You will love this chickenless Easy Vegan Binakol! It's loaded with the goodness of papaya and coconut water. This is a Filipino recipe made into vegan - super easy and quick to cook!
Warm your cozy days with these recipes: Ginataang Kalabasa and Vegan Chicken Rice Soup!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Binakol is known as comfort food for Filipinos and is served more during the rainy season. The natural sweetness from the coconut water, a kick of spice from the chilies and their leaves, and the tenderness of the chicken are already a complete meal in itself.
The Story Behind Binakol
Filipinos are famous for their delicious soup recipes, and Binakol is one of the favorites among the many delicious and easy-to-cook soup recipes in the Philippines. It is comparable to the Chicken Tinola and Chicken with Coconut Milk soups, except that this recipe uses coconut water as its main liquid ingredient.
Where Binakol Comes From
It was first made famous in the Bicol region of the Philippines. The main ingredients to make a delicious Binakol are chicken meat, spices, coconut water, unripe papaya slices, moringa or sili leaves, and coconut meat. Now, we can enjoy it vegan style!
When is this Dish Typically Enjoyed?
It's usually served during cool rainy days. Family gatherings that need comfort food, too. It's light but feeling so many Filipinos have it at lunch time or dinner time with hot rice.
Ingredients
Listed below are all the ingredients you will need:
- Coconut oil
- Garlic
- Red onion
- Ginger
- Firm tofu
- Water
- Tomato
- Green papaya
- Lemongrass
- Young coconut water
- Young coconut meat
- Salt
- Pepper
- Sili leaves & malunggay
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Sauté the Aromatics
1. In a pot over medium heat, heat the coconut oil.
2. Add garlic, onion, and ginger. Sauté until translucent.
Add Tofu and Base Ingredients
3. Add tofu and fry until lightly browned.
4. Add water and tomato. Cover with a lid and let it boil.
Add Vegetables and Simmer
5. Add green papaya and lemongrass. Cook until it boils again.
6. Pour in coconut water and coconut meat. Cover with a lid and simmer for 2–3 minutes.
Final Seasoning
7. Mix in salt and pepper. Add sili or malunggay leaves.
8. Cover the pot with a lid for 1 minute, then turn off the heat.
Serve
9. Best served immediately while hot and fragrant.
Substitutions & Variations
- Ingredient Swap
Try mushrooms or tempeh if you don’t have tofu. - Variation
You can swap green papaya for chayote or sayote, or use malunggay instead of sili leaves. - Mistake to Avoid
Avoid overcooking the tofu — it should stay slightly firm, not mushy. - Storage Tips
- This soup keeps well for 3 days in the fridge, but doesn’t stand up well to freezing due to the coconut water base.
- Store the tofu and coconut meat separately from the broth, then combine when reheating for best freshness.
FAQs
Easy Vegan Binakol
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4-5 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 medium red onion quarterly cut
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 200 grams firm tofu cut into large cubes
- 2 cups water
- 1 medium tomato cut in quarters
- 250 grams green papaya* cut into wedges
- 2-3 stalks lemongrass tied and knotted
- 3 cups young coconut water
- 1 cup young coconut meat
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon of pepper
- 1 bunch sili leaves or 100 grams malunggay
Instructions
Sauté the Aromatics
- In a pot over medium heat, heat the coconut oil.
- Add garlic, onion, and ginger. Sauté until translucent.
Add Tofu and Base Ingredients
- Add tofu and fry until lightly browned.
- Add water and tomato. Cover with a lid and let it boil.
Add Vegetables and Simmer
- Add green papaya and lemongrass. Cook until it boils again.
- Pour in coconut water and coconut meat. Cover with a lid and simmer for 2–3 minutes.
Final Seasoning
- Mix in salt and pepper. Add sili or malunggay leaves.
- Cover the pot with a lid for 1 minute, then turn off the heat.
Serve
- Best served immediately while hot and fragrant.
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Craving something soothing? This easy Vegan Binakol will comfort you from the inside out with its light broth and healing ingredients.
Sweet says
Oh yes, oh yes! This is one of my comfort foods. Yey!