Instructions: * Note: Can also mix up 2 cups of coconut milk from the instant powder thats sold in oriental markets.

In a soup pot, saute the onion until golden brown. Stir in the dried shrimp, chiles, and shrimp paste and fry for a minute. Add water and bring to a boil. Add pumpkin triangles, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Salt to taste.

When ready to serve, pour in coconut milk and bring just to a simmer (more and the coconut taste will decay). Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with lemon juice, then with cilantro. Top each with a slivered basil leaf.

Serve hot as a first course to 6 people.

Comments: Not your ordinary soup right out of the refrigerator - in fact, youll need a local Oriental market to find the shrimp paste and dried shrimp. But what an appetite stimulant - your taste buds will spend the rest of the night thinking about this complexity of flavors.

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