Thai green curry is one of those wonderful heat intensive food items. Hotlips (aka Johne, my husband) loves heat - and while I am fond of it - sometimes I can overdo it. Eight years ago, on our honeymoon (Ambergris Quay, Belize) we went to a Thai restaurant, owned and operated by a Thai woman and her husband. John ordered his extra hot and I just went with the one star. Dinner was served, and for each bite I took, the fire in my mouth increased. After about the 4th bite, John asked if I was okay (I was turning beet red and was borderline gasping)… to which I said, "I shudder to think if this is the mild what your dish tastes like". After taking a bite, Hotlips agreed that it was pretty heat intense. We figured out that they had confused our orders, making MINE the hot dish and his, the milder flavored dish. When we called the waitress to notify her, we suggested she try a bite, and her reaction was “wow! I have never had anything that hot come out of our kitchen”. Thank goodness for white wine is all I can say.
At any rate, and back to the story at hand, each time I whomp up batch of vegetable curry, depending on the freshness of the paste, it is always a different heat. Last night’s dish was perfect for a cold winter night, but it definitely was an 8 on a scale from 1 - 10. John loved it and I enjoyed it. If you like curry, green or red, give this a try, it is a great dish, easy to make and a crowd pleaser as well.
Thai Green Curry vegetables with Jasmine Rice
2 cups of uncooked Jasmine rice and 5 cups of water will provide enough rice for 4 (or for 2 with leftovers). I prepare rice and let it sit while I make the curry.
Ingredients 2 - 4 tablespoons peanut oil
1/ 2 pound tempeh (Trader Joes is what I use) cut into cubes
½ onion, sliced coarsely
6-8 small red potatoes / cut into small bite size pieces (your preference)
1 carrot sliced on the diagonal
1 stalk of celery sliced on the diagonal
Small can of bamboo shoots
1/ 2 cup straw mushrooms sliced /quartered (can subs fresh or other depending on taste)
1 tablespoon green curry paste (this is dependent on the heat intensity desired)
1/3 cup veggie broth
20 ounces of coconut milk
Note - I use a blend - Trader Joe’s light coconut (14.5 oz and then a small can 5.6 oz, of full strength)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 -6 leaves of fresh basil chiffonade
Note -Trader Joe’s sells basil “cubes” - in the freezer section… can be a handy product to have on hand for a substitute for fresh
½ pound broccoli cut in florets
6-8 string beans / cut in half
Garnish
Green onions - sliced lengthwise and julienned (place in ice water)
Peanuts for topping
Cilantro chopped
Lime wedges
Prep/slice / measure out above vegetables and other curry ingredients
Heat peanut oil on mid high temp, saute tempeh, browning on all sides, add onion and cook for several minutes. Add the curry paste and let the flavor escape (1-2 minutes). Then add in the coconut milk, broth, basil, brown sugar and heat through together. Add all veggies EXCEPT the broccoli and beans. Cook for 15 -20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender to fork. Add the broccoli and string beans, cover with a lid and let steam lightly for 2 -3 minutes and remove from heat.
Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with a wedge of lime, chopped cilantro and peanuts - placing the green onion across the top. And as Julia would say bon appétit”!
Note - for you carnivores, you could use chicken in place of the tempeh and it would be quite tasty.
