2020 has started out to be a stressful year already! So we are cooking up some comforting vegetarian Tom Kha soup to fill your bellies and hopefully soothe your worried minds. Tom Kha is an easy, dairy-free Thai soup made with coconut milk, veggies, and tofu.
Our recipe is vegan and can be gluten-free, and can be easily swapped with ingredients you have in your pantry and refrigerator. We have also included many substitutions to help you to make this dish with what you have on hand.
It’s tangy, savory, and flexible so you can kick up the spice or keep it tart.
We love the creamy intense flavors of Tom Kha soup over some hearty white rice. It’s a filling meal without the meat!
Vegetarian Cooking Made Easy!
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What is Tom Kha soup?
Tom Kha is a common soup served in Thai restaurants that has a tart tangy flavor with a coconut milk base. Often served with mushrooms, where it gives of an earthy meatier taste. The lime and cilantro are fun flavors with the creaminess of the full fat coconut milk. It’s a special blend of seasoning, acid, and zest.
We know groceries are hard to come by.
We have been cooking up some unusual dishes in our house as we are in full lockdown due to the coronavirus. When we made our soup today, we couldn’t get fresh mushrooms so we tossed in a few leftover peppers, a potato, and rice.
So don’t feel like you have to have all of the ingredients. The key ones are the coconut milk, the limes but you could use lemons in a pinch, the ginger and garlic can be dried or powdered if you can’t get fresh.
And lastly, if you don’t have broth, you can use water. It’s going to be good!
Fun Topping Ideas:
- Thai fish sauce
- garlic chili sauce
- Arugula
- cayenne pepper
Ingredients Substitutions
- Lemongrass = lemon zest
- soy sauce= liquid aminos
- sugar = honey or agave
- Veggie “chicken” broth = vegetable broth
Where to find more Thai recipes:
I love learning new recipes and cookbooks are my favorite thing to sort through on lazy days. These days I’ve had a lot of time to catch up on reading and I’ve made a lot of recipes from my favorite cookbooks.
You can find great recipes in Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes From The Thai Home Kitchen including Tom Kha soup! You can find recipes for Pah Thai or golden fried spring rolls!
For more vegetable-packed meals, check out Love and Lemons Every Day They also have a great Tom Kha soup recipe with delicious sweet potatoes.
Vegetarian Tom Kha soup with Tofu
After you press all of the water out of the tofu, toss it in a deep soup pot with olive oil, garlic, and shallots or onions. Allow this to saute for 5 minutes until the onions are soft.
All of the other ingredients EXCEPT the carrots, cilantro or mint, and peppers go into the pot. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer on low-medium heat for 20 minutes.
Add the carrots and peppers, top with cilantro.
To serve: This is best served over rice and topped with cool carrots or other toppings of your choice. You can spice it up with Thai garlic chili sauce or tamari.
Ingredients
Directions
After you press all of the water out of the tofu, toss it in a deep soup pot with olive oil, garlic, and shallots or onions. Allow this to saute for 5 minutes until the onions are soft.
All of the other ingredients EXCEPT the carrots, cilantro or mint, and peppers go into the pot. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer on low-medium heat for 20 minutes.
Add the carrots and peppers, top with cilantro.
To serve: This is best served over rice and topped with cool carrots or other toppings of your choice. You can spice it up with Thai garlic chili sauce or tamari.
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