Easy Vegetarian Thai Curry

Nothing makes me happier than a healthy and hearty homemade meal after a trip. When I travel, I try my best to eat healthy. But I also indulge in fast food, such as a slice of street pizza or a juicy burger. I truly enjoy all those foods when I’m away from home, but I often feel tired and bloated at the end of a trip.

Some recipes I keep making, again and again, after a trip include curried lentil stew, vegetable fried rice, hot and sour soup, and 4-ingredient fried cabbage. They are super simple dishes that are packed with vegetables. I cook some frozen dumplings (beef, pork, or vegetable dumplings, whichever I happen to have on hand) and serve them on the side. Oh my, it makes me feel cozy just thinking about it.

Lately I discovered a new dish to add to my post-travel recipe collection. It is a recipe I adapted from Farm to Table Asian Secrets: Vegan & Vegetarian Full-Flavored Recipes for Every Season by Patricia Tanumihardja. The cookbook shares delicious recipes using produce that is available during each time of year. The book focuses on how to blend flavors, textures, aromas, and colors to create full-flavored vegetarian dishes that are missing none of the umami normally associated with meat and dairy.

While browsing through the book, the spring artichoke curry caught my eye. I cooked it immediately using leftover veggies from my fridge and some canned artichoke hearts. The dish turned out rich, scrumptious, and bursting with flavor.

Cooking notes

It’s such a versatile dish – you can use a lot of other vegetables to replace the ingredients listed.

Here are some ideas:

(1) Add volume to the dish using tofu or deep fried tofu.

I usually stock up on frozen deep fried tofu whenever I visit an Asian market. I love the fact that it soaks up flavor so well when added to a soup or stew.

(2) Use frozen vegetables to further shorten prep time.

The recipe is fast already, but you can even make it faster by using frozen veggies such as carrots, corn, green beans, cauliflower, and broccoli. Skip step 3 of the recipe (saute veggies) and add them after you add the stock and coconut milk. The veggies will be ready in a couple minutes, after you bring the broth to a boil and the veggies are heated.

(3) Some other veggies that work well in this recipe

The veggies I’ve used in this curry include: bok choy, napa cabbage, cabbage, Asian eggplant, potato, sweet potato, kale, and mushrooms.

(4) Vegan red curry paste

Traditional red curry paste usually contains fish sauce and shrimp paste. However, there are quite a few reputable brands such Mekhala and Thai Kitchen sell vegan red curry paste that has an amazing taste. They are gluten free too. You can purchase them on Amazon here – Mekhala vegan red curry paste, Thai Kitchen vegan red curry paste).

More vegetarian recipes

• Easy Vegetarian Pumpkin Soup
• General Tso Tofu
• Easy Vegetarian Lentil Stew
• Vegetarian Chow Mein
• Palak Paneer Recipe (Spinach Curry with Cheese)

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.

Easy Vegetarian Thai Curry

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

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This rich and scrumptious vegetarian Thai curry is super fast and easy to cook. The recipe was adapted from one in Farm to Table Asian Secrets: Vegan & Vegetarian Full-Flavored Recipes for Every Season by Patricia Tanumihardja. I slightly changed the ingredients, for example, by adding more vegetable variety and skipping the less common ingredients such as lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. This is a very versatile recipe and many types of vegetables work well in it. For example, you can replace any of the veggies with kale, mushrooms, potato, sweet potato, and Asian eggplant.

Ingredients 

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sliced yellow onion
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 2 tablespoons vegetarian red curry paste
• 2 cups (6 oz / 170 g) green beans , trimmed and snapped in half
• 2 medium carrots , peeled and sliced
• 1 8.5 oz (240 g) can pre-cooked artichoke hearts
• 1 cup vegetable stock (or water)
• 1 can (14 oz / 397 g) unsweetened coconut milk , divided
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 bell pepper , sliced
• 1 zucchini , sliced
• Chopped cilantro for garnish (Optional)
• Lime juice

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Instructions

• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or a dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add the onion. Cook and stir until it turns lightly golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the ginger, garlic, and the red curry paste. Cook and stir until the curry is toasted, 1 minute or so. If the curry starts to burn, add a bit of vegetable stock to thin it out.
• Add the green beans, carrot, and the artichoke hearts. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to toast the vegetables.
• Add the vegetable stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables just turn soft.
• Add the bell pepper and zucchini. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust seasoning by adding more salt, if needed.
• Serve hot over steamed rice with lime wedges on the side. Squeeze some lime juice into the curry while eating.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 384kcal, Carbohydrates: 28.7g, Protein: 7.1g, Fat: 29.7g, Saturated Fat: 22.5g, Sodium: 731mg, Potassium: 928mg, Fiber: 9.6g, Sugar: 10.9g, Calcium: 70mg, Iron: 4.1mg

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