Chef Adam's Tom Yum Soup

Pantry to table Tom Yum soup!

Tom Yum recipe curated by Adam Shabana and Maggie Wehri


My favorite foodies, my little sister Maggie and her significant other Adam, are just the cutest! Bonding over their love for food, they are quite the pair in the kitchen when it comes to meal time!

Chef Adam, a Brooklyn-born, Mediterranean-inspired culinary slayer, crafted an authentic Thai hot and sour plant-based soup flavored with ginger, lemongrass and, my favorite, coconut! You’re in for a treat!

Coconut oil & Healthy Fats

I love coconut. It’s so versatile! This plant-based fat is bursting with anti-inflammatory fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants, and satiates like no other. It’s a fantastic substitute for traditional diary products like milk or butter and even natural beauty product! Whether it’s for drinking, cooking, or making your skin glow, coconut is easy to incorporate into your daily routine.

I am particularly intrigued by coconut’s MCTs (medium chain triglycerides). There’s evidence to suggest that MCTs help us maintain our waistlines (yay!) and support brain health and prevent cognitive decline. Coconut also raises HDL (the good cholesterol) due to a high concentration of lauric acid, a saturated fat that’s metabolized differently than animal-based saturated fats.

Buy full-fat, unrefined virgin coconut

“Virgin” coconut oil means it was made by pressing the liquid from coconut meat and then separating out the oil. Its got a rich flavor that smells of coconut, unlike the refined, bleached, and deodorized coconut oil made from dried coconut meat used in some processed foods.

When buying canned coconut milk, buy organic full-fat coconut milk. This will ensure you get all of the healthy fats that keep you feeling full. I don’t believe in buying low-fat versions of products. Eat the real deal! It tastes better! Just be mindful of not over-eating.

don't go off the deep end

I don’t suggest replacing all your cooking oils with coconut oil. It’s important to find balance in your kitchen. Continue to use organic avocado oil (for high heat) and extra virgin olive oil (for low heat and dressing) as your staples. Sprinkle in some coconut oil and ghee, and you’ve got a well-rounded fat palate.

Just a note, you can use coconut oil at higher heat. How do you know if an oil is stable? If it starts to smoke, then you know the heat is too high. Throw it out and start over at a lower heat.

Here’s the recipe from Chef Adam and Maggie!

INGREDIENTS

2 T organic unrefined virgin coconut oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3'' long peeled piece of ginger, finely sliced
1 yellow onion, finely sliced
2-3 stalks of lemongrass, cut into 2 inch pieces and crushed (substitute: 2 T lemongrass paste)
Zest of 1 lemon or lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
3-4 lime leaves (substitute: other half of lemon or lime)
1-4 whole red chilis, cut in half (substitute: finely sliced jalapeños to taste)
2 tsp red curry paste
1 + 1/2 quart organic chicken/vegetable/bone broth
1 cup full-fat organic coconut cream
2 cans full-fat coconut milk
3 tsp organic coconut sugar (substitute: 3 tsp maple syrup)
1 can bamboo shoots
1 can water chestnuts
1 can baby corn (optional)
1 - 16 oz. package organic tofu (preferably extra firm)

Any vegetables you have like bok choy, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots - the options are endless!

Garnish with cilantro or parsley

INstructions

Step 1: Bring a large pot to low-medium heat and add coconut oil.

Step 2: Add all aromatics (garlic, ginger, onion, lemongrass, lemon zest, lemon juice, lime leaves, chilis, and curry paste). Leave the aromatics on low-medium heat for 15-25 minutes, stirring every 2-2 minutes to prevent burning. This is called “sweating” or allowing the flavors to seep out and mix with each other. See picture below.

HEAT HINT: 1 chili - mild, 2 chilis - medium, 3 chilis - hot, and 4 chilis - extra hot

Step 3; Once sweating is complete, add in chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a quick boil. Bring heat back down to low-medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cut tofu into 1/2 inch small pieces and clean veggies (if using canned veggies, rinse off brine)

Step 4: Use colander to strain out the aromatics and return soup base to stove.

Step 5: Add coconut cream, coconut milk, coconut sugar, canned or fresh veggies, and tofu. Bring to a quick boil and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.

HINT: This soup can make do with many types of veggies, frozen or fresh! Chef Adam’s personal favorites are tomatoes (for more acidity), bok choy, mushrooms, carrots… the options are endless!

Step 5: Garnish with cilantro or parsley, but dried is fine too!

Questions/comments? Drop them below! Enjoy!