Thai Soup

We are always looking for new, exciting, and flavorful vegetarian or 'pescetarian' dishes. This one I adapted from Vegetarian Times Magazine- a great place for such ideas.

Tom Kha Tofu

4 cups vegetable broth
1 3/4 14-oz. can light coconut milk
2 stalks lemongrass, smashed and cut into
3-inch pieces, or zest of 1 lemon
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
3/4 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, cut into discs (1 cup)
3/4 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)
1 Tbs mirin (optional)
6 fresh kaffir lime leaves or zest of 1 lime
8 oz. baked tofu, cubed
1 pkg. pad thai noodles

Bring vegetable broth and coconut milk to a boil in saucepan over medium heat. Add lemongrass and ginger, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 10 minutes. Strain broth and remove lemongrass and ginger with slotted spoon, or strain through mesh strainer into bowl. Discard lemongrass and ginger. Add vegetables, tamari, brown sugar, mirin, and lime to broth. Bring to simmer and cook 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, cook pad thai noodles according to package directions. Remove lime leaves and add tofu. Cook 3-4 minutes more, until tofu is heated through. Add noodles and serve.

I used low-sodium broth, which I usually use to control the amount of salt in my dishes. However, we ended up adding a lot of salt to season the soup afterwards. It was slightly bland, we thought, without the salt. So, I recommend salting and peppering to taste.