Harmonising flavours for that rich taste

 That restaurant marked my first encounter with that hot and spicy soup – Tom Yum – credited with curing everything from a hangover to a broken heart – as well as being indispensable in warding off the dreaded flu.
Sweet, sour, hot and salty are the cornerstone flavours of Thai food and I remember spending hours of experiment – without a recipe – trying to replicate that first delicious soup. Putting together lemongrass, chillie and ginger and searching for ingredients I’d never heard of like galangal and coriander roots, sparked the beginning of an exploration  into this light, fresh and tasty cuisine. 
Coming home the other day in another cyclonic downpour, I was feeling the beginnings of a cold in the back of my throat and had a craving for Tom Yum.
Harare’s storm drains are almost totally ineffectual and the roads rapidly turn into raging, muddy rivers. I crawled cautiously through the downpour almost drowning in the wake of large 4x4s  and washed up in the streaming streets of Newlands Shopping Centre where commuters huddled under the dripping eaves waiting out the storm. 
Pad Thai is a tiny takeaway next to Square Deal and although deserted in the downpour the food didn’t take long. I was pleased to find soup on the menu – US$5 for the chicken version – and it was just what I felt like. The reviving qualities of chillie and citrus hit the spot. I like the Thai way of eating where the soup is an accompaniment rather than a separate course and deep fried prawns – US$8 for six little ones – were succulent  inside their crumbed coating and made a good accompaniment. We also ordered colourful fish curry US$7 and noodles US$2. A substantial meal for two, US$22 still feels like a lot for a takeaway. We enjoyed the food but my husband found the meal as a whole less sophisticated and less authentic than the last time (probably a year ago)
Pad Thai is the only Thai food in town except for Bejazzled across the road – where the combination of Thai and steak makes for a confused identity.
I love the food especially the liberal use of fresh herbs and attention to the freshest of ingredients seasonally available. With early pumpkins starting to be abundant (and my cold not quite gone!) I am cooking pumpkin and coconut soup at home. Here’s a recipe to try.
Bring to the boil  cups of chicken (or vegetable) stock, together with chopped shallots, grated ginger and garlic, minced lemongrass, lime leaves and chillie. Add 3 cups of pumpkin, 2 cups of sweet potato and cook for a few minutes. Then add the spices – ground coriander, cumin, turmeric –  brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, dried chillie if you like it hot and a squeeze of lemon. When vegetables are soft add coconut milk. Finish off with a scattering of fresh basil.
What’s important is the harmony of flavours and the balance between hot and sour, sweet and salty. So taste. And make it how you like it. Special ingredients like fish sauce, soy sauce and coconut milk  (even the mysterious dried galangal) are available at Chinese supermarkets. I prefer coconut milk powder – cheaper than the cans and easy to make up with warm water just like ordinary powdered milk.
I’m going to add extra chillie to chase away my cold
– g.jeke