Coconut Basil Soup

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Serves 2

This Thai inspired coconut basil soup has a lush and silky broth steeped in aromatics like lemongrass and ginger. It’s a go to “feeling sick” meal for me, it drinks like a soothing herbal tea but packs plenty of nutritious herbs and veggies.

Some of the ingredients may be hard to find if you don’t live near an asian market, but can be easily swapped out. Dried lemongrass instead of fresh, additional ginger in lieu of galangal, and lime zest in place of kaffir lime leave will all work for example.

To me though, there is no replacement for Thai holy basil and its worth going out of your way to find. It really has a flavor of its own but is best described as a combination of mint, basil, and licorice. I typically always have a plant growing in my herb garden.

Enjoy this soup on its own or steam some sticky rice to dip in the leftover broth.

Ingredients

Broth

• 1 can coconut milk, (full fat)
• 3 cups of water
• 1 ” knob of galangal, (peeled and chopped)
• 1 ” knob of ginger, (peeled and chopped)
• 1 stalk lemongrass, (leaves and root, chopped roughly)
• Kaffir Lime Leaf, (or zest from one lime)
• Cilantro stems, (chopped from the bottom of a bunch of cilantro)
• Thai basil stems, (chopped from the Thai basil in the soup)
• 2-3 tsp salt, (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup palm sugar or brown sugar

Soup

• 1 package pre-fried tofu, (or aburaage)
• 2 carrots, (peeled and sliced diagonally)
• 2 stalks celery, (peeled and sliced diagonally)
• 1 cup of daikon radish, (peeled and cut into half moons)
• 1 green bell pepper, (chopped into bite size pieces)
• About 2 cups Thai holy basil
• Toasted sesame oil, (for topping)

Instructions

• To make the broth, bring all the broth ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 30-45 minutes. Prepare all other ingredients.
• When you’re ready to cook, strain the broth through a mesh sieve and return to the pot and bring back to a simmer.
• Add all of the soup ingredients except the basil and sesame oil to the pot and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
• Then, turn off the heat and add the Thai basil and stir in until just wilted. Taste and adjust for salt and sugar (it should be flavorful and a bit on the sweet end). Serve with some additional Thai basil and drizzled sesame oil