Raw Vegan Thai Coconut Soup

In my 20's I lived on an island in Thailand for a period of time. During that wonderful experience, I learned how to make traditional Thai Coconut Soup from scratch. 

First, I'd look around the property for a coconut that had fallen from a tree. This coconut was not usually young, it was a mature coconut in its brown hairy shell, still encased in the entire husk. There was an amazing process involved for removing the husk and cracking the nut open, not of which involved knives of any kind! I wish I had pictures of that scary stick in the ground...

Once the coconut was open, I'd sit on a little stool (similar to the one pictured) to scrape the coconut meat out into a bowl placed on the floor underneath.

Jariya, the woman I stayed with, always laughed at me because it took me SO long to do only one coconut; and I was similarly amazed that she could completely and neatly get all the meat shredded out in less than 2 minutes flat!

The shreds were then mixed with water and hand squeezed until the milk and oils diluted into the water; creating a beautifully rich coconut milk. This would go into a wok with all the ingredients for a cooked Thai soup.

I had a mature coconut at home and decided it was time to try making this milk again. I sat on my deck and used a citrus zester to shred the meat. It was a long process, more like a meditation. 

After 30 minutes I decided I had enough shredded coconut to make something and there is still plenty of meat in the shell for later.

I put the coconut into the vitamix with 4 cups of water and 2 dates and blended it. Then I strained it through a nut milk bag into a bowl. 

When I put the bag down, my hands were covered in fresh coconut oil (with tiny shredded bits of coconut in it). I don't know how it separated or why, but I immediately rubbed it all over my face, arms, legs, and even my hair. I was covered in oil and white coconut specks while in the kitchen finishing the soup.

I had the coconut milk in a bowl; and added the following ingredients to make the soup, (this is basically what I had fresh in the fridge):

• 1 cup lightly chopped cilantro
• 1 cup of chopped sugar snap peas and pea pods
• 1 tsp ginger, thin strips
• 1 diced radish
• 1 spring onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup diced bell pepper
  
• 1 green onion sliced thin
• 1 tbsp nama shoyu
  
• 1 lemon / lime - juice
  
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• dash of cayenne pepper