ramyaramesh3007The flavour and creaminess of Tom Kha, a tangy thai soup, comes from a coconut broth infused with fresh herbs & topped with scallop mushrooms.
Tom Yum Soup is a staple in my kitchen, but Tom Kha has been a recent favourite – its creaminess from coconut milk and flavour from fresh spices like lemongrass, galangal & kaffir lime leaves has been a hame changer. Often this soup comes with chicken or seafood so to mimic that we will be using king oyster mushrooms to make our vegan scallops.
Tom kha gai, which is how it’s most commonly referred to (gai means chicken), is one of the most popular soups in Thailand. I have tried it myself several times and it never disappoints. Tom refers to the “heat” while kha is referring to galangal. Ultimately, this broth is flavoured with rice and fresh spices that make this dish extremely versatile and easy to veganise without compromising on flavour!
What You Need
- spices – lemongrass whole, galangal and kaffir lime leaves
- coconut milk – you can use full fat coconut milk or coconut cream
- vegetable stock – optional, but adds a lot of extra flavour! You can also substitute this with mushroom seasoning or 1 tbsp vegan oyster sauce.
- soft, silken tofu – this works better in this recipe than extra firm tofu
- bird’s eye chillies
- vegan fish sauce – an easy substitute if you don’t have this would be light soy sauce
- kaffir lime leaves
This recipe is naturally 100% gluten free (check if your vegetable stock, soy sauce or vegan fish sauce is gluten free).
Vegan Tom Kha
Ingredients
- 2 king oyster mushrooms
- 10 slices galangal thumb size
- 3 lemongrass
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 150 g silken tofu
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 cube vegetable stock
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups water
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 2 bird's eye chillies
- 1 tbsp vegan fish sauce
Garnish
- 1/2 lime
- sliced chillies
- scallions
- coriander
- chili oil
Instructions
- Slice the king oyster mushrooms into round shapes and slit them criss-cross to mimic scallops. Cut silken tofu into cubes.
- Cut the stalks of the lemongrass and smash them with your knife. Slice galangal for better infusion of flavours.
- To a pan, heat some oil. Add galangal and lemongrass. Saute for a few minutes until fragrant.
- Add in your oyster mushrooms (if not you can also pan fry them first before adding). And saute until they are fully cooked and lightly browned.
- Add in water, veggie stock cube, salt and mix well. Add in your silken tofu and bring to a boil.
- Add in coconut milk and red chillies (slit them if you want more spice). Finish with some vegan fish sauce or light soy sauce.
- Squeeze juice from half a lime. Serve and garnish with spring onions, coriander, chillies and chili oil. Enjoy!