I made another recipe from Vegetarian Planet today, this one being the Indonesian bean curd stew. This had a very similar flavor profile to Thom Kha Tofu, although there was no soy sauce, which was pretty exciting, because I’ve been feeling a bit of “soy sauce-overload” lately. I also eliminated the “optional” cilantro from the recipe since I felt that would make it a bit too similar to Thom Kha. The chunks of Carrot and Zucchini that gave it its “stew” designation were absolutely delicious, and cooked to perfection in the broth. I might even double the amount of vegetables in future renditions, because really, I can never get enough zucchini. Eggplant cubes are a definite possibility as well… I also omitted the green beans the recipe calls for (I think they get soggy and gross in soup) and instead used button mushrooms, which were delicious.

The entire concoction was served over Chinese Sweet rice, and while the rice was a bit overcooked, I can’t say anything bad about the stew. In fact, all told, I think I like it better than Thom Kha. I am however a bit concerned about the amount of coconut milk I’ve been using lately, especially since I recently read that one can of coconut milk has more saturated fat than a 16 ounce sirloin steak. Ouch. I could of course try the lite version, but I’m told that it’s severely lacking in the flavor department…Anyone have ideas for coconut milk substitutions?



Selah.