Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha)

I believe that we've mentioned about this 'shop-once-a month-for-groceries' challenge that we're on. Since the month's end is approaching, we feel pretty good about it. There is no flour/atta left, but we're scraping by :)

But at the same time, it is a TERRIBLE time to be following food blogs. That is because we don't have squat at home while all you folks keep churning out one amazing thing after another! So we can't try out most of the things!

But this particular event, to which this post is dedicated, was deemed too good to miss because we ourselves are trying to appreciate vegan cooking and eating lately. Personally, I just admire vegetarian/vegan daring bakers! Are you kidding me? How could you possibly make such artisan delicacies without using eggs?

Continuing along this vegan theme, this post goes to Priya of Akshayapaatram for ITVW-Thai, conceived by Vaishali of Holy Cow. Both the blogs are terrific.

As mentioned, due to a severe ingredient-crunch, we're sending this very simple Thai coconut soup called Tom Kha for the event. I don't think the name translates into 'coconut soup' but I guess that's what it is called!


Ingredients:

1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup firm tofu, drained and cubed
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 big chunk of ginger (about the size of a tsp)
2 tsp chopped Kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp chopped Thai basil leaves
salt to taste
water to adjust consistency (about 1/4-1/3 cup)

1. Shallow fry the tofu cubes in oil. Set aside.

2. In a deep saucepan, heat the water. When it starts to simmer, add the lime leaves, ginger and Thai basil. Make sure that the heat does not exceed medium-low. Cook for about 5 mins.

2. Slowly add the coconut milk in small batches. Add the chilli flakes and salt. Cook for another 5 mins.

3. Add the fried tofu cubes and cook for another 5 mins.

That is it! A simple creamy soup with a great hint of citrusy flavor. I loved biting into the tofu pieces that were steeped in coconut. The ginger gives a slight zing to it. Obviously, you could vary the amount of spices to suit your palate.


It may sound light but it fills you up pretty good ;) After having this as a starter, we had some Jolada Roti (Sorghum Flour flatbread) with some improvised peanut-tomato chutney. Trust me, I am not very proud of the way I made the chutney but it tasted alright ;)

And since N is hopping behind me because she forgot about CLICK this month, we dug into our picture folder and came up with this. N will possibly not even read this post, but well, I can't win everything at the same time ;)

53 comments:

FH said...

Almost done with a month's groceries? Man! You guys are brave! I went about 11 days but ran out milk, OJ and bread, had to run back!:D

With kids around it's hard tho'. Kudos to you! :)

Coconut soup looks so delicious, I can imagine the flavor. Great looking Tomato salad too, love them Good job.

A_and_N said...

Well, milk is the only exception to our challenge because we cant control the expiry date and its quintessential as we have it every day :) But no other exceptions :)

chef and her kitchen said...

Thats great u have shopped once for the complete month groceries, i will be ordering something or the other every 3days....
Great Coconut soup..

Parita said...

Hats Off to you guys..i cant even survive a day with flour/atta..coconut thai soup looks delicious....havent heard of kaffir lime leaves before..what are they?

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I've not tried coconut soup but it sounds interesting and looks pretty good.
~ingrid

Priya said...

Tom kha gai is my fav thai soup. And good to know that its filling :) Last week along with the challenge I decided not to shop for anything new too. I don't eat out often, but its the grocery bills that keep piling up. I'm making an effort to get them to the bare minimum too.

Pooja said...

Soup looks great...Nice post..

Vaishali said...

Simple but so flavorful and delicious. Dishes like these are ones I love the most.
I really like the idea of buying groceries once a month. Wonderful challenge!

Cham said...

I am really amazed how u survived one month with only one trip to grocer! U ve made lots of stuff! Kudos!
The soup is very pretty and inviting too.

Deepa Hari said...

We have to run to the grocery store every week....How do u guys manage for a month?...its not easy....thats a great challenge and appreciate ur efforts.

