Making Tofu Yellow Curry!

Dinner.

I in no way have expertise in Thai cooking, but I’d like to think I’ve at least picked up a tip or two from focused reading of menus, meals out, cooking shows and cookbooks. I own red curry paste, and picked up my first yellow curry paste Saturday at the farmer’s market. I’ve searched Fubonn for vegan yellow paste previously, but had no luck. I believe all of Thai and True’s curry pastes are vegan, which is awesome. I could try to make my own, naturally (and no doubt will one day) but hey, it’s local!

The instructions on the back of the jar were simply to simmer a teaspoon of curry paste in one cup of coconut milk, add veggies and cooked protein, and heat until tender. Now, I knew there were some things I wanted to incorporate – namely fresh basil and potatoes. The next time I make a curry I want to try imitating the pineapple curry from Vege Thai. I can foresee pineapple really giving the curry a great flavor.

Enough rambling, here is what I did:

Vegan Yellow Curry with Fried Tofu

• 1 can of Trader Joe’s Organic Lite Coconut Milk
• 2 teaspoons of Thai and True yellow curry paste
• 2 peeled and cubed Yukon Gold potatoes - steamed 2 minutes in the microwave.
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1.5 cups of sliced white mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons of frozen corn (really! trying to add a little sweetness here)
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• Pinch of minced ginger
• Pinch of white pepper
• Small handful of torn fresh basil (I used regular basil, but obviously Thai basil is preferable)
  
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 1 teaspoon vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek – spicy! To taste.
• 1 block of firm tofu, drained, pressed and cubed

(Haphazard) Instructions.

1. First I pan fried the tofu in a mixture of canola and peanut oil.I did this in my large wok and it lasted 5-7 minutes, flipping on all sides.
2. I then removed the tofu from the pan and set aside to soak out some grease. Yum.
3. Next I lightly sautéed the potatoes, carrots, corn and mushrooms in some of the oil left in the pan (though not completely necessary) with that garlic and ginger for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the can of coconut milk, curry paste and the everything but the basil.
5. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for at least 20 minutes – until the potatoes are just pierceable with a fork. I cooked this for 25-30 myself.
6. Stir in the fresh basil and adjust spices if necessary.
7. Serve with desired rice.

Plated with brown basmati rice

The verdict:

I enjoyed this, and was proud of myself for not only cooking something new - but something fairly easy and in a cuisine I don't tend to venture into. It's not as tasty as ones in restaurants, but I trusted my fish free dish!

Thomas seemed to enjoy it even more than I did, which was somewhat of a surprise because of the bit of spice, but his palate has been getting craftier due to his profession (barista) and growing appreciation for fancy salads. He even had the leftovers for dinner last night.

Served with a side of steamed chinese broccoli from the farmer's market: