Make These Cold Soups All Summer Long
It’s a special time of the year when 10am greets you with 84°F and 79% humidity, at least here in New York. There is nothing in the world that would make me put a hot hot breakfast in this already sweaty, still indoor body. What I crave is whole body relief from cold and invigorating food. When the weather gets too hot, consider cold summer soups.
I use the term “soup” in a broad sense to refer to any dish that is about half liquid, that needs to be served in a bowl, or that tends to puddle and puddle. In many countries, cold, soupy dishes such as spicy Bulgarian tarator , sweet Hungarian megilev , savory Japanese hiyajiru , or plain dashi are eagerly awaited during the summer months.
The textures of crunchy ice, chewy tapioca and soft fruit or jelly are just amazing. Cold summer soups hit your mouth with their icy temperature, wrap your taste buds in sweet or savory flavors, and make their way to your belly to cool you from the inside out. In Thailand, one of my favorite snacks is cold coconut milk with crushed ice and any combination of chopped fruit, colorful jellies, and chewy tapioca, such as tim coffin .
Make your cold soups more interesting:
- Add tapioca pearls: Tapioca pearls with black sugar
- Try sweet grated jackfruit: jackfruit in syrup
- Mix individual portions: Vitamix immersion blender
Making your own cold summer soup is as easy as choosing a few ingredients, thinking about the consistency, and deciding whether you want a lean sweet or savory one. If you like a fully blended, smooth consistency, focus on the main ingredient and keep it simple. Make a juicy, spicy soup by tossing two cups of ripe watermelon with a couple of sliced seasonal tomatoes – beat thoroughly and serve with a pinch of salt and chopped fresh herbs like mint or tarragon. If your tastes are more green, try Fresh Pea Soup , a simple and hearty seasonal treat.
For soup without a blender, make a base of diluted plain yogurt or coconut milk with crushed ice. Add sliced fruits such as strawberries, ripe jackfruit, melon, or sliced grapes. If you want a savory soup, you can add salt, fresh herbs, and chopped vegetables like chopped cucumber, beetroot, or chopped sugar snap peas. You can even stick with your favorite broth-based soup and just refrigerate it before eating. As long as the soup is low in saturated fat (which will become hard and brittle when chilled), the soup will be cooling, smooth, and filling. (In any of these soups, if there are any unwanted fibers or bits of fat, you can always run them through a sieve or fine-hole nut milk bag.)
I prefer full fat coconut milk in most dishes, but in this case I use light coconut milk. The wateriness works as I add crushed ice to it anyway and I can still enjoy the coconut flavor without feeling too heavy.
Simple cold soup for breakfast
Ingredients:
- 1 cup crushed ice
- 1 cup chopped fresh melon (or other fresh or frozen fruit)
- ½ cup light coconut milk, shake
Add ice and fruit to a bowl and top with coconut milk. Stir and enjoy.