coconut soup recipe

A vegetarian version of Tom Kha Gai - Thai coconut soup. I have made this twice, it's delicious and even better the next day. This time I doubled the recipe and I like it over rice noodles. I used one can of regular coconut milk and one can of lite, so it only has half a million calories.

A friend reminded me that kaffir lime leaves are traditional, so substitute those for the lime juice if you can find them. Oh - and I found out the hard way that if you get jalapeno juice in your eye a milk poultice works.

Ingredients:

* olive oil
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 red onion, sliced
* 1 red pepper, sliced
* 1 cup mushrooms (any type), sliced
* 2 small red chili peppers, minced, or 1 jalapeno pepper
* 5-6 thick slices galangal or ginger
* 6 inch piece of lemongrass, minced and ground in mortar and pestle
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 12 ounce can coconut milk
* juice from 1/2 lime
* 1 16 ounce package tofu, chopped into 1-inch cubes
* 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation:
In a large soup or stockpot, saute the first seven ingredients in oil for a few minutes until lightly cooked. Reduce heat to low and add the vegetable broth, coconut and remaining ingredients, except for cilantro. Allow to simmer over low heat for at least 15 minutes. Stir in fresh cilantro just before serving.