Vegan Tom Kha Gai – Low FODMAP & Healing
THAI VEGAN HEALING SOUP.
This Thai and fully vegan Tom Kha Gai (Coconut Chicken Soup) is rich, creamy, soothing, and incredibly healing. The Thai flavored soup is made from immune boosting low FODMAP ingredients perfect for those struggling with intestinal distress. If you’re looking for simple soup recipes that are gentle on the gut, save this vegan Tom Kha Gai!
Immune Boosting Ingredients:
For this recipe, I utilized strictly low FODMAP ingredients to create a soup that is fully vegan and low FODMAP diet friendly. Whether you’re on a low FODMAP diet or not, this healing soup is perfect for anyone looking to boost their immune system, stay warm during the colder months, prevent sickness, or make an easy dinner recipe.
Here are all of the ingredients used in this vegan Tom Kha Gai:
- Pearl Oyster & Shimeji Mushrooms. As far as I know, these are the only two mushrooms that are low FODMAP friendly and can be eaten in abundance. If you’re not on a low FODMAP diet, feel free to add as many more mushrooms as you’d like! Options include shiitake, button, bella, maitake, etc.
- Light Coconut Milk. Light coconut and regular coconut milk are different and can’t really be used interchangeably. You CAN use a full fat coconut milk here to make the soup creamier, but the fat content will increase quite a bit. If you want this soup creamier without increasing the fat content, I recommend sifting in a few tbsp of flour such as arrowroot flour. Alternatively you can mix in raw rice and let it soak up some of the liquid.
- Red Bell Peppers. Unlike green bell peppers, red bell peppers are low FODMAP and will not irritate your gut.
- Carrots. I used baby carrots for the sake of convenience, but you can totally peel and dice a regular size carrot. Rainbow carrots would be great here too!
- Tofu. Any tofu works in this recipe, but I went with Trader Joe’s High Protein Tofu with contains 70g of protein in just one block.
- Lemongrass. Lemongrass is such an easy way to add flavor to your soup, you just need to know how to prepare it correctly.
How to Prepare Lemongrass:
- Chop the majority of the stalk off. You’ll only need the bottom 2-3 inches or so. Discard the large stalk.
- Peel the tough layers off the lemongrass. This should be fairly easy. Continue until your lemongrass piece is soft.
- Use the back of a large knife to pound the lemongrass. This will help the flavors and aroma release.
- Add the lemongrass to your soup. When you’re done cooking, be sure to remove the lemongrass, don’t eat it!
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What is Low FODMAP?
If you are familiar with my content, you’ve probably heard me talk about low FODMAP diets. Essentially, if you are suffering from digestive issues such as IBS, SIBO, or leaky gut, a low FODMAP diet can get your gut back to a healthy place. I developed IBS after eating an abundance of the same high FODMAP foods daily – beans, cashews, avocados, and chickpeas were the culprit for me.
To get my gut back to normal, I ate a diet consisting of low FODMAP foods only for about three months. I was then slowly able to reintroduce high FODMAP foods back into my diet, and make sure not to eat them in massive portions or daily. It’s difficult to find low FODMAP vegan recipes out there, so many vegans have turned back to meat and fish not thinking they had no other solution.
If you relate to any of this or are on a low FODMAP diet, I HIGHLY recommend downloading the Monash University FODMAP app to find out exactly which foods you can and can’t eat. Some foods are high FODMAP in large portions, and low FODMAP in smaller portions. For example, a full banana is high FODMAP but 1/3 banana is low FODMAP.
{If you like this recipe you’ll love my FIREBALL SHOTS and my GOLDEN MINERAL BROTH.}
Vegan Low FODMAP Tom Kha Gai
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ½ jalapeño pepper, thinly chopped or minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1-2 tbsp pureed ginger
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 stalks green onion, chopped
- 2 cans light coconut milk
- 1 cup veggie broth (or water)
- 1 block tofu, cubed
- ½ cup oyster mushrooms, diced
- ¼ cup shimeji mushrooms
- ½ tbsp coconut or brown sugar
- 1 lime, juice from
Instructions
- Add diced carrots, red pepper, oyster mushroom, ginger, shimeji mushrooms and minced jalapeños to a large pot with coconut oil.
- Prepare your lemongrass – you will only need the bottom 3 inches or so, scroll up for photos. You will peel the tough layers off the lemongrass then use the back of your knife to pound it. This releases the lemony flavors.
- Once veggies have softened (not completely – about 10 min on a low heat) add in the lime juice, coconut milk, veggie broth or water, tamari, lemongrass, cilantro, green onions, tofu cubes, and coconut sugar.
- Let simmer at a low heat for about 20 min. I prefer to leave my soup cooking on a low heat for longer to really let the flavors soak into the soup. If you’re short on time, you can cook at a higher heat for a shorter duration.
- Remove lemongrass and top with extra cilantro leaves and green onions. Serve alone or over rice or noodles.