THAI RED CURRY WITH VEGETABLES
(BUT NO TOMATO)

Prep Time: 10 mins     Cook Time: 30 mins     Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups jasmine rice or long-grain rice, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• pinch of salt, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (about a 1-inch nub)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped finely
• 2 under-ripe zucchini, thickly sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into ¼-inch thick rounds (about 1 cup)
• small head of broccoli, broken into florets and stem peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk
• ½ cup water
• 1½ cups packed thinly sliced silverbeet
• 1½ teaspoons coconut sugar or raw sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
• handful of chopped fresh basil or coriander,
• optional red pepper flakes, sriracha as garnish
  

Instructions

• To cook the rice, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rinsed rice and continue boiling for 12 or so minutes, reducing heat as necessary to prevent overflow. Remove from heat, drain the rice and return the rice to pot. Cover and let the rice rest for 10 minutes or longer, until you’re ready to serve. Just before serving, season the rice to taste with salt and fluff it with a fork.
• To make the curry, warm a dutch oven over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the oil. Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, while stirring continuously.
• Add the green vegies and carrots; cook until the broccoli stems are fork-tender, up to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Then add the curry paste and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
• Add the coconut milk, water, silverbeet and sugar, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the peppers, carrots and silverbeet have softened to your liking, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the pot from the heat and season with tamari and rice vinegar/lime juice. Add salt (¼ teaspoon for optimal flavor) to taste. If the curry needs a little more punch, add ½ teaspoon more tamari, or for more acidity, add ½ teaspoon more rice vinegar/lime juice. Divide rice and curry into bowls and garnish with chopped coriander and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if you like.
• If you like spicy, serve with sriracha or chili garlic sauce on the side.

As with most recipes, I’ve found the cooking times variable. It depends entirely on the vegetables in the curry as to how long to cook ’em. Trial and error, trial and error – without any error, of course !   :)