Red curry Instant Pot tofu soup

This recipe is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. All opinions are 100% my own.

Creamy Instant Pot tofu soup gets a lovely little kick from red curry. Serve it over noodles or rice for an easy, vegan, one-bowl meal.

This Instant Pot tofu soup brings the heat and the flavor, and you can adjust the spiciness to suit your taste. It's ready in less time than it takes to wait for a takeout order.

Table of Contents

• Pressing the tofu
• Recipe notes
• How to serve and store
• Instant Pot tofu soup recipe

Pressing the tofu

Pressing your tofu is so crucial for this recipe. You want to get as much liquid out as you can, so the tofu will be ready to drink in the flavorful red curry broth as it cooks in the Instant Pot.

I love to press my tofu using the EZ Tofu Press. The EZ Tofu Press is faster than pressing with weights in a colander, because you adjust the pressure manually, rather than relying on gravity. It also maintains the shape of the block, which is so important in a tofu soup like this one.

The EZ Tofu Press gets out about ½ cup of water in just 10-15 minutes of pressing. And it's incredibly easy to clean. You can hand wash or just stick it into the top rack of your dishwasher.

Once your tofu is done pressing, dice it up, and get ready to make your soup.

Recipe notes

This recipe gives your Instant Pot a nice workout. You start with the saute function to brown the tofu in toasted sesame oil. If you don't do oil, I provide oil-free directions, as well. That little touch of sesame oil brings big flavor to the pot, though, if you can do it!

Then, you add almost all of the remaining soup ingredients: vegetable broth, carrots, red curry powder, turmeric, and ground ginger. I'm using dried spices instead of fresh to make this recipe super simple. 

If you prefer, you can use a tablespoon or two of fresh ginger in place of the dried. You can also substitute two to three tablespoons of red curry paste instead of powder.

Set the pot to high pressure, then do a quick release. Add the broccoli to the pot, and then cook at high pressure for zero minutes. Yes, this is a thing! Zero minutes just means that it comes to pressure, and you immediately release. That's perfect for a quick-cooking veggie like broccoli.

Getting the lid back onto the pot after it has been at pressure can be tricky, depending on how long you leave it open before adding the broccoli. Make sure that your pressure valve is set to venting. If it's set to sealing, it will be tougher to get the lid back on.

After the broccoli finishes cooking, stir in a can of coconut milk, and you are ready to eat! You can use light or full fat coconut milk in this recipe.

Dish this up with sriracha sauce on the side, so everyone can make their soup as spicy or not as they like.

How to serve and store

Serve this soup straight up as an appetizer or side dish. If you want to make it a meal, though, add some cooked noodles or rice to your bowls before you dish up the soup.

If you're serving it as a side or starter, here are some suggestions for things to pair up with it:

• sesame noodles and ginger-sesame kale
• peanut noodle salad
• pineapple fried rice
• sushi bowls
• sushi burritos