Vegan Khao Soi Thai Soup

Vegan Khao Soi Thai Soup. A delicious savory vegan-form of this traditional curry noodle soup popular in northern Thailand made with plant-based ingredients including shiitake mushrooms.

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Vegan Khao Soi Thai Soup

Vegan Khao Soi Thai Soup. That's both a mouthful in words and in flavor.

Let me tell you more about this Thai noodle soup. Khao soi is a popular dish from the Chiang Mai region of northern Thailand.

It is a coconut curry Thai noodle soup and oddly not often found in Thai restaurants around the world. A co-worker here in Washington DC served an authentic version at an office party recently, and I thought, hmm..this could be made vegan.

The authentic version is made with egg noodles and chicken, which I replaced with glass bean noodles and shiitake mushrooms.

This ingredient list is longer than I normally like, haha, the lazy thing that I am. But actually, all the chopping and spicy aromas made this recipe an enjoyable experience.

AND, thanks to my new thermal blender, it was also an easy experience. Not many blenders are built to handle hot soup. This one is by KitchenAide. But if your blender isn't thermal, you can still make this soup. Just let it cool a bit before blending so your lid doesn't blow off.

How Does This Thai Soup Taste?

Spicy! Noodle-y. Comforting. Savory. All the good things in a flavorful soup.

Is This Thai Soup Easy to Make?

Don't worry if you don't normally make your own soups from scratch. This one may have a longish ingredient list, but it is very easy to put together. Just gather the ingredients and get started. The only ingredient you may not have in your pantry is liquid aminos.

Tips on How to Make This Thai Soup

Here are a few tips to make sure your process goes swimmingly.

First, be sure to shake up the can of full fat coconut milk (I know, so many canned coconut milk recipes have you only using the fat separated after a night in the fridge. Well, not this time!). Using both makes for a very rich broth.

Regarding the spicy red paste, you can buy it which cuts the time in half. But if you want to make your own, I give you the recipe!

And now I'd like to say something about the aminos. In this recipe, I have you marinate the butternut squash (or sweet potato) as well as the mushrooms in this delicious liquid. It only takes 20 minutes or so and brings a delicious savory softness to these veggies. And then no cooking of these ingredients is needed.

Alternatively, if you want to pan fry both, marinate them in the aminos, and then do this: Toss the squash and mushrooms in olive oil and a bit of chopped onion. Heat a skillet, and saute the squash and mushrooms for about 5 minutes or until a touch brown.  Then toss them in the soup.

What are Liquid Aminos?

Liquid aminos are a common gluten-free alternative to soy sauce. Also made from soybeans, but in a more natural process that renders it alcohol-free. You can also use coconut aminos, also considered healthier than soy sauce, but which contains alcohol and is a bit low in sodium for some recipes.

I often marinate portebellos, for instance in either coconut aminos or liquid aminos to bring them amazing flavor before using these large mushroom caps as "hamburger buns" for my vegan sandwiches, haha.

But I digress. Let's go make soup!

Like this vegan version? You might also be interested in this James Beard finalist's Thai soup that is a vegetarian version using tofu

Ginger plays a prominent role in this soup. Are you interested in more Ginger recipes? Ginger is a great detoxer, as well as an antiseptic.

Try these recipes that depend on ginger:
Ginger Shots
Cinnamon cranberry
Gingerbread cookies
Chocolate Spice Cake

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Easy Vegan Khao Soi Thai Noodle Soup.

Created by Dee Dine

A delicious savory vegan-form of this traditional curry noodle soup popular in northern Thailand made with plant-based ingredients including shiitake mushrooms.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 45 mins

Servings 2

Ingredients

 

the spicy paste

• 1-2 red chilis, or more depending on their size
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4 shallots, chopped
• ½ tsp coriander
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsps ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp water
• OR BUY this paste ready-made as a short-cut! (Here is good brand)

the broth

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk, full fat
• ½ cup butternut squash (I used organic canned for the broth)
• 3 tbsp liquid aminos (or tamari sauce or coconut aminos))
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1-2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• pinch salt

Other Components

• 1 broccolini stalk per serving
• ¼ cup sundried tomatoes
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms (white button can also be used)
• 1 cup butternut squash (or sweet potatoes) (whole veggie, peeled, chopped)
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds

Instructions

 

For Paste

• Heat olive oil in a skillet, just enough to coat it. Slice the chilis in half and throw away the seeds. Stir fry the chilis for a minute or two, then toss them and the rest of the paste ingredients into a food processor (I used a mini one) and blend into a lumpy paste (add more or less water to achieve a paste) and set aside.
  

For the Broth

• Heat the broth in a pot. When steaming but not boiling, pour in the coconut milk, stirring as it separates. Stir in a few tablespoons of the paste you made, and then the rest of the broth ingredients. Keep stirring until soup becomes thick. I used a thermal blender so I just finished off the thickening by putting my soup in there for a hot spin, but if you don't have a thermal blender, keep simmering for about 1-2 minutes, keeping up with the stirring..

Prep of other components

• Chop the butternut squash and soak them and the mushrooms in the liquid aminos for about 20 minutes or until both are "squishy". If your butternut squash is hard and under-ripe, you might want to steam it first. (Both the butternut squash and mushrooms should be squishy before adding to the soup; another option is to saute them both, after marinading, in a hot skillet with a bit of olive oil to heat them as well as to soften them.)
  

  Steam the broccolini.

  Prepare the noodles according to package.

  Reconstitute the sundried tomatoes
  

Soup Assembly

• Pour broth in a bowl, top with cilantro, your favorite plant-based noodles, marinated butternut squash and mushrooms, broccolini and sprinkle with black sesame seeds and a sprinkle of lime juice.
  

  Mix a half-cup chopped sundried tomatoes in the remaining paste, and serve on the side to be used as a garnish.

Keyword khao soi thai, thai food, vegan thai food

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Thank you Kitchen Aid for sponsoring this post. The recipe, ideas, content and opinions expressed here are all my own. I do recommend you try the appliances of Kitchen Aid, a brand I have long used and respect.

Dee Dine

Dee Dine is founder of Green Smoothie Gourmet, a plant based recipe blog, and author of the recent cookbook, Crazy Healthy with 4 Ingredients and another immunity-boosting smoothie shot book, 4-Ingredient Smoothies + Juices , due out in January 2021. On this blog you'll find incredibly easy recipes with hidden veggies for anyone wanting to eat healthier, regardless of diet. Dee has graduate degrees in sciences and  journalism, editor at The Feedfeed and a nutritional expert at WikiHow. More about Dee Dine here.