If there’s one thing I love about Thai food, it is the variety of flavor in their curries. A spoonful of red, green or yellow curry paste can add such a wonderful taste to an assortment of veggies! After mastering the recipe for Veg Tom Kha Soup, I decided to try a hand at this classic Thai Soup with Basil and Tofu. Its a very simple broth made of coconut milk and flavored with all the Thai herbs like lemongrass, galangal, kafir lime and ginger, coming together with the basil, tofu and peas to make this delicious and healthy soup. The secret ingredient, is of course, the Green Chili paste, which not only gives this Thai Soup a beautiful color and flavor, it also helps bring together every other ingredient in a wonderful way. Try it for yourself and see! Sending this off to the Chinese Dishes event at Seduce Your Tastebuds, featuring Tofu this month.
Thai Soup with Tofu & Green Curry Paste
Ingredients
1 cup firm tofu (cubed or diced)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup peas – boiled
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2-1 cup water (or veg broth)
2 tsp green curry paste (recipe below)
fresh lime juice – to taste
Green Curry Paste
2 green Thai chilies
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped shallots
1 tspn chopped galangal
1/2 tspn chopped kaffir lime rind
1 tspn chopped lemongrass
1/4 tspn roasted cumin seeds
1/4 tspn roasted coriander seeds
1/2 tspn salt
Add the green chillies to a food processor and blend. Then add the garlic and shallots. Again give a whirl on the mixer. Finally add all the remaining ingredients and blend well to form a thick smooth paste.
You can either use the recipe above or use the store-bought Thai green curry paste. I’ve tried the ones from Trader Joe’s before and they are pretty good.
Method
In a heavy pan, add the green chilli paste with 2 tbsp of coconut milk and roast a bit. Add salt and lemon juice, then the rest of the coconut milk and water to form the base of the soup. Add half of the basil leaves, then cover and let it simmer for about 5-7 mins. Keep stirring in between to let the coocnut milk be infused with the flavor of the thai green paste and basil.
When it starts to simmer, add the boiled green peas and pieces of tofu. Now lower the heat and cook for another 7-8 mins. Check for taste and add more green chili paste or lemon juice if required.
Finally, just before serving, add the remaining basil leaves. Top with some shredded ginger if you like and serve hot. The spicy green chili paste adds a wonderful flavor to this Basil and Tofu soup, giving it a Thai touch. You can add more veggies like carrots, shallots, or baby corn to the soup to make it suit your taste. The Thai Green Chili paste can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for about a week.
Related Recipes
Vegetable Sweet Corn Soup
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Creamy Spinach & Cheese Soup
I'm loving the sound of this soup. Great blend of flavours. Thanks so much for participating this month!
Mansi,
I love Thai soups too… especially on cold winter days. They are extremely soothing and comforting. I take the lazy way out and use the ready made green curry paste though. lol. I will try it out soon and let you know how I fare 🙂
xoxoxo,
-A