Thai Red Curry With Vegetables

 

Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

Ingredients

·       1 box super extra firm Tofu (air fried for 10 mins at 400 degrees) I prefer one from Trader Joe’s

·       1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil or avocado oil

·       Pinch of salt, more to taste

·       1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (about a 1-inch nub of ginger)

·       1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin  long strips

·       1 yellow, orange or green bell pepper, sliced into long strips

·       3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into ¼-inch thick rounds (about 1 cup)

·       2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste or more ( I used homemade curry, recipe below)

·       1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk

·      ½ cup water

·       1 ½ teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar

·       1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce

·       2 teaspoons rice vinegar or fresh lime juice

·       Garnishes/sides: handful of chopped fresh basil or cilantro, optional red pepper flakes, optional Sambal Oelek

1.      Heat Oil. Add ginger

2.     Add the bell peppers and carrots. Cook until the bell peppers are fork-tender, 3 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add Tofu. Then add the curry paste and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.

3.     Add the coconut milk, water, kale and sugar, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the peppers, carrots have softened to your liking, about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.     Remove the pot from the heat and season with tamari and rice vinegar. Add salt (I added ¼ teaspoon for optimal flavor), to taste. If the curry needs a little more punch, add ½ teaspoon more tamari, or for more acidity, add ½ teaspoon more rice vinegar. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. For more spice, add Sambal Oelek

Red Thai curry paste

1 stalk fresh lemongrass (or 3 tablespoons prepared lemongrass paste)

1 to 2 red chilies (or 2 to 3 teaspoons Sambal Oelek)

1 thumb-size piece galangal (or ginger, peeled and sliced)

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

2 tablespoons soy sauce, plus salt to taste

2 tablespoons lime juice (freshly squeezed)

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons chili powder 

1 to 3 tablespoons coconut milk (depending on how thick you want the paste)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Optional: 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or add 1 cinnamon stick to your curry pot)

Tip:  Lemon grass from Kroger. I use ginger instead of galangal. I am still looking for a place where I can get galangal. You could probably check in the Asian store. We have one in Dallas but I still have to explore.