A soup with curry and coconut in a spicy pumpkin broth.
Not only did Myra travel to other countries, she loved cookbooks from other cultures—and remember, you couldn’t just “look it up on Google” when she started her restaurant. So she had to get recipe ideas from other people, at the library or from a book. She would make a recipe a bunch of times and get everyone to taste it and give their opinion before it went on the menu. Sometimes she started with a recipe. Sometimes she started with an idea.
Thai Pumpkin was one of the most popular soups at Myra’s Dionysus. Myra used to order canned pumpkin in the spring, in the middle of the summer…at times when it wasn’t always easy to get. There were times when the restaurant made that soup every day. When you have 6 to 8 soups available every day, that means it’s popular!
Myra’s Dionysus was known for vegetarian food, but she did make a lot of things with chicken. So of course, there are soups made with chicken broth crafted from the chicken, vegetables and spices she stocked. Thai Pumpkin is one of those soups. Myra was practicing the sustainably-ethical-use-all-parts-of-everything in the kitchen before it became popular and had a name. A vegetarian nose-to-tail.
This recipe makes A LOT of soup: 3 quarts. It has always been so popular, I think most people will want to make this much. I used 2 small cans of pumpkin, so you can always cut the recipe in half. And it can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable broth/base instead of chicken.
Thai Pumpkin Soup
Equipment
- 1 set of measuring cups
- 1 quart measuring cup
- 1 spatula or stirring spoon
- 1 blender, hand blender or food processor
- 1 sharp knife
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely chopped green onions use the whole onion
- 3 TBLS butter
- 4 teas finely chopped garlic
- 1 teas hot curry powder use your favorite blend
- 2 teas ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teas ground coriander
- 2 teas paprika
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 TBLS chicken or veggie base such as Better Than Bouillon
- 1 TBLS soy sauce
- 1 TBLS Sriracha
- 2 small cans Pumpkin
- 2 teas minced garlic
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and stems, chopped fine
- 1/3 cup lemon juice you can use bottled lemon juice
Instructions
- Sauté 1 cup of green onions in butter for 7 minutes on medium/low heat. do not let them brown.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, curry, ginger, coriander and paprika. Cook, stirring frequently for 3 minutes. Do not let them burn.
- Add the coconut milk, broth, water, base, soy sauce and Sriracha.Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin and 1 more cup of water. (Use the water to rinse out the pumpkin cans.) Bring to a boil, cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Using a hand blender, puree the soup. (or use a blender or food processor after the soup has cooled down.)
- Turn off the soup.Make a paste of the 2 teas. of garlic, the cilantro and the lemon juice and add it to the soup. Do not cook. Sprinkle with chopped green onions or cilantro to serve
Notes
10 responses to “Thai Pumpkin Soup”
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Thanks so much for doing this! I loved that restaurant! I’ve been trying to recreate the Thai pumpkin soup and have come close, but it will be so much better to have the real recipe. Haven’t tested the recipe yet, but it was my favorite soup, and I would definitely give the soup ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. -
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Oh wow. I came from out of state to Cincinnati for college, and was introduced to Myra’s by a roommate. It immediately became my favorite restaurant in town, my favorite place to bring friends and family when they came to visit, and this was my favorite item on the menu. I’ve had *dreams* about this soup. Thank you so dearly for sharing these recipes. What a treasure it is to have this in my life again. I’ll be making it this weekend. -
Thanks for posting this!
This recipe filled my house with such a nostalgic smell that brought me right back to 2007 when I’d regularly stop in to Myra’s for a cup of soup/piece of pita bread poor college kid lunch. -
I went to UC and remember Myra’s but somehow never got around to trying this soup. I was missing out! This soup is so delicious! The texture is so velvety, and all of those yummy spices just warm the soul. I’m definitely keeping this bookmarked for the winter months! -
thank you so much for these recipes. I began going to Myra’s when I was in high school and it was my favorite place when I lived in Clifton during college. this pumpkin soup is on my Rosh Hashanah menu
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So grateful that you supplied these recipes for all to enjoy! I have made this soup exactly as recipe calls and it was spot on from what I remember back in my college days! Comfort soup for sure
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Thank you so much for doing this! I am a soup lover and quickly found Myra’s while attending UC as a graduate student (many years ago). Those soups sustained me through many a cold night of studying.
Whenever I returned to the area, I would often stop by to grab some soup and was disappointed when, inevitably, on one visit I discovered that Myra’s had closed.Imagine my delight at stumbling, by pure chance, upon this blog. The Thai pumpkin soup was one of my favorites and I look forward to trying the recipe soon. I don’t see a few of my other favorites (Chicken Gumbo, Gypsy soup, and Yam Apple soup) but fingers crossed that they will be added eventually.
Thank you again for what I am sure is a labor of love.
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So glad you found this! OK, I will add those soups to my list. Gypsy Soup you can find online. Myra used the recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook!
Claire -
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