A reader at one of my previous blogs asked for the recipes that appeared in 2005 in the Asian Journal, in time for Thanksgiving that year. I had them online at one point, but that blog is now dead and buried — I realized that wasn’t the direction I wanted to go. So here they are again. I’m re-typing them as I couldn’t find the original files, but do have copies of the paper still. I can’t do it all tonight, so watch for Part 2, etc. the next few days.

Also, as I’m reading the recipes, I can’t help thinking I haven’t prepared these since ’05 and while my tastes stay pretty constant, tweaking is a way of life for me. So while I was very happy with the way these turned out 2 years ago, I may not feel that way today — which means I’ll be tweaking these again either this Thanksgiving or next year. If so, I’ll share any changes here. Dear reader, I do hope you try them and let me know what you think! Suggestions for improvement, etc. are welcome anytime.

For starters, Pumpkin Soup

3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon bagoong (Filipino shrimp paste — if you can find one that’s not red at all, that would be great — however, I’d rather have our Pinoy bagoong than the Chinese uncolored stuff, just personal preference in light of more recent developments)
1 Thai chili, minced (seeded to reduce heat if desired)
1 teaspoon salt
2 15-oz cans pumpkin puree (organic if you have it; do not use pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk with cream, either shaken or stirred (I’m not a Bond fan)
2 tablespoons Filipino fish sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
approximately 4 cups chicken stock, homemade preferred

Combine all ingredients except chicken stock in a large stockpot or casserole. Cook over medium heat, stirring and slowly adding chicken stock to achievec desired thickness. (The amount of chicken stock you use will depend on how thick the coconut milk is. I used Chaokoh brand, which is pretty thick. Other brands may be watery, and Chaokoh itself is inconsistent. You could also use reconstituted coconut powder, and of course freshly-grated-and-squeezed coconut milk, if you so desire.) Serve with Coconut-Crusted Camaron Rebosado, coming tomorrow.

Makes roughly 9 cups, serving 8-12.

Part 2 here.