Home > Recipes > Soup > Brothy Thai Curry with Silken Tofu and Herbs
I don’t know about you but Thai food is some of the best food in my opinion. Tom kha gai is one of my favorite soups and I’ve tried to make it before at home but it didn’t even come close to the soup you get in the restaurant. I don’t know what their secret is!! So when I discovered the recipe for this Brothy Thai Curry with Silken Tofu and Herbs from Yewande Komolafe at New York Times Cooking, I was immediately intrigued. It is so simple and easy to make and it’s filled with flavor. It is the perfect weeknight soup to make when I’m craving Thai food but don’t want to get takeout. Using a mix of fresh herbs is so important. Get the cilantro, basil, and dill, it completely transforms the dish and it’s not the same without them.
Ingredients
- 2 (14-ounce) packages of silken tofu, drained*
- 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil, such as canola oil
- 2 shallots, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 (1-inch) piece of ginger, scrubbed and grated
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 (14-ounce) can of cherry tomatoes or fresh cherry tomatoes
- 1 quart vegetable stock
- 1 (13½-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- Salt and black pepper
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1½ cups mixed fresh herbs: cilantro, basil and dill
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Pat tofu blocks dry with a clean paper towel. Cut blocks into 3 slices each.
- Heat a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil and shallots, and stir until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and curry paste, stir, and cook until fragrant and the paste turns deep red, another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the tomato juices thicken slightly, about 4 minutes.
- Pour in the vegetable stock, stir, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer to slightly reduce the liquid, about 10 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, season to taste with salt, and remove from the heat.
- While the broth is simmering, divide the silken tofu into 6 bowls*. Break each slice into 4 or 5 pieces. Season each bowl of tofu with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and a few cracks of black pepper, and top with about ¼ cup of the fresh herb mix.
- Ladle the hot broth and tomatoes over the bowls of silken tofu. Top with sliced scallions and serve hot, with lime wedges.
* This recipe serves six people. I follow the recipe directions but it’s just me eating so I save the soup for leftovers and eat it the rest of the week. I still buy 2 containers of tofu I just open one at a time and with the leftover tofu from the open container, I put it in an air-tight container with some fresh cold water, covering about halfway of the tofu. Each time I get the leftover tofu I drain the water and fill it with fresh water.