Sauté the mushrooms and peppers in a tbsp of oil over medium-low heat, and sprinkle with a little salt.
Cook the mushrooms and peppers for about 5 minutes until they release their juices.
Add the broth and spices and bring to a slow boil.
If using soy curls - break up the dry soy curls into small pieces before adding to the broth. (If using other vegan chicken strips seen notes below).
Dump in the Butler Soy curls and cook for another 3-4 minutes until they are soft.
Pour the plant-based milk into the soup.
Thicken the soup by making a roux
Heat oil or soy margarine in a separate soup pot.
Add flour to the oil and stir the mixture with a whisk until smooth. It will start to bubble and thicken slightly and look like the picture below.
Skim off ladles full of the broth out of your soup, leaving large pieces of vegan chicken and veggies behind.
Add the hot broth from the chicken soup one ladle at a time, stirring well between each scoop.
Add the remaining soup with the chicken and veggies once most of the broth has been incorporated into the roux.
Notes
Tips for making a roux
When you first add the broth to the oil and flour mixture, it will become very thick at first and look like a paste. Don’t worry, it will thin out and be the right consistency once you add all the broth.
Be sure to stir it well between each ladle of broth to keep it smooth.
Use a spoon to scrape the bottom corners of the pan to make sure to get any of the roux that has stuck to the corners.
You can reduce the oil to 1/4 cup to make a lower fat roux.
To use the starch method to thicken the soup
You can also thicken the soup with cornstarch (or potato starch) and water.
Use ¼ cup cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup cold water and then add it to the hot broth at the end once all other ingredients have been added. Heat until it bubbles and thickens.
How to use vegan chicken strips instead of soy curls
Use 2 cups or 16 oz. of a vegan chicken product to replace the soy curls. (One cup of soy curls will soak up about 1 cup of broth and double in size).
If you are using chicken strips, add them with the mushrooms and peppers and saute them for a few minutes before adding the broth.
Make sure to reduce the broth if you are not using soy curls. Add only 4 cups of broth instead of 5 since the soy curls soak up about 1 cup of the broth.