Description
An easy authentic recipe for Thai Green Curry with eggplant and your choice of tofu, chicken or shrimp. A fast and easy weeknight dinner that can be made in 30 minutes! Use store-bought green curry paste or make your own homemade green curry paste.
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
- 2–4 Tablespoons store-bought green curry paste (see notes) or 1/2 cup homemade green curry paste
- 1 cup veggie or chicken broth
- 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
- 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cubed ( not silken) or chicken breast (thinly sliced- see notes) or shrimp ( raw, peeled and de-veined)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce ( or vegan fish sauce)
- 1 Japanese eggplant, thinly sliced into half-moons
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 6–8 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 lime
- 1/4 cup fresh Thai Basil leaves, torn (or sub regular basil)
- additional lime wedges for garnish
Other additions or substitutions: snow peas, asparagus, green beans, zucchini, mushrooms, fresh chopped spinach leaves
Serve over rice or black rice
Instructions
- Set the rice to cook if using.
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven over medium heat, and saute the shallot. Turn your fan on, and stir-fry green curry paste for 2-3 minutes. Add the broth or stock and scrape up all those delicious browned bits. Add the kaffir lime leaves, and veggies, bring to simmer and cover. (Feel free to add chicken now if using.)
- Once veggies are just tender ( 3-5 minutes) stir in the coconut milk, salt, sugar and fish sauce.
- Add the tofu ( or shrimp) and bring to a gentle simmer, simmering uncovered until tofu is warmed through (and shrimp is cooked- pink and curled) Try to prevent this from coming to a hard boil – a gentle simmer will help preserve the coconut’s sweetness.
- Add a squeeze of lime and taste, adding more lime if needed. If you need more sweetness, add more sugar. More depth, add salt or fish sauce. Find your balance. 😉
- TIP: Remember you will be serving this over rice, which will mellow out the intensity of flavor- so I like to keep this on the slightly salty/flavorful side.
- Add the fresh basil leaves and serve with lime wedges over rice.
Notes
If using store-bought green curry – keep in mind- all brands vary in heat and salt levels. You may not need as much salt and perhaps less fish sauce- so add both to taste. Bump up the flavor with sauteed chopped shallots (saute first, then stir fry with the curry paste) and add kefir lime leaves and a few slices of galangal to the curry sauce. My favorite brands are Maesri (in a can) and Mae Ploy – available at most Asian Markets. Maesri and Mae Ploy can be quite spicy so start off with 3-4 tablespoons, until you are familiar with their spice level. You can always add a little more in the end.
If substituting chicken for the tofu, thinly slice it (1/4 inch thick slices) and add it directly to the stock or broth or feel free to poach it separately in salted water or broth for just a few minutes before adding to the curry sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: -calculated without the rice
- Calories: 279
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 1648.1 mg
- Fat: 21.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 3.6 g
- Protein: 8.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg