Quick and Easy Thai Coconut Soup with Mushrooms and Mixed Vegetables

Thai curries and soups are one of my favorite ways to enjoy vegetables and mushrooms — I love the light and fragrant spicy gingeriness of broths seasoned with Thai flavors. I also appreciate the simplicity of Thai vegetable curries and soups — if you have a jar of Thai curry paste on hand in your refrigerator, they're the easiest thing to put together.

After some chopping, this creamy mushroom and mixed vegetable soup simmered in a coconut milk broth is a snap to make and showcases the best of Thai flavors — with a little assist from Indian curry powder. If you're serving a small gathering, this soup will be gone in no time.

Quick and Easy Thai Coconut Soup with Mushrooms and Mixed Vegetables

Recipe by Lisa Turner Cuisine: Thai Published on November 21, 2016 Vegetables and mushroom simmered in an easy, light and fragrant Thai spiced coconut milk curry broth Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 oz (14 g) dried shiitake mushrooms 1 tablespoon sesame oil or olive oil 1 small red onion, diced 1 medium carrot, diced 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced or grated 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed 1 red chili, seeded and minced 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste 2 1/4 cups coconut milk 1 cup vegetable stock, or more as desired 2 teaspoons tamari (soy) sauce 2/3 cup broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces 2 teaspoons curry powder 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1/2 cup snow peas, roughly chopped juice from 1 lime (2 tablespoons) 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste fresh ground black pepper Instructions: Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup of hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking water, and chop. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Toss in the ginger, garlic and red chili and stir for another minute. Add the red curry paste and stir for another minute. Now pour in the coconut milk, vegetable stock, reserved mushroom soaking water and tamari. Add the broccoli and half of the mushrooms. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring often, until the vegetables are just tender — about 12 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, red pepper, snow peas and the rest of the mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender. For a thicker soup, add more stock or reserved mushroom soaking liquid as desired. Remove from heat. Pour in the lime juice and season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Serve hot with cooked grain such as rice, quinoa or millet, and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro or parsley if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings

Other Thai recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen to try:
Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup with Kidney Beans
Paneer Tomato Curry with Indian and Thai Flavors
Thai Green Curry Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Thai Red Curry Tempeh Soup