In Thai restaurants you usually find yellow, red and green curry on the menu. Of all three, yellow is always the mildest one and the one that is prepared without any fish sauce in it. Red curry or Panang curry is a little more spicy but often contains fish sauce and green curry is the spiciest. No worry, you can always ask for mild when ordering it. If you are making it at home, you can either buy a jar of green curry like this one. If you have access to an Asian grocery stores you can easily find all the ingredients and make it from scratch. As always, using fresh ingredients to make a sauce always results in deeper flavors than using a ready-made paste but it comes in handy as it will save you some time. We love making green curry at home. Actually we love all curries!
Interesting facts about eggplants:
They are more a berry than a vegetable! How about that!
Their high fiber content not only help digestion and elimination but lowers cholesterol by binding it to the fiber on its way out.
Eggplants are a great source of vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, thiamine, and niacin.
When it comes to minerals, they deliver magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, copper, fiber, folic acid, and potassium. Not bad for a berry!
Eggplants also contain a powerful antioxidant called Nasunin that reduces inflammation and oxidative stress and also helps absorb iron in the body. Nasunin is mostly found in the dark skin so never peel it.
So I think we can agree that eggplants are an amazing vegetable. The key is to not fry or deep fry them because it is essentially a sponge. You only need to cook it for a few minutes in some broth or sauce. You can always roast it too. If you love eggplant, you should try making Baba Ganoush.
Green curry brands
I have tried a number of store bought green curry paste. Some were really hot while others were more suitable for a Western palate and tolerance to chilis! There are 2 brands that seem to be more available in regular grocery stores that do not contain fish sauce.
One is Thai Kitchen and the other Thai True (made in Oregon!) Talk about a time saver! With this paste you can make this dish in less than 20 minutes.
Homemade green curry paste
If for some reason you can’t find already made green curry paste, you can always make it from scratch. If you can’t find galangal (Thai ginger) you can use regular ginger.
1 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2-3 green chilis
1 tsp galangal powder
2 tbsp chopped shallots
2 tbsp chopped garlic
Pound all the ingredients until you get a smooth paste.
Perfectly cooked Thai rice
To enjoy the perfect curry you must serve it with perfectly cooked jasmine rice. This means no sticky overcooked rice. You know when you order a dish in a Thai restaurant it is served with a side of rice that is lightly on the dry side, barely salted so that it can absorb the sauce? There is an easy way to make it and it only has a few steps. First never rinse jasmine rice as it is already soft and it could wash away its delicate aroma. Second use 1.5 cup of water for every cup of dry rice. You can add a pinch of salt too. Boil the water, add the rice, stir and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes.
Now you can make this classic Thai curry at home and anytime you have a craving for it.
Thai Eggplant Green Curry
Ingredients
Curry sauce
- 1-3 tbsp green curry paste
- 1 cup coconut milk or cream
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Vegetables
- 2 cups diced vegetables (eggplants(regular or Chinese), zucchini, carrots or sweet potatoes, red bell pepper)
- 1 cup leafy greens (spinach, swizz chards)
- 1 cup cubed tofu or beans
- 2-3 stalks of green onions
Instructions
Thai Jasmine rice
- Mix1.5 cup of water with 1 cup of rice. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Vegetable curry
- Dice the vegetables.
- Stir the vegetable broth, curry paste, coconut milk and sugar on medium heat.
- Add the diced vegetables and protein (tofu or beans).
- Simmer covered for 10-12 minutes.