Soup looks great....like the name 'Tom Kha'.

Archana said...

Great job to stock up for a month...I am always running out of things, terrible at getting a list in place...grocer is a call away, so hardly ever need to preplan ! Lovely looking tomatoes

Bianca said...

Wow, the once-a-month grocery thing sounds really hard. I shop twice a month and run to grocery store for small items at least twice a week!

Love the soup. Anything with coconut milk is a winner in my book!

Indhu said...

yummy looking soup.... and I am surprised how u guys managed without grocery shopping for a month? I mean... I live alone... yet, I go every week and buy something... hmmmmmm.. I should try this :)

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

coconut soup looks great. who doesnt like dishes made of coconut milk.

Soma said...

This is a great spiced soup. I love coconut milk. Reminds me of a soup my mom would make with the purple kokum we had got from Goa...

Vani said...

Between Indian grocery shopping and the regular one, I go shopping almost 6 times a month! I would never last in this challenge! :)

Soup looks great, guys!

SJ said...

N your the best in writing! This post is too technical and no jokes -unlike the previous one :P :D ;) effect of exam, can u make out? Love the soup except I have noone like to A to make it grrrrrrrrrrr....

Varsha Vipins said...

Grocery doesnt onclude veggies rite..I mean I cant even think of once- a -month shopping..I am striving hard to keep it once a week..lol..
The soup looks great..:)

Lisa Turner said...

I love coconut, especially in soups. How did my scalloped potato recipe work out for you?

Priya Sriram said...

Awesome Thai soup A&N! And the click of tomatoes looks wonderful! Great click! :)

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Gorgeous thats looking amzing...nice click and by the way ur header is perfect match for food blog..I love it

Vibaas said...

it is always better to limit the no. of trips to grocery store..i'm really bad at that because i dont prepare a list :-O Anyways, soup looks very comforting and the click is awesome!

Btw, i dont make sevai from the scratch. i use 777 instant one and they have the nice puzhungal arisi smell and tastes close to home made :)

Uma said...

lovley soup and looks great too! Nice entry for the event. Click is gorgeous :)

Shreya said...

what a grt challenge! It sure is tough. Love the soup. The click entry is so eye-catching and looks glorious

FH said...

Just received the Rasam pack today, so aromatic! Thank you so much A and N, will post next week. Might make Rasam too before Wednesday. Busy shopping these days, getting ready! :)

Psst!! Trisha brought in the mail and said "you have a package with weird name on it, mom". I said "who?" She is reading "Naaandeenee Vish..vish..vish.., oh I can't. Tell her she has a long name"
Then she looks at the red powder, says "is it legal to send that, looks furious!They are sending you food in the mail now?" :D

NKP said...

I love Thai flavours, I haven't had a cold soup though - sounds very refreshing!

amna said...

The first time I tried Tom Kha, I hated it. There was just too much lemongrass in it. But recently I tried it in a better restaurant and wowzie!! It was awesome! Didn't know the recipe was this simple :)

Indian Khana said...

Nice click...Tom Kha looks gud too....I had it once in thai express but didn't like tht much :-(

sra said...

Some months ago, cartons of coconut milk went missing here and I couldn't find any for almost two months. When they came back, I stocked up, and then whenever I went to the store, would buy one. I used just one of them the other day. I have three or four more. I'd make this soup - have lots of the (dry) herbs listed here too - only, it's just too hot!

Juliana said...

Coconut milk, I love it! Have to try your recipe...the pictures look great!

Sig said...

Seriously, a month without grocery shopping? Wow guys, kudos! I am a terrible shopper, the one week when I was doing the hunger challenge, I couldn't go to the store and I seriously felt handicapped :) I gotta try this clean-up the pantry exercize sometime.

Susan said...

A month w/out grocery shopping? You guys deserve a medal! I'm pushing my husband out the door now for supplies as I write this; I was just there Thursday. ; )

Beautifully spiced, simple soup.

