Creamy Thai Tomato Soup

tomatothaisoup430
Photo courtesy of Alisa Fleming
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This recipe is Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free, relatively Low-Fat, and optionally Vegan / Vegetarian. This is the baseline recipe, see my notes below for adding veggies and to make it vegan/vegetarian.

Ingredients

1tablespoon Coconut Oil (substitute peanut, olive, or grapeseed oil if you wish)
1cup Thinly Sliced Leek (about 1 medium – whites and lower green, tough leaves removed) or Thinly Sliced Yellow/White Onion (about ½ medium onion)
2cloves garlic, minced
1/2teaspoon finely minced ginger
8ounces Lean or Extra-Lean Ground Turkey (can substitute chicken or tofu or see veggie options below)
1 8-oz. Can Plain Tomato Sauce (like Hunt’s or generic)
1/2tablespoon red curry paste
1cup Light Coconut Milk or Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage
1tablespoon packed brown sugar
1tablespoon fish sauce
1/2teaspoon lime zest
1/2tablespoon lime juice

Instructions

  1. Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the leek or onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and sauté for 1 minute more. Turn the heat up to medium, and add the turkey. Cook, breaking it up as you stir, until cooked through, about 7 minutes or so.
  2. Stir in tomato sauce and curry paste, and allow the flavors to meld for about 2 minutes.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients (coconut milk through the lime), and let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken a bit. Serve.

Optional Veggie Add-Ins: This recipe is very friendly to veggies in terms of taste. On the first go, I added 2 full cups of baby spinach leaves near the very end of simmering. The second time I added about 1.5 cups of thinly sliced cabbage after the onions. Both were wonderful (I think we liked the spinach best though). Some other veggies that really appeal to me for this recipe are cauliflower, eggplant (would need  a bit more saute time), and baby corn.

Vegetarian/Vegan Option: As noted above, you can substitute in tofu for the meat, and/or feel free to go crazy with the veggie suggestions or your own ideas. The tricky part is the fish sauce. It seems there is a vegetarian version on the market, or you can make your own homemade version, or in a pinch, substitute soy sauce (adding some nori flakes if you have them – seaweed gives it more of that fishy taste), but the flavor will be a bit different.

Alisa Fleming is the founder of GoDairyFree.organd author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook.