Monday, January 5, 2015

Thai Curry with Vegetables!


Happy New Year to all my readers and followers! May this new year brings whatever you wish for!

Let me start off by declaring the intention of posting at least a recipe per week for the rest of the year. This is one of the resolutions that I have set for myself for the year 2015. I love the refreshing start of the new year, where everyone has opportunity to reflect on their goals for the last year, change any if needed and then try to stick to the new ones you have on the list. It's a wonderful process!

On that note ....let's move on to the first recipe for the year 2015!!!

A couple of my friends have been asking for the thai recipes. So here I am making their wish come true, posting one of the simple thai curries I make at least once every 2 weeks. It's delicious and perfect for those busy weeknights. I don't use tofu every time I make this curry because of the all the controversies around it. Also I don't really enjoy tofu very much. I replace it with chicken or sometimes just vegetables with more mushrooms in it to give the dish a meaty consistency.

Just cook up some rice in a presser cooker and make this delicious, versatile Vegetable Thai Curry in less than 20 minutes.

Thai food in general is very easy to make especially with the help of thai curry pastes that are available in the market. All of the flavors are packed in those bottles and when blended with thick coconut milk, all that is needed is good appetite :)


INGREDIENTS
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • Thai curry paste- about 4-5 tbsp. red/ yellow/ green. I used red for this recipe
  • 1 tbsp of fish sauce
  • 2-3 tbsp roasted grounded peanuts 
  • 1 tbsp of lime juice
  • 2 tbsp of brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of water or vegetable broth.
  • Chopped vegetables of your choice- I used broccoli, bok choy and mushrooms
  • Tofu cut into cubes.
  • Salt to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Mix the sugar , lemon juice and fish sauce in a bowl and keep aside. 
  2. Pour in the coconut milk in to a pan and heat it up. When the coconut milk reaches a gentle simmer stir in the thai curry paste.
  3. Then add the vegetables and let it all cook up for about 7-8 minutes until the veggies are almost done. Also add in the tofu at this point and the peanuts as well.
  4. Add the sugar and fish sauce mixture and let it all heat up for about 2-3 minutes.
  5. Add the water or the broth to thin out the curry as much as needed. Bring to a simmer again.
  6. Serve over rice or noodles.

NOTES
  • You can also use carrots, snap peas, onions, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, baby corns, potatoes, eggplant.....you get the point!
  • Adding fish sauce might put some people off. But don't worry it doesn't taste like all fish. It just gives more deeper flavor to the dish with a little bit of extra saltiness.
  • The more you simmer the curry, the more thick and creamy it becomes so if you want to simmer it for a longer time, don't add the vegetables to early in the process. Just add them in for the last 8-10 minutes or so. Then thin out the curry with water as needed.
  • If you are a vegetarian or a vegan, try swapping soy sauce, hoisin sauce for the fish sauce.


5 comments:

Unknown said...

HI Manali,
Good to see you in action. I am feeling low with the motivation, but I am trying to post a recipe a week on my end. have some lying in drafts for oh so long. Anyway, its always pleasure reading what's happening on your end. Keep blogging and the curry bowl looks yumm. I love love Thai food.
Love Ash.

Manali said...

Hi Ashwini,

Thanks for your lovely comment. We all have our days! I know you will try to carve out some time for your passion. It does feel good to see you in action as well. Looking forward to your posts. Love Manali.

Anonymous said...

Where can we get the curry paste

Manali said...

You can get the paste at any asian store or check an international aisle in any health food store like whole Foods and such. Alternatively I have posted an amazon link up in the post under ingredients. Hope it helps.
Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Adding fresh kafir lime leaves to the curry makes an amazing difference to the taste and aroma.