The honest truth is that this soup recipe was an afterthought. To explain requires a story about me and James.
James used to travel for work and, although I missed him dearly, I secretly looked forward to my solo dinners. When left to my own devices, I do not, contrary to popular belief, whip up a gourmet meal for one. Instead, I piece together a strange and simple dinner from snacks, sidedishes, and basics. Popcorn + smoothie, hunk of bread + salad + chocolate, avocado toast + pickled veggies + honeydew (James hates melons). James is a maindish guy. Dinner is not dinner without an entree, so my quirky dinner habits wouldn’t satisfy him.
So when I dreamt up the Thai-inspired version of our Sweet Potato Biscuits, concocted the recipe, and presented James with the finished product, he said “They’re wonderful, they’re beautiful, they’re really, really good, but… what are we going to eat them with?”
Ah, minor detail….
“Well…”, I said.
“…we could slather them in peanut butter and a squeeze of lime and eat them with a side of pickled green beans!” (this did not impress him)
“Or…. Thai Tofu Soup?”
Ding, ding- we have a winner.
- 1 block of firm or extra-firm tofu
- 8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
- 6 carrots, trimmed and sliced
- 8 oz. snow peas
- 1 Thai chili, minced (optional)
- 1 can light coconut milk
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 4 cups water (or vegetable broth)
- diced green onion
- cilantro leaves
- lime wedges
- Prepare tofu: Preheat oven to 400F. Drain tofu and press between layers of paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible. Cut into bite-sized cubes and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cubes begin to brown.
- Meanwhile, heat a soup pot over medium-high and add vegetables, coconut milk, soy sauce, and water or broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
- Add baked tofu to the soup pot and simmer for an additional ~10 minutes.
- Serve with optional toppings and Thai Sweet Potato Biscuits.
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