Instant Pot Watermelon Soup for the Soul
Summer is difficult! There is a burning ball of gas in the sky that is supposed to make you feel happy. This does not work for everyone, so there is soup. Soup makes people feel less terrible sometimes, and this particular soup is made from two kinds of melons, and also mangosteen, which is the best fruit on earth. It is cold and has chili oil, fish sauce, ginger, Thai basil, and lemongrass in it, so it is savory and sense-awakening in a way that is hopefully pleasant, or at least distracting from the disconcerting summer weirdness. Keep up to date with new episodes of No Pressure by following and liking the No Pressure Facebook page.
Instant Pot Watermelon Soup
Ingredients
Personal-sized watermelon
Bitter melon
Mangosteens
Thai basil
Chili oil
Lemongrass
Ginger
Fish sauce
Directions
Slice your personal watermelon in half, scoop out the flesh, slice the bottom of each half to allow it to sit on the table without wobbling, and set fruit and rinds aside. If it would bring you joy, cut the rim of the watermelon into a festive design.
Slice the bitter melon in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Slice as much bitter melon as you would enjoy and put it in the bowl with the watermelon.
Slice open the mangosteens, pull out the inner white fruit and add that to the fruit pile. At this point, you can use an immersion blender to puree all of this fruit. You may notice that I did not do that in the video, and I will regret it to my dying day.
Peel off the outer layers of a lemongrass stalk and slice the bottom into rounds. Peel an adult male thumb-sized piece of ginger and slice into round. Pour enough chili oil into the Instant Pot to coat the bottom. If the heat is too ferocious for you, cut it with olive oil. It's OK. This is not a referendum on you as a person. Set the Instant Pot on saute, and add the lemongrass, ginger, and a fistful of Thai basil to the oil. Heat until ginger and lemongrass are fragrant and softened, and add the fruit, and enough fish sauce to make you happy. Seal the Instant Pot and cook on low pressure for 5 minutes and perform a manual release.
If you care to, strain out the lemongrass, basil, and ginger. If you don't want to, then don't. Chill the soup in the freezer or refrigerator, depending on your level of urgency and hunger. When it is cooled, you can re-blend to incorporate the lemongrass and whatnot if you feel so moved. Pour into the empty watermelon rinds, and serve.