Vegetarian Recipes

Recipe | Thai Red Curry Soup

https://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-thai-red-curry-soup/

It’s Soup Week on Oh My Veggies!

Now, before you get all impressed, you should know that the reason this week is Soup Week is because I’ve spent the past two weeks sick and I haven’t wanted to eat much other than soup. So this is less about me being an amazing, creative food blogger and more about me being having a raging cold. But anyway, Soup Week! Yay!

My favorite local Thai restaurant serves the most delicious Thai Red Curry Soup with their lunch specials. Like most lunch special soups, there’s not much to it–broth and usually 4-5 cubes of tofu, about the same number of sliced mushrooms, and a scant teaspoon of thinly sliced scallions. But that’s okay, because the best part is the broth anyway. It’s a little bit spicy, a tiny bit sweet, and incredibly fragrant from the combination of coconut milk and red curry paste.

I’ve made a soup similar to this with summer veggies and green curry paste in the past, and I thought I could switch out the green curry with red and I’d get something pretty close to the Thai restaurant Red Curry Soup. It was really close, but the missing piece of the puzzle was a little bit of brown sugar. If you choose not to use the brown sugar, this recipe is still good, don’t get me wrong! But the sugar adds just a touch of sweetness that mimics the red curry broth in restaurant soups.

After going through all the work of making this, I realized that, other than the red curry, this is pretty similar to the Coconut Lime Tofu Soup I posted last year. (And I even mentioned the Thai restaurant in that post too.) I blame this on the fact that after staying up three nights in a row with coughing fits, I was operating in a sleep-deprived state. A sleep-deprived state that culminated in me sitting in the dark watching Ice Loves Coco with Miso while waiting for my husband to bring me a Blizzard for dinner. (What?! Miso loves Ice Loves Coco!)

Oh, and that magical touch of brown sugar that I was so proud of coming up with? Yeah, that was from the other recipe too.

But let’s not dwell on that. Let’s dwell instead on the awesomeness that is Thai Red Curry Soup.

Thai Red Curry Soup

A sweet, slightly spicy Thai-inspired soup made with mushrooms and cubed tofu.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

6 c. vegetable broth
1-inch ginger, peeled and cut into slices
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
14 oz. firm tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes
1-13.5 oz. can lite coconut milk
3 tbsp. red curry paste
2-3 tsp. brown sugar (optional)
sliced green onions, cilantro & basil leaves, and lime wedges for serving

Instructions

Bring broth and ginger to a boil over high heat. Once broth has come to a boil, use a slotted spoon to remove ginger. Add mushrooms and tofu and reduce heat to medium-low; cook about 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are softened.
Stir in coconut milk, curry paste, and brown sugar. Remove from heat and ladle into bowls; serve with green onions, cilantro, basil, and lime wedges.

Notes

You can use just about any vegetables in this soup–sweet potatoes, winter or summer squash, green beans, etc. Whatever is in season! Just adjust the cooking time accordingly. Winter squash and potatoes take a longer time to cook, while greens need less time. Rice noodles are a great addition to this soup too.

About Kiersten

Kiersten is the founder and editor of Oh My Veggies.

Vegetarian Recipes

CAULIFLOWER BOLOGNESE

“I want you to come watch the movie with us ON the couch, not be in the kitchen!”

I’ve been filling out this one-question-a-day journals for moms that I received for Christmas. It records a little thought or memory over the last year, and then starts again, so you can see how your answers change over a few years. One of the recent ones, prompted me to jot notes about what I am learning as a mom, and I found the question so general I was basically annoyed. I am a romantic, and also wildly pragmatic. In the span of a day I can tear up over the depths of love I feel for my kids, and also wish for them to have a mute button. We all have worlds within us; mothering pushing me into the corners of myself I am sometimes proud of or other corners ashamed of, but am I learning? Yes, every single day. Sometimes in the moment and other times after a particular season. But in 2021, my answer in the bullet journal was that I see my kids are wanting me to play with them. They aren’t registering all the service and shuttling and laundry and what it takes to pull off a week, they just want to play WITH me. It’s natural for me to move within lists and tasks and responsibilities and hustling, but playing is something I have to pay attention to. For them and for me. We usually do a family movie on Friday nights and my son (6.5), see quote above, pointed out that I don’t actually watch the movie, I tinker in the kitchen and he wants me in the couch cuddle. Flattered, and found out that I’d rather make granola than watch The Croods 🙂 So from annoyed, to passing on the question to fellow parents, what are you learning? Try not to be annoyed. Maybe circle back to it.

I published this recipe over on SKCC a few weeks ago and wanted it to live here. We’re trying to find more family-friendly vegetarian recipes (it’s easy for me to fill up on roasted veggies and big salads, not so much for the kids). This batch lasts us two meals – once with noodles, maybe half zoodles, and the second round on toast or english muffins with cheese melted on top, like a pizza sort of thing? It freezes well and is great to deliver to new parents.

CAULIFLOWER BOLOGNESE

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion – roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic
sea salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 head of cauliflower (about ¾ lb. or 12 oz. riced)
1/2 cup of raw walnuts pieces
1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. of fennel seeds – crushed
2 Tbsp. of tomato paste
2 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of red wine (or broth of any sort, and double the vinegar to mimic the wine’s acidity)
28 oz. of canned, crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup of red lentils
red pepper flake to taste

For serving

12 oz. of pasta or choice, zoodles, etc.
parmesan
fresh, torn basil

Directions

In a large Dutch-oven or stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium low heat.

In a food processor, pulse the onion and garlic into smaller bits. Add them to the pot with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté to soften, about 3 minutes.

Pulse up the cauliflower florets to get a rice-like texture. Add the riced-cauliflower to the pot and sauté to soften, about 5 minutes.

Pulse the walnuts in the processor and add those to the pot along with the Italian seasoning, fennel seed, another few generous pinches of salt and pepper, tomato paste and balsamic vinegar. Sauté until fragrant.

Add the red wine, cook about 3 minutes, then add the crushed tomatoes, ½ cup water, lentils, pinch of pepper flakes and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low, put the cover ajar and let it simmer gently for 30-35 minutes. Turn off the heat, taste for seasoning and adjust.

Cook your pasta or zoodles according to instructions. Top with cauli Bolognese, grated cheese, fresh basil and enjoy!

The Bolognese will keep in the fridge for a week and can be frozen for a few months.