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recipes@mikeshapiro.netTom Kha SoupIngredients (use vegan versions): 12 oz tofu, silken firm seems to work great - Optional
2 medium eggplants, optional
4 cups (14 fl oz) coconut milk (light is ok)
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
3 - 4 stalks lemon grass, chopped
5 spicy chilis (as spicy as you like), chopped
6 slices of galanga root (similar to ginger)
6 tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
5 kaffir lime leaves
1 limes
1 tablespoon peanut oil (optional)
4 teaspoon Salt (optional)
2 sprigs of Cilantro (optional)
Directions:Eggplant & Tofu (optional ingredients)
While oven is preheating, half the eggplants long ways and sprinkle salt to remove the bitter taste. After 30 minutes, peel the skins off the eggplant and then lightly wash off the eggplant, removing the salt. Cut the eggplant up into 1/2 to 1 squares. Do the same with the tofu.
Lightly oil the bottom of a glass pan and place the eggplant on the bottom and the tofu on the top. Lightly sprinkle the tofu with Braggs or soy sauce. Place in preheated oven at 450 degrees.
Allow around 45 minutes for this to cook. You may need to stir it up and add more braggs occasionally. You know when it is done when the tofu starts to brown.
In large sauce pan, place coconut milk, vegetable stock, galanga root pieces, lemon grass and 4 chilis. Bring to boil while stirring occasionally. After the mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to a simmer, allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After the mixture has been simmering for 20 minutes, strain the contents into another bowl. You are trying to get the chilis, galanga root, and lemon grass out while retaining as much liquid as possible.
Return the liquid to the sauce pan. Add the optional eggplant and tofu mixture. You may also want to add carrots, potatoes and any other veggies that you like at this point. Bring back up to a boil. Stirring occasionally.
After the everything starts to boil, add 4 Table spoons of Braggs or soy sauce (add as much you like), 5 Kaffir lime leaves, the remaining chilis, and squeeze in the juice from the limes. Stir and reduce heat to a simmer.
Allow to simmer for 5 more minutes. Add fresh whole pealed tomatoes and also fresh corn if you like.
Serve in bowls garnishe'd with cilantro.
My idea of adding all of these optional ingredients like the tofu, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, and corn may make this a little less authentic, but everyone who tried it loved it. It tastes great to me!
Enjoy
Serves: 2+
Preparation time: 1 hour
Yum, this is so good. I love the spicy! If you are a soup that is firey hot, I would recommend reducing the number of chilies. I made the recipe exactly as specified and it was wild good! Later I increased the recipe by 15 times and served it at a potluck. The soup was a hit! The star of the pot luck! Even the Thai people enjoyed this so much. The recipe was copied and distributed by all attendees. Thanks for the great recipe. This is the first vegan tom kha soup I have found. Great job. I can not say more good things about this fantastic recipe.
Archived comment by: virginia_Talonie
Great soup! Omitted everything optional but the tofu. I had a lot of fun finding some of these ingredients too!
Archived comment by: mealMama
im a bit confused on the coconut milk amount, 2 cups of coconut milk equals around 160z so four cups would be almost 32oz, i will asume for the amount i want to make, that one 14oz can is fine.......
Archived comment by: veggiewedgie
This was so much better after I added brown sugar. I know that it sounds kind of strange, but I guess brown sugar somehow puts in that rich, fish-saucy taste you miss making it vegan. Very good over rice noodles.
Archived comment by: angie57
Angie57 - How much brown sugar did you add?
Archived comment by: veganveggiegirl
Not quite sure, since I just kept adding and tasting until it seemed right. Somewhere between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup, I think.
Archived comment by: angie57
Where do I get Kaffir lime leaves? Can I use a subsitute?
Archived comment by: abconn21
Abconn21, you'll likely need to go to an Asian market to find a couple of these ingredients like the kaffir lime leaves and the galanga root. For this kind of soup, I use another recipe from this site called Flexible Thai Soup, which doesn't require any hard-to-find ingredients. If you can't get to an Asian grocery, you may want to try just adding a bit of regular lime juice. Good luck!
Archived comment by: willwolf
Thanks WillWolf, I found the Kaffir lime leaves but not until after I had made the recipe. I used lime juice instead and substituted the galanga with ginger. It was amazing! There were no leftovers!
Archived comment by: abconn21
