【CONFINEMENT】Thai Tom Yum Soup

I like my Tom Yum eye-wateringly tangy.

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April 2, 2020New York, USA

MZ‘s Vegan Thai Tom Yum Soup

[to be made to the sweet sounds of Georgi Kay’s Where I Go To Disappear album]

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 stalk of lemongrass
1/2 yellow onion (finely chopped)
3 Thai red chilis (finely chopped)
2 tbsp ginger (minced)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
1 cup shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
8oz/225g firm tofu (diced) [optional]
5 cups vegetable broth (store-bought stock also works well, reduce to 3 cups to account for the higher salt content)
1/2 cup coconut milk (preferably organic, full fat)
5 medium diced tomatoes (you can also use canned – this is approx. one 14oz/400g can)
1 tbsp soy sauce (substitute with tamari if gluten-free)
4 tbsp fresh lime juice (save some of your lime peel to add in for flavour)
1 tbsp maple syrup
Basil, roasted pumpkin seeds, nutritional yeast and Joan Didion’s South and West for serving.

  1. Slice your lemongrass stalk in half across, then in half lengthways. Go over it in a dicing motion without actually cutting it up (just to make enough incisions to release more flavour and fragrance).
  2. In a large pot on medium heat (I use a donabe), place your coconut oil, garlic, ginger and curry paste. Once combined, add your lemongrass and onion. Sautée until the onions are soft and translucent.
  3. Add your chilis, shiitakes, bay leaves and lime peel. Sautée for 5 minutes.
  4. Add vegetable broth, coconut milk, lime peel, tomatoes, and maple syrup. Bring the heat back up whilst stirring consistently, then once you hit a boil, reduce to a simmer. Cover and let it do its thing for 10 minutes.
  5. Fish out the lemongrass, lime peel and bay leaves with chopsticks or slotted spoon. Add lime juice and soy sauce (adjust to taste – you might want to add a bit more maple syrup or coconut milk at this point). Allow to simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes.
  6. Turn down the heat to a simmer again. Add in the broccoli and tofu (if any). Simmer for another 5 minutes.
  7. And you’re done. Top with basil, roasted pumpkin seeds and nutritional yeast to taste. Serve with steamed rice or shirataki noodles. This will keep in the fridge for about 4 days and in the freezer for 3 weeks.

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About

Margaret Zhang 章凝 is an Australian-born-Chinese filmmaker, photographer, consultant and writer based between New York and Shanghai. Since establishing her website in 2009, Zhang has gone on to work with global brands including CHANEL, Swarovski, YEEZY, Bulgari, Gucci, MATCHES, Under Armour, and Louis Vuitton in a wide range of capacities both in front of and behind the camera, while completing her Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Laws at The University of Sydney. Zhang’s directing, photography, and styling has been employed by the likes of VOGUE, L’Officiel, Harper’s BAZAAR, NOWNESS, and ELLE internationally. She has been listed in Forbes Asia’s 30Under30 and TimeOut’s 40Under40, and her work has been recognized as shaping the international fashion industry by the Business of Fashion BoF500 Index for four consecutive years. CNN has identified Zhang as a leading fashion photographer in Asia and ELLE named her the region’s most influential digital voice. She went on to be the first Asian face to cover ELLE Australia. In 2016, she co-founded BACKGROUND, a global consultancy for which she specialises in Western-to-Chinese and Chinese-to-Western cultural bridging for a range of luxury, lifestyle, and brand initiatives. In 2017, she exhibited a series of 39 unseen photographic works as a solo show in Sydney, and premiered her first short film – a 15-minute exploration of her visceral relationship with classical music on both performance and abstract planes – to critical acclaim. In 2018, co-curated the first annual FOREFRONT Summit focused on inter-industry problem-solving at all scales of business. From this king summit, Zhang developed FOREFRONT+ – a round table series of candid conversations covering subject matters of universal concern. In 2019, THE FACE Magazine engaged Zhang as Creative-Director-at-Large for Asia for its relaunch. Zhang is currently working on her first feature film.