Are u looking for a spicy and quick curry that is both vegan and healthy? I bet u have come to the right place. In thai cuisine their are 2 types of curries one are coconut based and the other are water based, this thai jungle curry belongs to the latter category.
authentically it is made with whatever is caught in the jungle by the kings in the ancient times but i have modified this recipie for my vegan friends out their. The curry starts with reducing coconut milk until it is bubbling and has seperated its oil although some coconut milks will not seperate because of the stabilizers in them ,in that case u just need to reduce the coconut milk until its half and than saute your curry paste in it.
Lets talk about curry paste for the jungle curry it includes the following ingredients:
thai bird eye green chillies or any other small and spicy green chilli that you can find in your area.
dried mild red chillies like kashmiri chillies or u can use guajilo chillies which are from mexico
galangal which is a rhizhome just like ginger but it has a very different sort of pine forest aroma and flavour but if u can't find it you can use ginger with some lime zest.
lemongrass,for prepping it u need to cut the end and bruise it with a heavy object and when the layers come apart just use the soft inner part , u only need to use the bottom half but u can save the top for stocks and soups.
coriander root or stems
garlic
white peppercorns which are mostly used in thai cuisine as opposed to black pepper.
shallots/red onion
makrut lime zest or u can use zest from local limes.
makrut lime leaves or u can just use lime leaves.
grachai or fingeroot which is a rhizhome,this u can find canned ,I couldn't find it but it is one of the main ingredients.
Now if u don't want to go through all this trouble of making your own curry paste or u can't find these ingredients in your local store ,u can just use red curry paste with grachai , thai green chillies ,lemon leaves and lemon zest.
By the way I highly recommend making your own curry paste as it freezes really well in an airtight container for 1 month.
Than comes the two most important ingredients for this curry that is the 'magic powder' or toasted rice powder which is toasted rice ground into a coarse powder and than sprinkled at the last stage of cooking for the last bit of aroma and the second ingredient is the holy basil for that extra bit of freshness.
Authentically this curry includes vegetables like thai eggplants ,baby corn, long beans ,etc. but
for this curry u can use any mild flavoured vegetables that u have like carrots, potatoes, red bell peppers, etc. If u wish u can also add medium firm tofu to this curry for that extra kick of protien.
you can serve this amazing curry with some fragrant jasmine rice or some coconut rice.
CUISINE:THAI
SERVINGS:4 TO 5
TOTAL TIME:45MINS
COURSE:MAIN COURSE
RECIPIE OF VEGAN THAI JUNGLE CURRY
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE THAI JUNGLE CURRY PASTE
0.7oz mild dried chillies
3 to 5 green thai chillies, u can adjust it as per your taste
salt as per taste
1/4tsp white peppercorns
1 lemongrass ,bottom half only
1tbsp galangal,finely chpped
2tbsp fingerrot or grachai,finely chopped
1tsp makrut lime zest,finely chopped
1tsp cilanto stems or roots,finely chopped
3tbsp shallots,finely chopped
1tbsp garlic,finely chopped
QUICK---FIX JUNGLE CURRY PASTE
4to 5 tbsp of red curry paste
3 to 5 green thai chillies
2tbsp grachai,finely chopped
2tbsp lemongrass,finely chopped
FOR THE JUNGLE CURRY
1tbsp of neutral oil
jungle curry paste (the whole recipie or as needed)
5to 6 baby corn,cut lenghtwise
1 medium size potato,cut into cubes
2 small carrots,cut into batons
8 to 10 long beans or french beans,cut in half
200g tofu (optional) (SEE NOTES)
2 to 3tsp of palm sugar or regular sugar
1tsp of dark soy sauce
3 to 4 makrut lime leaves
1cup of holy basil or regular basil or u can use any variety of tulsi that u can find in india
2cups of vegetable stock or as needed
2tbsp of toasted rice powder or as needed(SEE NOTES)
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR THE JUNGLE CURRY PASTE
soak the dried red chillies in hot water for 10 to 15mins,u can discard the seeds if u want it to be less spicy.
than grind all the ingredients listed above for the paste in a mixer grinder or u can use a pestle and mortar.
this paste can be frozen for 1 month or can be kept in the fridge for 3 days.
FOR THE CURRY
add oil to a heavy bottom pan and saute the curry paste until it is fragrant and the oil starts to seperate.
than deglaze with veg stock and add your long beans with your sugar,soy sauce,and salt ,than bring to a boil.
when the long beans are half cooked add all your other vegetables except your holy basil and makrut lime leaves.
than adjust the seasoning ,it should be spicy and salty but not prominately sweet.
when all the vegetables are cooked add your holy basil and your makrut lime leaves.
add the magic powder just before serving otherwise it will lose its aroma.serve hot with jasmine rice and enjoy.
NOTES
for the magic powder toast 1/4cup of jasmine rice or sticky rice in a dry skillet until deep golden in colour along with 2 lime leaves or makrut lime leaves.
than grind into a coarse powder using a spice grinder or pestle and mortar.
for the tofu, pan fry it with a little oil before putting it into curry.