Coconut Soup with Caramelized Lychees and Mango Tofu

Ingredients

• 1 quart coconut milk
• 4 1/2 ounces sugar
• 3 tablespoons gelee bavaroise
• Caramelized Lychees, recipe follows
• Mango Tofu, recipe follows

Directions

In a heavy saucepan, heat the coconut milk and sugar over medium-low heat until the mixture reaches 120 degrees F. Add the gelee, and stir to incorporate. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Do not serve until soup is very cold. Ladle soup into bowls and float the Caramelized Lychees and Mango Tofu in the soup.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The FN chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

Caramelized Lychees:

24 to 32 lychee fruits

Orange Marmalade, recipe follows

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

Peel and pit the lychees. Fill the hole where the pit was with Orange Marmalade and set aside.

Make a simple syrup by combining the sugar and water in a heavy small saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat and cook just until all the sugar dissolves. Pour 1/3 of the syrup into a heavy large skillet and add the lychees to the skillet. Cook, over high heat, until the lychees are caramelized. Add the remaining syrup, stir carefully to combine, and remove from the heat. Just before serving, add 2 caramelized lychees to each bowl of soup.

Orange Marmalade:

2 pounds oranges, peeled and seeded

1 pound sugar

7 ounces water

Combine all ingredients in a large heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat and until all the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened to the consistency of marmalade.

Mango Tofu:

13 cups mango puree

4 ounces gelatin

1 quart cream

1 pound sugar

In a heavy saucepan, heat about 1/3 of the mango puree until almost simmering. Dissolve the gelatin in the mango puree and stir to incorporate. Set aside.

Whip the cream in a bowl of a mixer until soft peaks form, slowly adding the sugar in small quantities. Then fold in the mango puree and gelatin mixture. Fold in the remaining mango puree.

Pour the mixture into a cold sheet pan. Place the pan in the freezer until firm enough to cut. Then cut into 1 1/4 by 1 1/4-inch pieces. Just before serving, float 1 or 2 pieces of Mango Tofu in the soup.