ramyaramesh3007Forget the thai takeaway and make this delicious vegan green curry at home in just under an hour! It’s also great for meal prep and is completely gluten free.
Green Curry originates from Thailand and is a curry you will often see when you go to Thai restaurants because it’s very popular. I’ve been making this curry at home for 6 years now, with a homemade green curry paste that is super simple to make! However, if you have a time crunch, store-bought green curry works just as well – as long as you follow the right cooking techniques to make it.
The flavour from green curry is beyond amazing that you won’t even tell this is vegan. A lot of curries I’ve had outside are water-y which is not right – an essential component to green curry must be the right amount of thickness. It shouldn’t be too runny or too thick.
Green Curry can be served with rice, or parotta (an indian type of flatbread – you can also get the instant ones in supermarkets). I personally think it tastes phenomenal with rice, but that’s just a personal preference.
What Do I Need to Make This?
- lemongrass – you need both the stalks and tops for this recipe. The stalks give more flavour for the paste and the tops are great for infusing flavour into the curry.
- garlic & shallots – to keep this recipe alliums free, substitute this with asafoetida (hing)
- galangal – thai ginger that gives so much flavour in thai dishes!
- limes – from now onwards, everything is going to be green. You have to use some of the lime peel along with lime juice.
- green chillies – for a spicier dish, you can add more. The smaller ones are generally more spicy.
- coriander – a must for the earthy and herby taste.
- coriander & cumin powder – you can get this ground or grind coriander seeds.
- kaffir lime leaves – usually we add this towards the end but grinding it with the paste gives a brighter colour and more flavourful paste.
- turmeric – optional
- vegetables – I added brinjals, mushrooms, carrots
- protein – tofu, tempeh or plant based chicken works great!
- garnish – thai basil leaves and red chillies
This recipe is also 100% gluten free!
Vegan Thai Green Curry
Ingredients
Homemade Green Curry Paste
- 4 lemongrass
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 shallots
- Thumbsize galangal
- 2 green limes
- 2 green chillies
- Handful coriander
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder (or seeds)
- 8 kaffir lime leaves
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
Green Curry
- 2 mini brinjals
- 4 button mushrooms
- 1 medium carrot
- 300 g tofu
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2-3/4 cup water
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 10 g thai basil leaves
- red chillies (garnish)
- basil leaves (garnish)
Instructions
- Tear kaffir lime leaves leaves along the steam before adding them in for great aroma. Cut the stalks of the lemongrass until you no longer see a purple hue in the inner layers.
- Use 1/2 tsp lime peel of one green lime. Add the juice of that lime into the blender later.
- Blend all the ingredients required for the paste in a high speed blender. You should get a thick green paste.
- Add some oil to pan. Once it heats up, add back the paste and saute for 5-10 minutes until the spices cook.
- Cut your tofu into cubes and pan fry them in oil until crispy.
- Add some water to loosen the paste and add in your vegetables. Cover with a lid and wait for it to cook for a few minutes.
- Add more water depending on how dry the curry is, and add in the fried tofu pieces.
- Give that a good mix. Add remaining water, coconut milk and squeeze in some lime juice from 1 lime. Let that simmer for a minute.
- Stir in some thai basil leaves and once they full wilt and get cooked, take off heat. Serve immediately with rice.