Soft Tofu Thai Curry Soup

Soft Tofu Thai Curry Soup, plays with texture and flavors inspired by Thai Cuisine. Robust Spicy and incredibly delicious, with lovely soft flavorful bursts of tofu.

Song of the day: "What I like about you" by The Romantics.

Soft Tofu Thai Curry Soup, hosts beautiful aromas of red curry, basil, bay leaf, and a broth that is so vibrant in color and exotic flavor, that it will have you tastebuds dancing!

Soft tofu is one of those products that I think everyone has seen but has wondered how do I use it and how does it taste. Usually, we tend to use the firm or medium firm as it is more in resemblance in texture to the proteins we are used to, but the soft tofu is usually used for sweet desserts and occasionally you will see it in sweet and sour Asian soups. The texture is very velvety and creamy and the flavor simple like soy milk but when enhanced with spices and flavors becomes a pocket of explosive flavor. I have made sweet and sour soup in the past a few times and really enjoyed the texture and taste. As usual, we are always looking to use up everything in the fridge and have some vegetable stock that we made and needs to be used. Nicoletta and I both agreed a Thai inspired soup would be great especially in this cool winter season. So what I like to do is have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go as this makes the process quick and easy and time to just sit and relax. To add a textural and flavorful twist we are adding potato and soft tofu.

In total truth, Nicoletta did most of the work preparing this soup. I gave her a play by play on the phone while at work from day job. Nicoletta was quite nervous as she usually doesn't do this type of cultural cooking, but I reassured her that it was going to be fine. In the roster of ingredients carrots, green onion, red peppers, orange peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable broth, bay leaf, fresh basil, some lovely red curry paste, some coconut milk, and the star of the show some beautiful soft tofu.

One thing that I wanted to mention also is to make a pot of vegetable stock and put it in jars and in the fridge. It is great to have on hand and is wonderful to make soups and sauces, and it also makes the process of making a soup after a hard day's work easy and delicious.

The Process of making Soft Tofu Thai Curry Soup goes something like this!

Like any good soup, sauteeing the veggies goes a long way in enhancing flavors and texture. I use a little grapeseed oil and sesame oil to get started which gives a wonderful nutty essence to the mix. Start with the green onion, leaving some for garnish and slowly add carrots, potatoes, and peppers. You let that saute a bit and season with salt and pepper, some onion powder, and an ingredient that I just love, lemongrass. There are two ways to use lemongrass you can by the stalks and hammer on it with the back of a knife until it shreds, or if you have an Asian market you can find shredded lemongrass. I buy a small tub and freeze it, and when I need it I just break off or scrape what I need. I usually opt for the shredded lemongrass, it makes it easier, but if you want fresh, I suggest you get the stalks, it does make a difference in flavor. Back to the soup. The veggies have been sauteeing, the next step is to flavor boost the mix, a few bay leaves, and some red curry paste and some lemongrass do the trick. Coat all those beautiful veggies in that paste and juices and we are ready for the tomatoes and then the broth. This leveling of ingredients builds levels of intense flavor, then the broth seals the deal in traping all those essences and aromas into the broth. A little coconut milk to sweeten the pot a bit, let's not forget that soft tofu. I put it in the last few minutes of cooking as I don't want it to disappear. All we need now is little time is needed till this soup is ready to taste!

I just love the look of this soup, the wonderful vibrant red and orange peppers. The hint of red shimmering on the top from the tomatoes. Some nice neutral tones from the potatoes and tofu and with a nice garnish of green onion and fresh basil and this food canvas is done. The aroma is absolutely incredible, the red curry spicy and bright, the basil with that unmistakable aroma that makes anyone feel happy, the lemongrass adding such a nice citrus freshness to the scents and that broth just exploding with all kinds of aroma. I love this kind of soup!

I absolutely love the textures going on here. The potatoes soft, melt in your mouth, and starchy enough to thicken the soup a bit. The peppers, juicy, tender alongside the carrots with a slight crunch. The tomatoes dissipating on your tongue with that richness and that broth shear luxuriousness. If there was a comfort in Thai food this is a great contender. The flavors brilliant with citrus notes from the lemongrass, a bit of rich spice from the red curry but not to the point of mouth burning. That broth brings in so much flavor with the coconut milk soothing the heat and that pepperiness from the bay leaves in the backdrop. The edgy sweetness from the peppers marry well with the flavors here and that basil is like folds of heaven brightening and elevating with every spoonful. The potatoes have such a nice neutral flavor and help settle the spiciness of this soup and I just love getting one and how it melts and plays on my tongue. Now for the star of the show, the soft tofu. It is like velvet. Little morsels that just slowly melt into a creaminess that has absorbed all the flavors of the soup and ends with that simple creaminess that is just wonderful. If there ever was a time that I was transported to a different world, this would be it.

This was the play by play I gave Nicoletta over the phone, and she passed with flying colors. She did an amazing job! This is what I love about our team, Nicoletta and I learn from one another and inspire each other, you can't get any better than that. If you are craving something exotic, something Thai, and a soup that will rock your world, then give this Soft Tofu Thai Curry Soup a try, it will definitely transport you to cultural places!

Enjoy!

Song of the day: "What I like about you" by The Romantics.

Soft Tofu Thai Curry Soup

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Soft Tofu Thai Curry Soup, plays with texture and flavors inspired by Thai Cuisine. Robust, spicy and incredibly delicious, with lovely soft flavorful bursts of tofu.

• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

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• 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 medium carrots, cut into sticks
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 red pepper, slivered
• 1 orange pepper, slivered
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 2 vine tomatoes, diced
• 2 Bay leaves
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves
• 1 Tbsp red curry paste
• 1 Tbsp grated lemon grass
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 380 g soft tofu, diced
• salt and pepper
• ½ tsp onion powder

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Instructions

1. In a soup pot drizzle in grapeseed oil and sesame oil.
2. Toss in green onion and sauté for about 1 minute or until soft.
3. Throw in carrots and potatoes and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Next, the peppers and diced tomatoes,  let that saute for 2 minutes.
5. Season with salt, pepper, and onion powder.
6. Spoon in red curry paste and lemon grass, stir vegetables until they are well coated and the curry paste becomes saucy.
7. Toss in bay leaves, and broken up basil leaves.
8. Pour in vegetable broth and coconut milk, stir, and let simmer 10 minutes.
9. Throw in soft tofu and whisk a bit and simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.
10. Take off heat and serve with a garnish of fresh basil. Enjoy!

• Author: Loreto
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Soups
• Method: Cooking
• Cuisine: Ethnic

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Loreto

When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.