Our Bangkok Vegan Kitchen- Green Curry

Like most Thai curries the name, Kaeng Khioa Wan,  comes from the color of this dish and the color comes from the type of chillies that are used. Green curries are just as hot as the other curries, however a green curry should have a sweetness to it as well. Green curry is the only curry that is made from fresh chillies and not dried ones.

Eggplant is always an ingredient in a green curry. Eggplants are my latest obsession.  In Canada you see Italian and Japanese eggplant. In Thailand there are a ton of these cute little eggplants available in a rainbow of colors.

I thought that I would take a minute to  include a recipe for a fresh curry paste. As I mentioned before we have been using prepared pastes that do not contain nam pla (fish sauce) as we do not have a mortar and pestle and our little food processor is not up to the job.

3 tablespoons chopped green chillies

1 small handful each chopped shallots and garlic

1 tablespoon each chopped lemon grass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves

1 tablespoon coriander and cumin powder. You can add a bit of miso paste to this as well, if you wish.

Mix all ingredients together in food processor.

On to the curry recipe:

1 tablespoon of oil, we use coconut

1 teaspoon green chilli paste

2 slices of galangal, you can use ginger but it isn’t quite the same

2 kaffir lime leaves, (we miss our little kaffir lime bush from home and hope that Khun Rinda is enjoying it!)

2 two-inch stalks of lemon grass, bruised

1 block of tofu, cut into pieces and fried

1 small handful of mixed vegetables, your choice…but eggplant is a good choice

1 1/4 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon soya sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

Fresh Basil for garnish

Fry chili paste in hot oil until fragrant

Add herbs and 1/4 cup of coconut milk. Stir well.

Add vegetables and the remaining coconut milk and cook until the mixture is thickened

Slacken with a little water to your desired consistency

Add soya sauce and sugar.

Garnish with Basil and serve with rice.

Aroy Mak Mak!  Delicious!

I should mention that all the recipes are for single servings. We have a very small kitchen and a small fridge.