A few years back I spent about month in Thailand. Thailand is an amazingly beautiful country full of bright colors and spicy flavors. This soup is a great representation of my time there. Panang curry is known and loved for its sweet and salty flavors. It is traditionally served over rice, but noodles are my favorite comfort food, and I think we could all use a little bit of comfort right now.
I have written the recipe with baked tofu because I like the texture, and with the extra time some of us have on our hands I thought why not? But honestly this dish would be just as good (and only take about 30 minutes to prepare) if you omit those steps and just add the tofu to the broth instead. I will leave more notes about that at the bottom of the recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 block firm tofu
- 1/4 C vegan panang curry paste +2 tbsp *
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 C soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 5 C vegetable broth
- 8 oz black bean noodles *
- 1 can coconut cream
- 1 head broccolini 1” removed from stems
- 1 carrot peeled into ribbons
- 3 green onions 1/8” sliced
- 3 tbsp cilantro
Instructions
- Press the tofu for 15 minutes.*
- Create a maninate for the tofu by mixing 1 tbsp panang curry, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar.
- Cut the tofu in 3/4” cubes and add to the marinade, let the tofu sit for 30 minutes -4 hours.
- When the tofu is done marinating, preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the tofu to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the tofu for 30-35 minutes. Meanwhile, start the broth.
- Heat a medium saucepan on medium low heat and 1 tbsp sesame oil and 5 cloves of garlic, cook for about 3 minutes until fragrant. Add the remaining panang curry paste, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and vegetable stock. Bring the broth to a boil then simmer on low until the tofu is done.
- Cook the noodles. Bring 2 quarts of water plus 1 tbsp of salt to a boil. Cook the pasta according to al dente, about 2 minutes shy of the package instructions. Drain, and set aside.
- When the tofu is done, add the coconut cream, carrots and broccolini. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the carrots and broccolini are soft. Transfer the soup to a serving bowl and add the tofu, noodles, cilantro and green onions.
Notes
- *Make sure you read the ingredient list carefully for the curry paste as often times panang curry contains fish paste. If you cannot find panang curry paste you can substitute Thai red curry instead. *I used black bean noodles because I love the contrast of color and I wanted the extra protein, but you could use any noodle here. Some good options would be rice noodles, vermicelli, or even linguini! *To save yourself time and extra dishes you may choose to omit baking the tofu. Simply add the tofu to the broth once you have added all of the ingredients and simmer on medium low for about 20 minutes, then add the other veggies. *You do not have to use carrots or broccoli here, you can opt to add whatever veggies you like! Other great options would be peppers, bokchoy, sweet potato, or even just regular broccoli. Just take into account that peppers and sweet potatoes take longer to cook than veggies like bokchoy or broccoli.
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