Ultimate Red Curry Pumpkin Bisque and ways to take it even further beyond

Broke: Pumpkin bisque.

Woke: Red curry pumpkin coconut bisque

Bespoke: Red curry pumpkin coconut bisque with crab and fried shallots served inside of an edible roasted pumpkin.

You might read this recipe and settle for woke, and that’s alright. The flavor of the soup on its own is (almost) complete without the crab and pumpkin bowl, and you’ll still have a warm and enjoyable appetizer. That said, if you want to impress anyone and/or everyone, elevate your meal, and boost your self-efficacy through an external locus, it’s going to take a little extra moxie.

I first came up with the prototype for this dish in the fall of 2015, using a curried pumpkin soup inside of a roasted pie pumpkin as the overture for an autumnal dinner party, which featured a 갈비-marinated pork loin roast with Korean pear sauce and a small pageant of roasted vegetables. The pumpkin bowls were a bit of a last-minute idea, so I may or may not have stolen those pumpkins from outdoor displays across a college campus. It’s called Side Dish Mafia, not Main Course Monastery.

Seven years later and I’ve resurrected the concept for another autumnal dinner party, only this time catering almost entirely to medical students (which I am not). Given the inherent masochism of medical school, I assumed (correctly) that it would be alright to make this dish a little extra spicy, though not overwhelmingly so, since I knew they had problems enough as it was. Unfortunately I didn’t really take any good pictures, so you’ll have to settle for some contextual B-reel and inspired illustrations.

Anyways, here’s what you need to do:

This recipe is a little bit laborious, as many of the best things are, but the whole point of hosting a dinner party is to extend and express love through hospitality, which itself is often manifested in effort. As with any recipe, the first step is mise en place. We’re going to need a small pie pumpkin for every person eating, as well as two very thinly sliced red bell peppers, two minced habaneros, eight thinly sliced shallots, and a thinly sliced big yellow onion. We will also need three cans of coconut milk, a 4oz jar of Thai red curry paste, about 4-5 cloves of minced garlic, a 2-inch knob of ginger (grated), a lime, some fish sauce, a 29oz can of pumpkin, some crab meat, some cilantro and/or Thai basil, and a 14oz container of soft tofu.

Prep the Pumpkins

Before all else, we need to preheat the oven to 400 (Fahrenheit), then prep the pumpkins, which means carving off the top of each in a wide circle to create a bowl shape with a fitted lid. It helps to use a good serrated pumpkin-carving knife. Next, scoop out all of the innards with a sturdy spoon until every pumpkin is clean and hollow. You can dispose of these insides, but we like to clean and dry the seeds for spicing and roasting, just to minimize waste and maximize snacks. Sprinkle every pumpkin with a little bit of salt and rub with olive oil, then roast them on foil-lined baking sheets for about 45 minutes. If they want to roll around, you should carefully slice a thin layer off the bottom to flatten them out.

Fry the Shallots

You’re also going to need to fry the shallots to use as garnish later, which is something you can do ahead of time as well to stay on schedule and minimize stress. It might actually help to do this first and much earlier in the day. To fry shallots, use a mandolin (or if you have the skills, a very sharp knife) to slice your shallots into even, thin ribbons. Put the shallots in a saucepan and pour in oil to submerge, then cook on medium low for about 20-25 minutes, stirring often with chopsticks. Pay attention because once they hit “done” the move on to “overdone” very quickly. Once they’re smelling good and looking lightly golden brown, pour the contents through a mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl, draining the shallots and reserving the oil for something great the next day. Shake the shallots onto paper towels and lightly blot.

Fix the Bisque

Now for the soup itself, which is not difficult. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat until hot, then sauté all the peppers (including habaneros) and onions in some oil. After about three minutes (stirring often), turn the heat down to medium low. I always add a little salt to onions and vegetables as I sweat them like this, which is going to help them cook and make them taste a little better. After those are all cooked down and starting to brown and sweeten (which is probably going to take about 20 minutes), make some space in the center and add the garlic, ginger, and the whole jar of curry paste in some more oil. Sauté those for another minute or two, until fragrant. You want the aromatics to become aromatic. Then, when your bones are telling you it’s time, add all the coconut milk and pumpkin and thoroughly stir it up. Turn the heat up to medium and bring it to a simmer, then stir in the juice of the lime and a tablespoon of fish sauce. Add the tofu, cubed, as well as half the crab, and simmer for a few minutes while you take the pumpkins out and chiffonade the Thai basil.

