There are two restaurants here in town that make absolutely amazing vegan Thai coconut soup (Chau Veggie and East is East), and my husband and I have become completely addicted to them. The one restaurant has additions such as enoki mushrooms and other slim bits of veggies, while the other restaurant uses the soup as a broth served over your choice of rice or noodles (we always opt for the noodles). This version also has additions such as a few large chunks of pan fried tofu, yams, taro and a few kale leaves. The downside to these two restaurants is that they are a good half hour drive away from us, in a direction of town that we don't often go, so not great for combining with other outings.
When I was visiting my sister-in-law back in the fall she made a coconut squash soup that had a very similar flavour and she told me the secret is in the kaffir lime leaves. I started searching all over town and couldn't find them anywhere, then last week my husband came home from work with a massive bag of frozen leaves from Price Club right across the street from his work (the Grandview location). (Apparently T&T have kaffir lime leaves as well) He also brought me a bag of pre-mashed lemongrass - how handy!.
I set to work scouring the internet for a vegan recipe that looked similar to the soups from the two restaurants. I narrowed it down to three potential recipes and upon close examination decided that the Thai Coconut Soup by Beth from Tasty Yummies was by far the closest. It's a very easy recipe to make, and once I'd had it sit and cool slightly a bit I gave it a taste (I'm not a taste-as-you-go person, I made final adjustments at the end). WOW - I was so blown away I called my husband at work right away and enthused about how I now had the power to make what we always thought was some exotic, unattainable culinary feat. I also contacted Beth from Tasty Yummies to let her know how amazing her recipe is, and to ask permission to post it here.
I did make some slight changes to suit my personal taste, and for my own reference I've made note of a few other additions I'd like to try. The first time I made this my husband and I ladled the soup over rice noodles (the soup was enough for 4 portions), but I'll definitely be making it again as just a stand-alone soup. Perhaps knock the taste buds off some friends some time!
**I highly recommend you check out the original recipe here before going ahead and making it as Beth goes into greater detail than I and you may like to use some of the ingredients I have omitted.
ingredients:
- 1 litre (4 cups) vegetable broth (I used 'Pacific' brand - but this is just for my reference, use whatever brand you usually like to use)
- 1 398ml can full-fat organic coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tsp pre-mashed lemon grass (I have access to a frozen bulk version of lemongrass)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 6 thin slices of ginger, peeled, about 1/2" diameter round
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups tofu, diced (I used medium firm as I can't digest the firm variety properly. The original recipe calls for firm)
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes
other possible additions:
- mung bean sprouts
- enoki mushroom
- chunks of carrot / yam / sweet potato / taro
- rice noodles - made separately, individual portions placed in large bowls with the soup ladled over top
method:
In a large saucepan bring the vegetable broth to a boil. Add in all the remaining ingredients and let simmer 15 minutes. Pretty hard, huh?
Adapted from the original Tom Kha Gai recipe on Tasty Yummies
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