(P.S. - You *can* use any beans to make a sweet or savory bean paste.)

aTxVegn said...

Oh, boy, anything with coconut milk and peanuts is destined to be delicious. It looks fantastic.

Hannah said...

I can't imagine stocking a month's worth of groceries at a time... I literally have to run out for some sort of ingredient every other day, at least! I guess I could stand to be a bit more organized though, huh?

Great soup, I've been on a real coconut kick lately!

Savi-Ruchi said...

you guys are great!!, shopping once a month??
how do you manage with bread, milk & vegetables? I struggle even after shopping once in 3 days or so :p
Thai coconut soup looks rich, creamy & yummy

Vegetarian Zest said...

I got two (free) tetra packs of coconut milk and was wondering what to do. Now I can try this one. Can you tell me how it tastes?

World is very small,N. my friend just mailed me asking to check your blog. I told that I regularly check yours and next thing she tell me that you are friends with Vichitra (worked with you in Google.)

Ashwini said...

Hi, first time here..Wow coconut soup looks yummy. Love anything with coconut.. Also liked the challenge of once a month groceries. We do every 15 days, which is also tough sometimes.

Bong Mom said...

A whole month, really ? What about milk, bred, fruits ?

The soup looks pretty good

syrie said...

Thai Vegan food - how fantastic. I've emailed a couple of my vegan friends your link. They'll be thrilled! In my post about leaving Vancouver for Sydney, the prices are in Aussie dollars - crazy!

Vegetarian Zest said...

Hi Nandini, My name is Vandya. Though I have never met Vicky but one of her best friends Kavita is a very good friend of mine and through her I have known a lot about Vicky.

Tina said...

i luv thai food...coconut soup looks nice nd creamy

AnuSriram said...

Hmmm.. coconut soup! Looks delicious. Must have tasted awesome... Nice click entry!

Elyse said...

Sometimes simple is all you need! This Thai Coconut Soup looks fabulous. I'm so impressed. And I love that it can come together when you don't have many ingredients on hand. Delicious!

Arundathi said...

Lovely looking curry. Did A go to Umich? So did I! Yes, Zingermann's is the best! I miss it. mmm. And the ginger lemon soda at Sweet Waters! :) Miss Ann Arbor!!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

I bow down to your 'not shopping'! Couldn't do it for more than a week myself, partly because i have a small fridge (well that's my excuse and I am sticking to it) :)

Arundathi said...

Yes, a Wolverine!

Go Blue! :-)

The Koshy Mostafas said...

OMG - we are on this kick too!! We are on week 3 and supplies are running rather short :)

Lovely pics

Lisa said...

I once ate Thai Coconut soup for one week straight, as this great place downtown made a delicious version of it. Yours looks just as good, and your photos look great!

As for the Yankees, or shall I say, Tankees, UGH :( Get rid of the whole BP outside of Mo!

Mandira said...

we were just talking about Tom Ka the other day... the tomatoes look fantastic!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Coconut milk in any form has to be good, so good!

Good luck with your monthly grocery shopping challenge. I almost always shop that way, except occasionally when I need something special, so its a hbit with me now. :)
Now the atta is finished, the low carb diet must be easy. :) How do you do it, though? Its tough.

Ah you actually don't mind the vegan/ vegetarian DBS, eh? ;D

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

Regarding your Q, In kootus, capsicum has to be cooked well.. if it is crunchy, it will not taste good. I like it crunchy too.. but in north indian gravies and sandwiches..

this one dish is an exeption....in masiyal, it will taste good only when it is soft and cooked... it will blend well with the dal.

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah - this soup looks and sounds delicious! YUM :)

A_and_N said...

Thanks a ton, everyone!

Mahima: thank you for that info! I'm trying it out soon!

Aparna: It was tough initially. But trying out a ton of vegan recipes from vegan blogs. Some western vegan blogs are amazing that way! And after some time, it works great, trust me.