
Sandwiched in-between November and December I crave at least a couple meals that aren’t holiday themed – spicy, exotic dishes that transport me to another place, away from the jingle jangle and hustle bustle, just for a moment. That’s where this soup comes in. Vibrant, warm and festive in its own way. A moment of zen before it’s back to the cookie baking, present wrapping and holiday cubicle decorating. Umm, yeah my coworkers went all out this year. The entire office is a festival of lights. But let’s get back to this soup for a sec. I made my own curry paste and it was so delicious and super easy! I’m thinking jars of this stuff would make awesome holiday gifts, would that be weird? After you blitz the curry paste together in the food processor it’s only a matter of bringing the other ingredients to a boil, making sure the noodles are cooked and you’re done. Totally stress-free and zenful.









Ingredients for the Yellow Curry Paste
3 habañero chilis
2 medium shallots, halved
8 cloves garlic cloves
1 2″ piece ginger, peeled, sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro stems
1 tablespoon ground yellow curry powder
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water if necessary.
Directions
Combine all the ingredients into your food processor and blend until you get a pretty smooth paste. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary to bring it all together. Thoroughly dry the tofu, then cube it and toss it with the curry paste to marinate. Let marinate for 10 minutes or so while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Ingredients for the Soup
2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
2 14-oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
1 pack of firm tofu
1 pack of ramen noodles or buckwheat ramen
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey or light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Directions
Start by heating the ghee in a big pot on medium heat. Add the curry marinated tofu cubes. Let this get fragrant and just beginning to brown – about 3 to 6 minutes. Add all the ingredients (except the noodles) and bring to a boil. Then add the noodles and simmer just until the noodles are cooked to your liking (this was about 10 minutes for me). Salt to taste. Serve soup with garnishes listed below.
For serving
sliced red onion
cilantro sprigs
green onion
lime wedges
Notes
Inspired by this recipe