Thai Coconut Curry
Every time I get an order of coconut curry from a Thai restaurant it feels like running into an old friend I haven’t caught up with in a while, its surprising, exciting, and always ends with me saying “wow I LOVE you! Can we please do this more often?!” Equal parts savory, sweet, and spicy, a balanced coconut curry is the 8th wonder of the world. If you’re not making the curry paste from scratch, a knockout homemade coconut curry is surprisingly quick and easy, can feed a crowd, and may become a part of your weekly dinner rotation. Check out our recipe below!
Yield : 2 Servings
Ingredients
1 14oz can of Coconut Milk
½ Large Onion: diced
1 Large Zucchini: cut into 1/2-inch thick half-circles
1 Large Red Bell Pepper: Cut into 1-inch squares
1-inch knob of Ginger Root: peeled and sliced (we recommend large slices if you find ginger to be too strong a flavor for you, that way you can fish them out after you’re done)
3 cloves of Garlic: peeled and sliced
2 tbsp of Red Thai Curry Paste
1-2 Hot Chilis: Optional! I love a real punch of spice, so I used 2 Holland peppers, sliced them thinly, seeds-and-all. However, that level of spice might be too hot for most people. Remember that the flesh of the peppers holds some heat (and almost all of the flavor), but the real heat is in the seeds.
1.5 Cups of Rice
2-3 Medium Carrots: sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
3 tbsp of Coconut Oil: other oils will work fine, coconut oil just reinforces the coconut flavor!
Salt: to taste
Preparation:
Wash your rice in a large bowl of water (pour the rice in and swish it around with your hands) to remove as much of the surface starch as possible.
Following the directions on the bag of rice (I say this because this recipe pairs well with almost any kind of rice, and each kind will require a different amount of water), pour your rice and water into a medium pot, cover, and put on medium-low heat.
While the rice is cooking, prepare your onions, garlic, ginger, and chilis.
Add 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil to a medium dutch oven (or any other type of heavy-bottomed pot) on medium-low heat. Once the oil is hot, add in your onions, garlic, ginger and chilis, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes (you want the vegetables to release their water and develop some light color).
After 5-10 minutes, add in your curry paste and mix-well to combine. Stir and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Add your coconut milk to the pot (be sure to use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot), cover, and let cook for 15-20 minutes.
Don’t forget to check on your rice! If your rice is done cooking, simply take it off of the heat, fluff it up in the pot, and cover the pot back up to keep it warm.
Meanwhile, cut up your carrots, pepper, and zucchini. Add 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil to a large pan, and once the oil is hot, add in your vegetables. Sauté for 10 minutes, or until the zucchini has taken on color and the carrots have softened. Salt to taste.
Once the curry has cooked for 15-20 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
Once your curry has finished cooking, salt to taste (it will definitely need some), let it cool for 5 minutes, then serve with the rice and vegetables!
Best Practices:
As always:
Avoid packaged produce, or really anything packaged for that matter. This is not to say that you’ll always have the option, but when you do, go for it! For example, you may sometimes see peppers plastic-wrapped, ginger in sealed containers, or carrots in large plastic bags.. These are all very often available sans any container, so take the opportunity to use your hands, smell the produce, build that relationship with your ingredients!
Try to bring your own bags when you go shopping for these ingredients
Make sure you’re not buying more than you think you’ll reasonably use! Ingredients like the peppers, and zucchini will not last very long, so make sure you buy with care! However, ingredients like garlic and ginger can last a long time in your pantry (but not forever), so if you buy more than you need, you’ll likely have plenty of other opportunities to use them.
These ingredients have been chosen with several things in mind:
Most of these ingredients are household staples that are relatively inexpensive and last a long time. If you don’t already have ginger or garlic, these are amazing staples in any pantry and can add so much flavor to any number of recipes/dishes.
The coconut curry can so easily pair with any number of vegetables (or other ingredients), so we encourage you to try and use seasonal and local produce if you can!
This recipe is at-its-core vegetarian, but be sure to look at the ingredient list of the curry paste you buy. Some pastes include fish or fish-products, so be sure to take a look to make sure the curry paste aligns with your diet!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know! If you really loved it, share it on social media and tag us (@groundedgrub), or, better yet, share it with your friends and family!