ramyaramesh3007This delectable dish pairs steamed rice with a braised mushroom sauce with tofu and tempeh, stir fried cabbage, vegan chicken cutlet doused in an aromatic creamy curry.
You may have heard of Hainanese Chicken Rice but have you ever heard of Hainanese Curry Rice? It’s a popular Singaporean comfort rice dish that originated during the British colonial period where Hainanese immigrants were employed as chefs for British households and wealthy Peranakan families. It inspired the several layers to the dish: breaded pork chop from Britain, stewed cabbage (chap chye), dark braising sauce and an Indian inspired curry but much thicker and made with coconut milk.
In Singapore, they also called it Scissors Cut Curry Rice as some of the ingredients like the pork chop cutlet are chopped up with scissors. In this vegan version, we will be focusing on these four main dishes:
- Hainanese style coconut curry made using a vegan curry paste and aromatics
- Braised tofu, tempeh and mushrooms
- Stir fried cabbage with garlic
- Vegan chicken cutlet, chopped up into pieces with scissors
Vegan Scissors Cut Curry Rice
Ingredients
Braised Tofu, Tempeh and Mushroom
- 150 g tempeh
- 300 g extra firm tofu
- 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 tbsp mushroom seasoning
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 3 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp sweetener
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1.5 cups water
Hainanese Curry Gravy
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large white onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp ginger grated
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 pack vegan curry paste
- 200 ml coconut milk full fat
Stir Fried Cabbage
- 2 cups cabbage
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp mushroom seasoning
Vegan Chicken Cutlet
- 8-10 vegan nuggets or 4 vegan chicken cutlets
- 4 servings white rice
Instructions
Braised Tofu, Tempeh and Mushroom
- Chop tempeh, tofu into medium sized squares. Slice shiitake mushrooms.
- To a pot, add oil and saute smashed garlic cloves. Add all the ingredients except corn starch as well as 1 cup water and let that simmer.
- Once the ingredients are cooked, mix in the corn starch slurry (1 cup water + 2 tbsp corn starch) and let the gravy thicken.
Hainanese Curry Gravy
- To a pan, add diced onions and saute until they become translucent. Add minced ginger and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and saute for a minute. Add curry paste and cook according to the package instructions. Add a splash of water to loosen the gravy.
- Finally add the coconut milk, bring to a simmer and combine well.
Stir Fried Cabbage
- Chop up your cabbage. To a heated pan, add oil and minced garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add in your cabbage, soy sauce, mushroom powder and stir fry until it's half cooked and crunchy.
Vegan Chicken Cutlet
- Air fry vegan chicken cutlet or nuggets as per the package instructions.
- Serve bowl of rice on a plate, add a portion of cabbage, tofu, tempeh and mushrooms. Spoon over some of the dark braising sauce. Cut up your chicken cutlet using scissors on top of the rice. Finally spoon over a generous serving of the hainanese curry and enjoy!