"Satay'in Alive" Vegan Satay Soup with Chickpeas & Tofu for Souper Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

There has been so much pain this week with protests, riots, and so many people hurting, that it seems a bit frivolous to post a soup. But soup is my comfort, both making it and eating it, and while I won't go through the list of things I am doing to understand, to do better, to be better, as none of it seems truly enough, please know that I am trying. I see you, I hear you, I support you, and I stand with you. Black Lives Matter.

My soup inspiration this week comes from a spice blend. I was happy to get a package a few weeks ago with two more seasoning blends from The Book Club Cookbook whose line of Book Blends, Song Blends and TV Blends are both punny and delicious. In that box I received the Book Blend, Shallot's Web (air-dried shallots that I used in these baked eggs) and the Song Blend, Satay'in Alive. I wanted to do something fun with this blend and decided on making a vegan satay in a bowl, a soup full of spice and peanutty goodness.

Although I highly suggest you go online and order some of this blend of garlic, onion, coriander, orange zest, lemongrass, turmeric, smoked paprika ginger, salt, chipotle powder and cayenne, the flavors you find in the Indonesian dish of skewered meats, marinated and grilled. (Right now they are donating part of their proceeds to the NACCP Legal Defense Fund and Donor Choice) If you can't wait, you can blend your own seasoning--there are plenty recipes online. (You just won't get the delight of recieving the cute box, fun labeled bottle and delicious blend.) ;-)

For the soup, I used the spices as a base with veggies and aromatics, canned fire-roasted tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable broth, peanut butter, cubed tofu and lime juice. Then topped it with some of the things you gt with satay--julienned cucumbers, cilantro, chopped smoked peanuts and lime wedges. You could of course swap out the tofu for meat, chicken or shrimp.

Satay'in Alive Vegetarian Satay Soup with Chickpeas & Tofu
By Deb, Khaki Kitchen
(Makes About 6 Servings)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 Tbsp minced ginger
3 cloves garlic minced
2 1/2 Tbsp Satay'in Alive Satay Seasoning or equivalent Spices
1/2 Tbsp yellow curry powder blend
5 cups vegetable broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes with juice
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 heaping cup creamy peanut butter
about 1/3 cup brown sugar, or to taste 
1 lb extra-firm tofu, water pressed out & cut into 1-inch cubes
1 can (15 oz) coconut milk
juice of 2 limes, or two taste + extra wedges for serving
sea salt and black pepper to taste, if needed
To Serve: chopped fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts (I used smoked peanuts), julienned cucumber, lime wedges, Sriracha or sambal oelek (Indonesian chili suce) and basmati rice if desired

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook until softened, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, Satay'in Alive Seasoning, and curry powder, cooking another minute or two until fragrant. Add broth, tomatoes with their juices, and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, whisk in the peanut butter and brown sugar until smooth. Let soup simmer for about 10 minutes or until veggies are just tender and flavors meld.

Gently stir in the tofu cubes and coconut milk and return to a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes. Add lime juice, taste and adjust seasoning--adding sea salt and pepper if needed. (Depending on the broth & peanut butter you use--you may not need much if any salt). 

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with cucumber, peanut and fresh cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and chili sauce or paste on the side and with basmati rice if desired. Enjoy!

Notes/Results: This soup is so good! It's rich and satisfying, but not too heavy--the lime juice and spice lighten up all of the creamy richness. That also makes it good for eating in warm weather or cold. Originally I didn't have the sugar in the soup but it needed the balance of flavor so I added it and wrote it into the recipe. Play with the flavors and spice level to your liking--it's not very spicy, so if you want you can add more to the soup itself or serve it along side. I am very happy with how it turned out--it's a great way to use this fun seasoning blend (thank you Judy & The Book Club Cookbook) and I will happily make it again.

You can see the other dishes I've created with these seasoning blends:

North Carolina Fish Stew with Where the Crawdads Zing Compound Butter 

(Not So Traditional) White Soup with Dried and Prejudice Seasoned Salt

Note: I received these seasoning blends to try from The Book Club Cookbook. I was not compensated in any way for my posts and my feelings and experiences using them are my own. 

Let's see who awaits in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week:

Tina of Novel Meals brought Fresh Fruit Salad inspired by the food in Rosamunde Pilcher's classic novel, The Shell Seekers, saying "The fresh fruit available in England might have been different than what I had on hand, but it’s a refreshing accompaniment to any meal."

Thank you to Tina for joining me this week!

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, health week. Be well and be better.