Place each pumpkin on a small plate and ladle in the soup, then garnish with fried shallots and herbs, as well as a good chunk of crab meat (a nice leg piece works great), before putting the lids back on (if you want to serve it that way). Enjoy with company as a nice and warm appetizer.

But how to make it vegan?

During this particular dinner party there were also some vegan needs, and if you find yourself facing the same thing in your own soup journey, do not worry. Despite this soup’s apparent reliance on fish sauce and crab, there are alternatives. For the vegan guest, I reserved some of the soup before adding the fish sauce, keeping that portion separate and pure, but before that step I began by sautéing our secret weapon: the lobster mushroom. “Lobster mushroom” is actually a bit of a misnomer, as hypomyces lactifluorum isn’t a mushroom itself but a parasitic ascomycete fungus that takes over other mushrooms and transforms them into a reddish fungal mass that looks, smells, and tastes a bit like lobster. The term “mushroom,” of course, properly refers to the fruiting body of a fungus, and is not an umbrella term for fungi.

“A [parasitic fungus] by any other name would smell as [crustacean-y]”

William Shakespeare

For the vegan portion, I started by chopping up some lobster mushroom and sautéing it in a small pot with some oil until it was looking nice and cooked, then added the soup pre-fish sauce, splashed a little flourish of soy sauce as a substitute, and worked with both soup pots similarly and simultaneously from there. The vegan pot got a little extra tofu. More effort? Eh, kind of, but it was fun and experimental and worth it to see this smile.

Print Recipe

Red Curry Coconut Pumpkin Bisque with Crab served inside of a Pumpkin

A bold, flavorful, well-balanced soup that will leave an impact on your guests and serve as a strong overture to the meal.

Prep Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Soup

Keyword: appetizer, crab, first course, pumpkin, soup, spicy, thai

Equipment

• 1 Large Pot
• 1 Baking Sheet
• 1 Wooden Spoon
• 1 Mandoline (unless you have good knife skills)
• 1 Pumpkin Carving Knife
• 1 Can Opener

Ingredients

• Small Pie Pumpkins (one for each person eating)
• 1 29 oz can Pumpkin
• 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 3 14 oz cans Coconut Milk
• 2 Red Bell Peppers thinly sliced
• 1 Large Yellow Onion thinly sliced
• 2 Habanero Peppers minced
• 4oz Thai Red Curry Paste
• 5 cloves Garlic minced
• 2 inch knob Ginger grated
• 1-2 Limes
• 1 lb Crab Meat
• Cilantro (for garnish)
• 14 oz Soft Tofu cubed
• 8 Shallots thinly sliced with mandolin
• Thai Basil chiffonaded (for garnish)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400° (Fahrenheit)
• Carve a clean lid off the top of each pumpkin, then scoop out and clean the insides, reserving seeds for later if you want to roast them as a snack. Lightly salt the pumpkin's walls and rub all over with olive oil.
• Slice a thin layer off the bottom if needed to keep pumpkins from rolling, then place on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for approximately 45 minutes.
• Place thinly sliced shallots in a saucepan with enough oil to submerge, then cook on medium-low for approximately 20-25 minutes, stirring often. Once lightly golden brown, drain through a mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl, reserving oil for other uses. Shake shallots onto paper towels and gently blot.
• Heat large pot over medium-high heat until hot, then sauté the bell peppers, onion, and habaneros with some oil and for about three minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, add a pinch of salt, and gently sauté for about 20 minutes, or until vegetables are starting to brown and sweeten.
• Make some space in the center of the pot, then add the garlic, ginger, and curry paste with some more oil. Sauté for another minute or two, until fragrant.
• Add coconut milk and puréed pumpkin and thoroughly stir.
• Turn heat up to medium and bring to a simmer, then stir in lime juice, fish sauce, tofu, and half of the crab meat. Simmer for a few minutes.
• Place each roasted pumpkin on a small plate, then ladle in soup. Add a nice pile of crab meat on top and garnish with generous herbs and fried shallots.
• Serve with lid on and enjoy.