Vegan Green Curry Thai Soup

A Thai curry soup - a classic dish to made with tons of healthy ingredients that is totally perfect for a chilly winter’s day. Packed with great stuff like lime, green onion, noodles, curry paste, ginger, mushrooms, and so much more, this is a total feast that’ll keep you wanting more.

Skip to any part of the recipe by clicking on the links below:

• Introduction

• Before We Get Started

• Ingredients

• Method

• Spruce it Up

Introduction

What may seem like a complicated dish is super simple when you break it down, and the bowl you’re left with at the end makes it that much more worth it. Whether you need some soup for the soul on a cold winter’s day, or a pick-me-up the morning after, you should already be writing this recipe down for your next grocery list. So, the next time your local meteorologist calls for heavy snow, make sure you’re prepared with coconut milk and vegetable broth in hand.

The best part is that the sesame seeds are totally optional, you don’t need to cut your carrots fancily, and you certainly don’t need to set it up for a photoshoot like Madonna in Vogue, striking a pose. Chuck all your ingredients in, add your noodles and broth, and enjoy. Don’t just stand there. Let’s get to it.

The secret to this dish is to sear your mushrooms with a heavy object which will press them against the pan, giving them a great golden-brown colour, and making them super crispy. Season every step of the way, and remember to taste, taste, taste.

Check out the Spruce it Up section for ideas on how to take this recipe to the next level.

Before We Get Started

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Total Time: 45 Minutes

Yield: 6 Bowls

Ingredients

• 1 Yellow Onion

• 3 Garlic cloves

• 1 Thumb-sized piece of Ginger

• 250g Shiitake Mushrooms

• 250g White Mushrooms

• 1 Green Pepper

• 2 carrots

• 3 tbsp. Curry Paste

  • I used Green curry paste but the colour is totally your call.

• 1 can Coconut Milk

• 4 cups Vegetable Broth

• Vermicelli Noodles

• Handful of Spinach

• 2 Green Onions

• Juice of 1 Lime

Method

1. Finely dice your onion, garlic, and ginger. Slice your shiitake mushrooms approx. 1 cm thick.

2. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, with a small drizzle of oil. Once the oil is shimmering, give the pan a swirl to cover the bottom of the pan with oil, and add your mushrooms, as well as a good pinch of salt, spreading them out so they form one single, even layer. Place a large pot or heavy item on top of your mushrooms and let them cook for 2-4 minutes.

3. Take the pot off of the mushrooms, and push them about the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula. They should be golden-brown on the bottom.

   • If they aren’t, simply place the pot back on top of the mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

4. Add a good drizzle of oil into the pan, and add your onion, garlic, ginger, and whole white mushrooms. Sprinkle heavily with salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often to incorporate and keep from burning.

5. While you’re cooking your mushrooms, onion, ginger, and garlic, dice your green pepper and cut your carrots. Reserve half of the carrots for garnish. Add the green peppers and the other half of the carrots to the pan, as well as another pinch of salt.

   • I cut my carrots into batonnets for presentation, but you can roughly chop them if you want to speed up the process.

6. Add your 3 tbsps. of curry paste to the pan, stirring to coat all of the vegetables. Tip in your coconut milk as well as your vegetable broth, and bring to the boil. Add two pinches of salt, and the juice of one lime.

7. While waiting for your soup to boil, slice your green onions thinly on an angle.

8. Once your soup is at a boil, add as large or small a portion of vermicelli noodles you would like.

   • I would recommend cutting them in half with scissors before adding into the bowl to make eating the soup easier.

9. Take a large handful of spinach and add to your soup, giving it a good stir.

10. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.

    • I had to add 2-3 big pinches. Rule of thumb (and restaurant-secret), keep adding salt until you say “wow, that tastes amazing”. Simple.

11. Scoop some into a bowl, top with your green onions, some carrot, and a slice of lime.

12. Enjoy.

Spruce it Up

• Top with sesame seeds for a nice presentation.

• Use sesame oil instead of olive oil or vegetable oil for an incredible flavour.

• Soups like this one are made for herbs like cilantro and basil. Don’t hold back on those.