I have made curry a bunch of times with the pre-made paste you can find at the Asian markets--but I never really got it to the taste that I wanted.
Luckily, I found this recipe in the January/February 2011 issue of Cooking Light. Not only is it vegan (if you omit the shrimp) but you can make it no matter how far you may be from an Asian market--it requires no paste! All of the ingredients you should either have on hand or will be able to find at your local grocery store. If you want the rundown on the best curry cooking utensils then have a look at Curry Fayre as they have it all covered very well.
Don't be scared away by the long list of ingredients......the process is simple and straightforward.
Ingredients
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons chopped ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 8 cloves peeled garlic
- 2 large shallots chopped
- 4 Thai chili peppers
- 2 cups of broccoli florets
- 2 cups of bok choy or baby bok choy slices
- 2 teaspoons of dark sesame oil
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 can light coconut milk
- ½ pound shrimp Or if you want to make this vegan (use tofu instead of shrimp. You will need 1 lb of tofu drained and cut into ¾ inch cubes., optional)
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons black sesame seeds
Instructions
- ) Make some Japanese white rice in your rice cooker.
- ) Combine the cilantro, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, shallots in the food processor. Process until smooth--set aside. You just made your own curry paste!
- ) Steam broccoli until crisp tender. Drain and set aside.
- ) Allow the water at the bottom of your steamer come to a boil. Throw in the bok choy and let cook for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
- ) Heat a pan to medium and add sesame oil. Add curry mixture to the pan and saute for 1 minute----stirring the whole time. Your house is going to smell good!
- ) Add sugar, soy sauce, salt, and coconut milk and bring to a boil.
- ) Reduce heat and add shrimp (or tofu) and cook for 2 minutes. No more, no less.
- ) Toss in broccoli and bok choy and let sit for 1 minute.
- ) Done. Do not let the shrimp cook for more than 3 minutes.....that is really all the time they need.
- ) Place a generous scoop of curry on ½ cup of rice. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds.
- Enjoy! It is mighty tasty!
Rina says
So I would use Tofu instead of Shrimp to be Vegan right ?
rina says
It looks good 🙂 I love the set up:)