This vegan Thai green curry recipe is easy to make, flavorful, and the perfect idea for your lunch or dinner.

What kind of a food blog would this be if the blogger doesn’t share their favourite recipe? So yes, this vegan Tofu Thai Green Curry recipe is one of my favourite Thai dishes. To be completely transparent I could easily have Thai green curry (or red) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Can anyone relate to this? It’s okay, your obsession is safe with me.

It’s very simple, pretty quick and if you are not going for an authentic Thai curry you can simply ‘get rid of’ all the veggies in your fridge that you don’t have an idea what to do with. Or their expiry date is close.

To make this dish easier, you can use store-bought curry paste, but the best option would be to make your own. I will share the quicker version today and will do a separate post on how to make a curry paste at home.

As usual, I will share some nutritional facts. This time I’m going to talk about coconut milk.

Click here to read more about the Vegan Nutrition

Coconut milk

What is coconut milk exactly and how is it made?

There are 2 versions – Coconut milk as a beverage (in carton) and coconut milk for cooking (canned).

So, both of these come from processing coconut meat. it might be confusing but the liquid that can be found in the center of coconut when you open it, is not coconut milk, it’s coconut water.

Coconut milk found in cans is made by soaking coconut meat in hot water until soft, which is then shredded, mixed with pure water, and squeezed/ pressed to extract a white liquid – coconut milk. In case you would like to do a home version you can do exactly the same procedure; grate coconut flesh, soak it in hot water, add pure water, blend it in a high-speed blender, and squeeze it through a cheesecloth. Simple as that.

Coconut milk from a carton is made by adding more water and different sweeteners.

You can use the canned version for soups, stews, curries, desserts etc. The possibilities are endless. Now, let’s see the nutritional value.

Nutritional value (100g canned coconut milk) – this varies depending on the brands

• Calories – 197cal
• Protein – 2.02g
• Fat – 21g
• Carbs – 2.81g
• Fiber – 0g

Although coconut meat has lots of valuable micro-nutrients like vitamins C, E, B, calcium, iron, selenium, sodium, phosphorous, and magnesium – coconut milk, unfortunately, lacks in many of these.

Thai Green Tofu Curry

Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Thai

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 chopped medium broccoli

• 1 medium carrot (julienne – thinly sliced)

• 1 sliced courgette

• 100g mangetout or sugar snaps

• 280g firm tofu

• 3 tbsp Thai green curry paste

• 1 lemongrass stalk

• 1 can coconut milk (400ml)

• 200 ml water

• 2 tbsp soya sauce

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar or lime juice

• Cooked jasmine rice

• Chilli flakes (optional)

Directions

• Heat a non stick pan over a medium heat.
• Press the tofu as much as you can with your hands (or with tofu press in case you own one) to squeeze out all the liquid. Slice the tofu into small equal cubes.
• Sprinkle the pan with some sea salt and add tofu. Grill for about 5-7mins on each side. Whilst the tofu is grilling start with the veggies.
• In a separate large skillet (I used carbon steel wok), heat up 2 tbsp sesame oil over high heat. Add the veggies and fry for about 5min.
• Add the curry paste and mix well to coat the veggies.
• Add coconut milk and water and mix well.
• Smash the lemongrass stalk with a back of your knife and add to the wok. (smashing helps to release juices from lemongrass)
• Add 2 tbsp soya sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and season with salt if needed
• Cook for another 7min and mix occasionally.
• Serve with cooked rice, top with grilled tofu, sprinkle with chilli flakes and slices of fresh lime

Notes

• As I mentioned in the post, feel free to use any veggies you have in your fridge – aubergine, baby corn, squash etc.

Do you prefer Red or Green Thai curry? Let me know in the comments below