One of the things I love most about my Farm Fresh To You box is that when I get a fruit or vegetable that I have never used before, I get inspired to make a dish that I've never made before. This week, my inspiration came from the white beech mushrooms and sweet baby broccoli. Not only were they gorgeous and fresh, but my mind instantly went to the lunch special soup from Sy Thai back in Michigan. So I set out to recreate my version of a Tom Yum soup. Side bar - they have hands down the best curry noodle (medium+) in the world and I have yet to find anything close.
I checked out a few recipes online and ended up doing a hybrid of about three. I took most of my cooking instructions from this recipe and I think it's a good roadmap to follow. Here are the ingredients that I ended up using for my Tom Yum.
Ingredients:
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 2 T Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
- 6 cups of water
- 1/2 can of organic light coconut milk
- 1 cup sweet baby broccoli
- 1 cup white beech mushrooms
- 1 baby bok choy
- 1/2 green bell pepper
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 3 thai chilies
- 2 stalks of lemongrass
- 4 cloves of fresh garlic
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1 t brown sugar
- 4 T light soy sauce
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1. In a large pot bring your water to a boil and add your Better Than Bouillon vegetable base (follow instructions if using something different).
2. Dice the lemongrass, thai chilies, and garlic and cut into matchsticks the fresh ginger.
3. Add to the stock and let boil for 5 minutes. This will make the kitchen smell amazing and it only gets better as you add more.
4. From the bottom of the beech mushrooms, cut off the stalk letting the mushrooms come apart as individuals. Add to the broth and reduce the heat to medium. Allow the 'shrooms to simmer for 5 minutes.
Any mushroom can be used, but if I wasn't using beech mushrooms, I would use shiitake mushrooms and slice into large chunks.
5. Halve the cherry tomatoes, rough dice the bell peppers, separate the baby broccoli and chop the bok choy leaves into large pieces and add to the broth to simmer for 1-2 minutes. I love when vegetables still have a bite to them after swimming in delicious broth, so do not overcook!
6. Cut the (drained and pressed) extra firm tofu into large chunks.
7. Reduce the heat to low and add the tofu, coconut milk, soy sauce, sugar, and lime juice. Stir gently for 1-2 minutes. Grab a spoon for a taste test. Too salty? Add more coconut milk or sugar. Too sweet? Add more soy sauce. Need more acid? Add a squeeze more of lime juice. Not spicy enough? Add more chilies or a squeeze of sriracha.
8. Ladle soup into a bowl and add the roughly chopped cilantro and basil to the top.
One word. Three letters. Two different letters total. WOW! Not only is this soup easy to prepare and make, but the flavors that come through with so many fresh ingredients is amazing. The broth, in a nutshell is beyond comforting and the combination of vegetables, crisp with a slight give make all of the different. I was super surprised that the baby broccoli ended up being my favorite bite, since I absolutely adore tomatoes in a thai soup, but overall the flavors just melt together in this really robust broth.
The best part is that know I know how delicious this broth is, mixing and matching different vegetables will make recreating this dish a lot of fun. I already can't wait to add bamboo shoots next time!
Cheers,
Kate
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