thai vegetable curry
Cooking is therapeutic for me. There is no better feeling than picking out fresh ingredients and transforming them into a mouth-watering dish. My most recent creation is a non-traditional, but very tasty Thai Vegetable Curry. First of all, a shoutout to Cookie & Kate, who’s Thai Red Curry recipe served as the inspiration for my dish. But I did not shop for a recipe, rather I shopped for what vegetables inspired me that day at our local coop, and I ended up with some lovely carrots, broccoli and red peppers. My pantry is always stocked with staples such as onions, garlic, an insane amount of spices, and sauces or sauce bases. So I decided to transform the bounty from the store into a Thai Curry.
I don’t include the starch in a recipe, as most people already have their favorite way to cook rice or pasta — in this case, I made jasmine rice in my Aroma rice cooker. Jasmine rice complements Thai curries best.
Yield: 6-8 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium sized yellow onions
3 cloves garlic
3 large carrots
1/2 head broccoli
2 red peppers
4 tablespoons red curry paste (reduce to 3 if you like it milder)
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup vegetable broth (chicken broth works in a pinch, but renders the recipe non-vegetarian)
1 teaspoon coconut sugar (substitute light brown sugar if you don’t have coconut sugar on hand)
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon black soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemongrass paste (or fresh lemongrass if available)
1 teaspoon turmeric
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
How is this sustainable ?
Most of the ingredients in this recipe were organic. Really, eliminating animal proteins as much as possible makes any recipe more sustainable, as the amount of meat the average American consumes is much higher than is needed or even recommended. Also, by using as many fresh versus processed ingredients, you are doing both your own health and that of the planet a favor.
Our personal goal is to have at least 75% of our meals be plant-based.
Instructions
- Finely chop onion, set aside.
- Finely chop garlic, set aside.
- Peel and chop carrots, set aside.
- Wash peppers, cut into thin 1 inch long strips.Wash broccoli, separate into uniform small florets, cut in half if too large.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add olive oil.
- Add chopped onions, sauté until translucent, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, sauté another 30 seconds.
- Add carrots, continuing to sauté while stirring frequently for another 5 minutes.
- Add red peppers and broccoli, sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the curry paste, cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add coconut milk, broth, and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat and continue to simmer for 5 to 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove skillet from heat, add salt, pepper, soy sauces, rice vinegar, lemongrass paste, and turmeric.
- Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with fresh cilantro, or basil, or parsley.
If you are not a vegetarian, I could also see this recipe with the addition of shrimp, I would suggest 1 pound medium sized shrimp for this, added to the curry about 3 minutes before taking it off the flame.
Please comment with questions or whether you liked it or not, and please feel free to share with friends. Thank you! Sigrun