Tofu Tom Yum Soup Recipe

Thai cuisine is loved by many for its fresh flavors, and use of wonderful spices and vegetables. Tom yum soup is a delicious hot and sour soup, and is one of the most popular soups served in Thai restaurants, and on  street corners in Thailand. Tom yum soup can be made with seafood, but there are many vegetarian options. Today, we bring you tofu tom yum soup which is sure to please, whether you live a vegetarian lifestyle or not. 

Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "This is one of my top soup recipes that I make again and again. My favorite thing about it is the intense flavor you get from the curry paste, ginger, lemongrass, and Thai chilis. I also love using shiitake mushrooms because they offer so many health benefits, and bring lots of umami flavor to the soup. It's super easy to throw together in 30 minutes, making it a great weeknight dinner." Read on to learn how to make this iconic soup.

To make this recipe, you'll need a fair amount of ingredients so let's get shopping. In the produce aisle, pick up ginger root, an onion, Thai chilis, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, lime, cilantro, scallions, and some extra firm tofu. "I tend to use extra firm tofu 90% of the time when cooking with tofu. I like it in this recipe, especially because we are not baking or frying the tofu, just cubing it and adding it to the soup, so we want it to be solid enough to hold up," Hahn shares. 

Then, you'll need some oil, vegetable broth, canned fire-roasted tomatoes, soy sauce, curry paste, lemongrass paste, and unsweetened coconut milk. "When looking for curry paste, make sure to pick one with the ingredient, galangal, which is often compared to ginger root, but offers a more citrus and pine flavor. Galangal is a key ingredient in authentic tom yum soup."

Since tofu is packed in water, you'll want to press it to release as much of that water as possible. We can do this by using a tofu press, but if you don't have one of those, place the block of tofu in a shallow bowl. Stack a plate on top of the tofu, and then place something heavy on top of the plate. Let this sit for 20 minutes; the water will gently press out of the tofu, leaving the extra water in the bowl. After 20 minutes, cut the tofu into small cubes, about ½-inch in size.

Dice the onion, chilis, and garlic, then grate the ginger. If you bought whole shiitake mushrooms, slice them as well. Add the oil to a large pot, and sautée the ginger, onion, chilis, and garlic for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Then, add in the mushrooms, and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the broth, canned tomatoes, soy sauce, curry paste, and lemongrass paste, and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the cubed tofu to the pot, along with the coconut milk, and lime juice. Simmer for 10 minutes, add the chopped cilantro and diced scallions, and serve. Tom yum soup pairs well with rice, cucumber salad, or a Thai tomato salad. Hahn says the soup will store well in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 5 days. This soup may become your new go-to vegetarian comfort food.