Thai Green Curry with Spring Vegetables Recipe (Full of Flavor)

• Food: Thai Green Curry
• Writer: Nicolas Wilson
• Content-Type: Food Blog

Recently, I’ve been on a vegetable-packed coconut curry kick—they’re the ideal transition food for this time of year.

Fresh asparagus, carrots, and spinach are combined with a delightful green coconut sauce in this vegetarian Thai green curry recipe. It’s flavorful and easy enough to make on a weeknight.

Because some fresh components (such as galangal) are difficult to come by and time-consuming to make, I used store-bought Thai curry paste instead.

In Thailand, I observed a chef make curry paste, and he worked up a sweat! So, while this recipe isn’t as accurate as the original, it’s a lot easier to prepare.

This dish is based on a Thai green curry recipe that I used to make a long time ago. That dish’s fundamental recipe was fantastic (I learned how to prepare it at a delightful cooking class), but my mix-ins were never quite right.

So here we are, three years later, with a better and more environmentally friendly version. This time, I went with asparagus (or snow peas), carrots, and wilted spinach. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!

How to Serve it?

I left off the tofu and found the dish to be just as filling without it. If you want to include tofu, bake it first and then combine it with coconut milk.

My curry was served on rice (again), but I think quinoa would be a good substitute.

Thai Green Curry

Fresh asparagus, carrots, and spinach are included in this healthful vegetarian Thai green curry! It’s flavorful and easy enough to make on a weeknight. If asparagus isn’t in season where you live, you can use sliced snow peas instead. Two large servings (as pictured) or four small servings can be made from this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup brown basmati rice, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger (about a 1-inch nub of ginger, peeled and chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Pinch of salt
• ½ bunch asparagus, tough ends removed and sliced into 2-inch long pieces (to yield about 2 cups prepared asparagus)
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into ¼-inch wide rounds (to yield about 1 cup of sliced carrots)
• 2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
• 1 can (14 ounces) of coconut milk (I used full-fat coconut milk for a richer curry)
• ½ cup water
• 1 ½ teaspoons coconut sugar or turbinado (raw) sugar or brown sugar
• 2 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
• 1 ½ teaspoon soy sauce (I used reduced-sodium tamari)
• Garnishes: a handful of chopped fresh cilantro and red pepper flakes, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a big saucepan of water to a boil for the rice. Continue to boil for 30 minutes after adding the rinsed rice, decreasing heat as needed to prevent overflow. Remove the rice from the heat, drain it, and return it to the pot. Cover the rice and set it aside for 10 minutes or more, until ready to serve.
2. Over medium heat, warm a large skillet with deep sides. Add a couple of teaspoons of oil once it’s heated. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, with the onion, ginger, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 3 minutes more, stirring periodically, after adding the asparagus and carrots. Then add the curry paste and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring often.
3. 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar should be added to the coconut milk in the pan. Bring the mixture to a low boil, then reduce to low heat. Reduce heat to maintain a slow simmer and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the carrots and asparagus are soft and cooked through.
   When the veggies are done cooking, add the spinach and heat for 30 seconds, or until the spinach has wilted.
4. Remove the curry from the heat and season with soy sauce and rice vinegar. To taste, season with salt and red pepper flakes (if desired). To serve, divide the rice and curry among bowls and top with chopped cilantro and a pinch of red pepper flakes, if desired.

NOTES

GREEN CURRY PASTE can be found in the Asian section of your supermarket. Thai Kitchen is a brand that I enjoy. This Thai curry paste is vegetarian, however, not all Thai curry pastes are. *MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE: Instead of ordinary soy sauce, use gluten-free tamari.