Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (34 page)

When I was a kid, a casual family meal at a Chinese restaurant could be a crapshoot. Some evenings, my grandfather would insist on ordering the most authentic dishes on the menu, many featuring odd bits that made my sister and me wrinkle our noses in disgust. Geoduck? Bitter melon? Bird spit? Like, actual bird
saliva
?

But if we were lucky, dinner would kick off with a beefy bowl of West Lake Soup. With bright green flecks of cilantro and cloudlike wisps of egg, this soup is both gorgeous and satisfying—which explains why we would gladly fill up on it before the slimy sea cucumber dish was served.

1. C
   ombine the beef, salt, vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and ¼
   teaspoon white pepper in a bowl.
   
2. B
   ring the broth and mushrooms to a boil over high heat in a saucepan. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer, and add the arrowroot slurry to thicken the soup, stirring well to incorporate.
   
3. O
   nce the soup thickens, add the marinated meat and stir well. As soon as the meat is cooked through, about
   30
   seconds, turn off the heat. Season the soup with salt and white pepper to taste.
   
4. I
   n a slow, steady stream, pour in the egg whites from high above the pot, stirring as the whites hit the liquid. The whites will cook upon contact with the hot soup, forming ribbon-like tendrils.
   
5. M
   ix in the cilantro and scallions. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.
   

“Mulligatawny” is the Anglicized word for the Tamil term
milagu thanni
—the fragrant “pepper water” invented to appeal to foreign palates when the British took over the Indian subcontinent in the nineteenth century. Mulligatawny’s burgeoning popularity soon brought this rich curried soup across the seas to Westerners craving a taste of the exotic. These days, it’s become a mainstay of Indian restaurants across the world, though few pause to remember its very British origins.

But even if you’ve never pondered why a Southern Indian soup has such an Anglo-sounding name, you can love mulligatawny for what it is: an assertively spiced curry soup that can be easily made with common ingredients found in any Paleo eater’s pantry. It’s versatile, too; throw in some emergency protein in the form of cooked chicken, lamb, or mutton, and your mulligatawny instantly becomes a complete meal.

1. H
   eat the ghee in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the onions soften, about
   5
   minutes.
   
2. A
   dd the coconut, garlic, ginger, and curry powder to the pot, and stir to combine the ingredients. Then, pour in the broth, and add the celery, carrot, banana, and apple. Bring the contents of the pot to a vigorous boil.
   
3. T
   urn down the heat to low. Cover the stockpot and simmer for
   30
   minutes or until the vegetables and fruit are tender.
   
4. U
   se an immersion blender to blitz the ingredients together into a thick, fragrant soup. Garnish with minced cilantro and serve immediately.