Coconut Curry Soup

Hello friends and happy 2017! I am happy to be back to blogging, it has been quite a while since my last post. I decided to take a break around the holidays due to a lack of motivation to sit down and write. This year my plan will be to post a recipe once month or so. I'm going with the flow. The once a week posting was a bit much for me, it felt like I had a deadline to meet each week. I started this blog as a fun creative outlet to enjoy in my free time and a way for me to share my love for creating easy, healthy meals. It shouldn't feel like work.

So, on that note :

Cheers to the new year, new goals, new adventures! I am so excited to see what 2017 has in store for all of us.

Now, to the reason we are all here today. The recipe. The Coconut Curry Soup recipe! This soup is delightful as well as quick and easy to make. The best thing about this soup is you can use whatever veggies you find in your fridge. Get creative & check out the recipe below.

Coconut Curry Soup

Cook Time : 30 minutes

Total time : 30 minutes

Serves : 8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon coconut oil (feel free to use olive oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil - whatever you've got!)

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 knob of ginger, peeled and grated

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed (optional)

1 bag of frozen peas, thawed (optional)

2 tablespoons red curry paste

2 tablespoons turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

2 14-ounce cans coconut milk

2 cups vegetable broth

24 ounces of extra firm tofu, pressed

Any fresh veggies you enjoy for soup toppings, such as carrots, purple cabbale, cilantro, etc.

Example toppings:

Green onions, carrot ribbons, cilantro, basil, purple or green cabbage, asparagus, kale, spinach, mushrooms, snap peas, bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower. Really anything your heart desires!

Also feel free to add/change any of the soup fillers. In this recipe I used chickpeas and green peas, next time I would like to add in some diced sweet potato and cauliflower.

Directions

1. Press tofu if you want it to be crisp when pan fried and not soft. I did not press my tofu so it did not have a crispy exterior. If you choose to press tofu and do not have a tofu press you can make a makeshift press.

- To make makeshift tofu press: Place a clean wash cloth on the bottom of a cookie sheet, place thinly sliced tofu strips on the wash cloth and top with another clean wash cloth, place multiple heavy books on top of covered tofu to press out the moisture while you begin to prepare the soup.

2. Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger and stir fry for a few minutes until fragrant. Do not let garlic burn or brown. Add in curry paste, turmeric and salt. Stir fry another few minutes. Add coconut milk, broth, thawed peas and chickpeas. Let soup simmer and flavors to meld.

3. If you pressed your tofu, removed from the press. Slice tofu into bite size pieces. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan and add tofu pieces, stir fry until golden brown. Pour in a small amount of soup broth to the tofu to add color and flavor. Removed from heat when tofu is golden and crisp.

Side note: since I was too lazy to press my tofu I removed my pan friend tofu from heat once it was hot and golden (due to my lack of pressing, my tofu did not get crispy but it was still delicious).

4. Top each serving of soup with fresh veggies and tofu. Enjoy!

Until next time,

Amanda