Kaeng Khiao Wan-Thai Green Curry with Vegetables and Tofu

Thai curries are something we often order when we eat out in restaurants. The spice and the richness from the coconut milk are often appreciated by our palates. I have tried my hands on Thai red curry and now I decided that I will try Thai green curry. The big difference between eh two curries is the kind of chili that they use to make the curry paste. Red curry uses the Thai red chilies that are large and medium spicy, whereas the Thai green curry uses the Thai green chilies. The rest of the flavors are pretty much the same.

Once the green curry paste is made, the rest of the process is pretty simple. The curry paste can be stored in the refrigerator or could be frozen for future use. The amount of ingredients that I used below yielded me enough curry paste to make the curry twice.  The vegetables used for this dish can be anything based on the availability and choice. Few vegetables that could be used are Broccoli, bell pepper, beans, carrots, baby corn, zucchini and snow peas

So this Thai green curry is for my Month long Blogging marathon under the category International food.

A-Z Marathon – Alphabet K
Category – International

Preparation time – 15 mins
Cooking time – 40 mins
Difficulty level – Easy

Ingredients to make Thai Green Curry –

To make the Green curry paste – This quantity made 2 batches of curry

• Lemon grass – 2 stalk (about 5 tbsp)
• Thai green chilies – 5 (yielded pretty hot paste, so adjust based on your spice level)
• Garlic – 4
• Galangal – 1 inch piece (substitute tender ginger)
• Cilantro leaves and stem – ½ cup (chopped)
• Basil – ½ cup
• Roasted cumin powder – 1 tsp
• Coriander – 2 tsp (dry roasted until fragrant)
• Peppercorn – 8 (dry roasted until fragrant)
• Shallot – 2 (substitute ¼ cup of red onion)
• Soy Sauce – 1 tbsp
• Kaffir lime leaves – 6 (substitute with 1 tbsp lime zest + 1 tbsp lime juice)
  

• Green curry paste – ¼ cup
• Coconut milk – 1 can or 2 cups
• Broccoli – 1 cup (florets removed)
• Carrot – 1 (chopped)
• Onion – 1 large (sliced)
• Bell pepper – 1 (chopped)
• Baby corn – ½ cup
• Tofu – 1 pkg (drained and shallow fried)
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Basil –few (for garnish)

• Steam all the vegetables (except the onions and bell pepper) until they are 3/4th cooked and keep it aside.
• Dry the tofu entirely; cube them and then shallow fry in about a tsp of oil. Drain it on a paper towel and keep it aside.
• In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the sliced onions. Sauté until translucent.

• Now add the bell peppers and fry it for about 5 mins. Add the green curry paste and fry it on low flame for about 5 mins.

• Now add the coconut milk and cook the curry in it for about 10 mins in low flame. At this stage the curry would start turning aromatic.

• Add the rest of the vegetables and cook them in the sauce for about 10 mins. Add a little bit of water if the curry appears to be too thick.

• Once the vegetables are cooked, add the tofu and bring it to a slow boil.
• Turn off the flame and garnish with basil leaves.
• Serve hot with jasmine rice!