Putting it Together: Thai Curry

This is the curry I made with my Mussamun curry paste. Once you have curry paste on hand, the dish goes together very quickly. Real Vegetarian Thai offers recipes using bamboo shoots, potatoes, winter squash, peas, and pineapple, among others. There are regional curry specialties with specific vegetables in them, but if you're not concerned with authenticity, all kinds of vegetables work. Red bell pepper is a favorite of mine, in addition to the ones I used here. Stick with the milder, sweeter vegetables, though, and save vegetables like broccoli and asparagus for a different type of curry or a stir-fry.

The amount of broth you make can vary, too and you can use more or less coconut milk. I never, ever buy lite coconut milk, though, as it's just regular coconut milk thinned with water. If you want a lighter broth, you can just use less and freeze the remainder. You can also skip the coconut milk completely and use vegetable broth.

I'm sending this over to this week's Hearth 'n' Soul blog hop. 

Thai Curry

I like to bake my tofu, so that's how I prepared the rest of the vegetables, but steaming or stir-frying works well, too.

1 package firm or extra-firm tofu, 14 to 16 ounces
1 medium sweet potato, 1/2 to 3/4 pound
canola oil
a handful of cremini or button mushrooms, about 1/4 pound
a handful of green beans, about 1/4 pound
1 13.6 ounce can coconut milk
1 cup water
1 to 6 tablespoons* red or Mussamun curry paste
1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce

*With commercial curry pastes, I typically use 2 tablespoons. I used 6 tablespoons of the homemade paste as it's not as concentrated as the commercial kind.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Drain tofu and cut into 1-inch pieces. Peel and dice sweet potato into 1/2-inch pieces. Toss the sweet potato with just enough canola oil to coat the pieces. Bake tofu and sweet potato in a single layer on an oiled baking pan for 20 minutes, turning over once.

Thickly slice or quarter mushrooms. Toss with a little canola oil and set aside. Stem the green beans and cut in half. Toss with a little canola oil. Add both to the tray of tofu and sweet potatoes after they've cooked for 20 minutes. Turn over the tofu and sweet potatoes one more time and bake all for 10 minutes.

In a large, deep skillet, stir together the coconut milk and water. Whisk in the curry paste and add soy sauce to taste. Heat over a low burner.

Test that sweet potatoes are done with a fork. Add 'fu and vegetables to coconut milk and stir. Serve with jasmine rice.

Makes about 4 servings.