Canning Thai Coconut Squash Soup
This thai inspired squash soup is a delicious pressure canning recipe. Coconut milk is added at serving for real thai flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts 2 liters chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 ½ lb 750 grams butternut, kabocha, acorn, or some other orange-fleshed winter squash, peeled and cut into ½" (1cm) cubes
- ½ tsp 2 ml ground red pepper
- 2 fresh Thai chile peppers seeded and minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 stalk lemongrass quartered
- 1 piece peeled fresh ginger a 2 inch or 5 cm piece, grated
- 2 tbsp 30 ml sugar
- 1 tsp 5 ml lime zest
- 1 chopped red bell pepper
- 4 chopped shallots
- 2 tsp 10 ml salt
- 2 tbsp 30 ml fresh lime juice
Serving Add Ins Per Pint
- 2 tbsp 30 ml red onion slivers (for serving)
- 1 tbsp 15 ml chopped cilantro (for serving)
- ½ cup 250 ml coconut milk (for serving)
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Bring the broth to a boil in a six quart (six liter) Dutch oven. Stir in the red pepper, garlic cloves, Thai chiles, and lemongrass stalk. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
- Remove the lemongrass, then add the squash, sugar, salt, lime zest, lime juice, shallots, and bell pepper. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer with the pot uncovered for five minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Ladle the hot soup into hot jars, leaving an inch (2.5 cm) of headspace.
- Remove the air bubbles with a bubble removal tool, then use a clean rag to wipe any food particles or residue from the jar rims.
- Place the lids and bands on the jars, then tighten them until they are fingertip tight.
- Place the jars on a rack in a pressure canner that contains two inches (5 cm) of simmering water. Repeat this process until all of the jars are filled.
- Place the lid on the canner. Turn it to the locked position. Adjust the heat to medium high, then vent steam for 10 minutes. Place the weighted gauge or counter weight on the vent, then bring the pressure to 10 lbs for a weighted-gauge canner or 11 lbs for a dial-gauge canner.
- Process pints for 75 minutes or quarts for 90 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, then cool the canner to zero pressure. Allow the canner to sit for another five minutes before you attempt to remove the lid.
- Cool the jars in the canner for 10 minutes. Then, remove the jars and allow them to cool for 12 hours. Check the seals, label, then store for up to one year.
- To serve, pour the contents of a jar into a medium stainless steel pan. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat.
- For each pint jar of soup, stir in ½ cup (250 ml) of coconut milk, two tablespoons (30 ml) of red onion slivers, and one tablespoon (15 ml) of chopped fresh cilantro. For quarts, double the measurements.
- Bring everything to a simmer, then cook for a minute or two (or until heated all the way through).
- Serve with fresh lime wedges, if desired.
Notes
When serving, ball canning suggests adding the following ingredients to each pint of soup (or twice this much per quart):
2 tbsp (30 ml) red onion slivers (for serving)
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped cilantro (for serving)
½ cup (250 ml) coconut milk (for serving)
Lime wedges (for serving)
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped cilantro (for serving)
½ cup (250 ml) coconut milk (for serving)
Lime wedges (for serving)
Altitude Adjustments for Canning Soup
With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change. Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning soup:For dial gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure
For weighted gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure