One of the most unusual cooking ingredients of Hyrule is Monster Extract. Kilton, a monster enthusiast and researcher, developed monster extract as a spice or flavoring that can be added to soups, stews, curries, and other dishes. Monster extract supposedly adds an interesting gaminess to the dish. Who doesn’t enjoy a little monster musk in their dinner?
The monster soup combines milk, butter, Tabantha wheat, and monster extract (along with whatever else you are adding to the soup). As milk, butter, and Tabantha wheat are the bases for many Hyrulean soups, monster soup essentially boils down to any soup in the kingdom being accented with monster extract. This little addition to the dishes is definitely intended for those with adventurous palates, as the flavor accent is very off putting to many a Hylian.
"Using monster extract as a base, this soup's distinct gaminess is either loved or hated."
Since Monster Extract is not a thing in the real world, we need to find another means of arriving at this unusually colored soup. To accomplish this, we will use ingredients that we have used to make other Hyrulean soups, such as onion, garlic, ginger, and milk, and we will bring in purple vegetables such as red cabbage and purple potatoes to make up the body (and main color) of the soup. Accenting these with warm spices and sugars, along with the use of coconut milk, will round out the flavor. While the soup won’t have a background of monster musk, the flavor of the cabbage and spices definitely makes for an equally interesting soup.
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp ground clove
4 cups vegetable stock
1 small red cabbage, shredded (roughly 6 cups)
2 purple potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 cup coconut milk
2-3 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp parsley, minced
Place a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Once the butter has melted, add the red onion. Sauté the red onion until it becomes translucent and the color becomes a light purple or pink, about 5 minutes. Once softened, add the garlic and the ginger, and cook for one minute. Add the coriander, cumin, and clove and allow the spices to cook for a minute, stirring to blend them in with the onion mixture.
Add the vegetable stock and stir the onion mixture through the stock. Add the red cabbage and the potatoes followed by the brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. Stir to blend the sugar and spices through the broth and vegetables.
Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat to a low setting and allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes to soften the vegetables. Place the lid on the Dutch oven.
After 20 minutes, remove the lid and remove the Dutch oven from the heat. The vegetables should be completely soft and the broth should be a deep purple color. Use an immersion blender to fully blend the vegetables down into a smooth soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend it in batches in a food processor or blender.
Once the soup is fully smooth, add the coconut milk and stir it through the soup. The soup should turn a slightly lighter purple as the coconut milk is blended through. Return the soup to low heat for about 5 minutes more, stirring to prevent it from bubbling and popping. You can add a lid to prevent splatter while the soup simmers, but do not allow the soup to come to a full boil. Season the soup to taste with salt (or more brown sugar) if needed.
After 5 minutes, remove the soup from the heat. It is ready to serve. Ladle the soup into soup bowls. Using a spoon, add 5 or 6 curved streaks of sour cream in a circle around the center. You may need to stir a few drops of water into the sour cream to make it thin enough to streak across the soup. Garnish the soup with some minced parsley in the center. Enjoy!
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp ground clove
4 cups vegetable stock
1 small red cabbage, shredded (roughly 6 cups)
2 purple potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 cup coconut milk
2-3 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp parsley, minced
Place a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Once the butter has melted, add the red onion. Sauté the red onion until it becomes translucent and the color becomes a light purple or pink, about 5 minutes. Once softened, add the garlic and the ginger, and cook for one minute. Add the coriander, cumin, and clove and allow the spices to cook for a minute, stirring to blend them in with the onion mixture.
Add the vegetable stock and stir the onion mixture through the stock. Add the red cabbage and the potatoes followed by the brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. Stir to blend the sugar and spices through the broth and vegetables.
Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat to a low setting and allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes to soften the vegetables. Place the lid on the Dutch oven.
After 20 minutes, remove the lid and remove the Dutch oven from the heat. The vegetables should be completely soft and the broth should be a deep purple color. Use an immersion blender to fully blend the vegetables down into a smooth soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend it in batches in a food processor or blender.
Once the soup is fully smooth, add the coconut milk and stir it through the soup. The soup should turn a slightly lighter purple as the coconut milk is blended through. Return the soup to low heat for about 5 minutes more, stirring to prevent it from bubbling and popping. You can add a lid to prevent splatter while the soup simmers, but do not allow the soup to come to a full boil. Season the soup to taste with salt (or more brown sugar) if needed.
After 5 minutes, remove the soup from the heat. It is ready to serve. Ladle the soup into soup bowls. Using a spoon, add 5 or 6 curved streaks of sour cream in a circle around the center. You may need to stir a few drops of water into the sour cream to make it thin enough to streak across the soup. Garnish the soup with some minced parsley in the center. Enjoy!
Learn more about the Monster Soup dish from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at Zelda Dungeon.