Tom Yum Soup is absolutely incredible, it tastes both delicious and healthy. It's surprisingly easy to make and, perhaps even more surprisingly, it's so simple it can be made almost anywhere in the world. The first time I visited Thailand I was a full carnist, I fell in love with (non-vegan) Tom Yum Soup (which often comes with prawns and almost always has prawn paste in it). When I went back to Thailand as a vegan I had a cold and was dying to eat vegan Tom Yum Soup - that healthy spiciness is just perfect when you're ill. Luckily I found May Veggie Home (despite the misleading name, it's 100% vegan). They make the best Tom Yum Soup I'd ever had and I knew I had to go home and recreate it, this is what I did:
1. How to Make Tom Yum Soup Vegan
2. Ingredients for Vegan Tom Yum Soup
- Vegan Tom Yum Soup Paste*
- 4 large tomatoes
- 1/2 a broccoli
- 3 massive handfuls of boc choi or other leafy greens
- (cucumber)
- 2 cups Coconut milk
- Chilli
- Water
- Garlic
- Mushrooms
*If you're in Thailand or have an Asian supermarket nearby, you can probably pick up ready-made Tom Yum Soup vegan paste - be sure to read the ingredients because it often contains shrimp paste. For those that can't find it/want to make it themselves, it's pretty simple: lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, chilli and ginger/galangal - you can find recipes for vegan Tom Yum Soup Paste here or here.
3. Method
1. Chop your garlic finely, and fry in a deep pan for a few minutes, until fragrant;
2. Add the vegan Tom Yum soup Paste, 2 cups coconut milk, 2 cups water and heat until hot but not boiling;
3. Meanwhile, slice all your veg;
4. Add to pan and stir well, cook for a few minutes - be sure not to boil as this will ruin the boc choi, tomatoes and broccoli;
5. Add more chilli or more coconut milk depending on how spicy you like your soup;
6. Serve with bread and or rice & enjoy! :)
2. Add the vegan Tom Yum soup Paste, 2 cups coconut milk, 2 cups water and heat until hot but not boiling;
3. Meanwhile, slice all your veg;
4. Add to pan and stir well, cook for a few minutes - be sure not to boil as this will ruin the boc choi, tomatoes and broccoli;
5. Add more chilli or more coconut milk depending on how spicy you like your soup;
6. Serve with bread and or rice & enjoy! :)
Tom Yum Vegan Soup quickly became one of my favourite vegan meals to cook in Thailand, right up there next to vegan green Thai curry. Do you like to cook Thai food? I think it's one of the secret weapons of veganism - it's so tasty in its own right, carnists might not even realise it's vegan.
