Butternut squash… the odd looking “I wonder what to with this” item many of you peek at in the produce section of your grocery store but often pass up because it looks slightly intimidating. Admit it, there’s no shame. Once upon a time we felt the same way. These guys are great roasted as a side dish but we didn’t want to stop there. Most run-of-the-mill butternut squash soups will include a lot of warm, Fall spices – some combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, etc. Other variations will warm the soul with an infusion of curry. Someday we may post one of those for you but we like to make things fun here at Flavor Bible so we put an East Asian spin on this version and we cannot wait to share the results of this Asian Fusion Butternut Squash Soup with you today 🙂
Gochujang is one of our favorite ingredients. You will undoubtedly see this fermented red chile paste, commonly found in Korean cuisine, appear more often on the blog. Today, it makes its debut in a less conventional preparation. Our favorite gochujang can be found at the link above. We also incorporated the umami-rich miso paste for depth of flavor. You’ll often see this in Japanese cuisine.
We believe this is a year-round soup and that’s precisely why we didn’t wait until Fall to get this one out into the world for you to make and enjoy. So, let’s make some culinary magic!
Preparation: Asian Fusion Butternut Squash Soup
The first step – after preheating the oven – is to attack that intimidatingly large object we call a butternut squash. Slice it vertically down the middle and scoop out the seeds (Pro tip: We hate wasting any food so we scoop out the seeds, clean them up under cold water and set them aside for roasting later!).
Place the cut side up on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly greased foil. Drizzle with half the olive oil and rub into the flesh of the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 45 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Scoop out the squash and cube.
In a saucepan, heat the water to a simmer and add Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base (or use Vegetable Stock). Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil over medium heat in your soup pot of choice (we prefer this Dutch oven for an affordable, versatile, and effective option). Toss in the red peppers and saute for 2 minutes. Add the sweet onion and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the red onion and garlic/ginger paste and saute for another 2 minutes (see a theme here 😀 ).
When the vegetable stock is simmering add in the miso paste, gochujang, and lime juice. Stir until solid ingredients are dissolved. Stir this mixture into the soup pot where the base has been cooking. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the butternut squash, bring to a low boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk. Run an immersion blender through the pot until smooth (alternatively, transfer soup carefully to a blender and blend until smooth).
Ladle into bowls and top with sliced green onion. We love the layers of flavor in this soup. The butternut squash and soup base create a delectable backbone. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as we do!
If you like this soup try this one as well 🙂
Equipment: Asian Fusion Butternut Squash Soup
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You’ll need a sheet pan and parchment paper for roasting the squash. You’ll want a stock pot and immersion blender to make the actual soup. All of these are kitchen essentials in our opinion. If you’re in the market, take a look at our recommendations below (affiliate links):
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Asian Fusion Butternut Squash Soup
Equipment
- Stock Pot, Large Sauce Pan, or Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut Squash, halved, roasted, and then cubed
- 4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
- Salt and Pepper, to taste For both squash roasting and soup
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
- 1½ tbsp. Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base or use Vegetable Stock
- 1 Quart Water If using stock disregard
- ½ cup Red Onion, sliced or diced
- 1 Sweet Onion, sliced or diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced Ground into a paste with ginger
- 1 tbsp. Fresh Ginger, grated Ground into a paste with garlic
- 2 tbsp. White Miso Paste
- 1 tbsp. Lime Juice, fresh squeezed Approx. ½ lime
- 1 tbsp. Gochujang Chili Paste
- 1 can Lite Coconut Milk
- 1 Green onion, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the butternut squash vertically down the center. Scoop out the seeds (we like to save these for roasting!)
- Place cut side up on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly greased foil. Drizzle with half the olive oil and rub into the flesh of the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 45 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Scoop out and cube.
- In a saucepan heat water to a simmer and add Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base (or use Vegetable Stock).
- Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil over medium heat in your soup pot of choice. Toss in red peppers and saute for 2 minutes. Add the sweet onion and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the red onion and garlic/ginger paste and saute for another 2 minutes (see a theme here?!).
- When vegetable stock is simmering add in miso paste, gochujang, and lime juice. Stir until solid ingredients are dissolved. Stir this mixture into the soup pot where the base has been cooking. Stir and cook for 3 – 5 minutes.
- Add in the butternut squash, bring to a low boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk. Run an immersion blender through the pot until smooth (alternatively, transfer soup carefully to a blender and blend until smooth).
- Plate and top with green onions.
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