love your blog too.