Mixed Vegetables in Thai Yellow Curry Sauce

It has been a little hectic at work this past week. Not much energy left to cook after coming home, so I took a shortcut route to make this mixed vegetable Thai curry. I used store bought Thai yellow curry sauce, but jazzed up a little bit for a quick weeknight dinner. This goes to talented Priya @ Akshayapaatram who is guest hosting IVAW-Thai. IVAW is the brain child of Vaishali @ Holy Cow.

For all foodies who want to make Yellow curry paste from scratch, I'm giving the recipe from "Buddha's Table" by Chat Mingkwan at the end of the post.

Ingredients:
Extra Firm Tofu - 16oz. pkg, drained and cut into 1/2" pieces
Carrot - 1 medium, diced
Broccoli florets - 1 cup
Green beans - 1/2 cup (I used frozen french cut beans)
Red Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Coconut milk - 1 cup (I used Lite coconut milk)
Ginger - 1" piece grated
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Yellow Curry sauce - 1/3 cup
Soy sauce - 2tbsp
Jaggery or Brown sugar - 2tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• I microwaved carrots & broccoli for 2 minutes, I then added the frozen beans in the same bowl to thaw and nuked for another 1-11/2 minutes.
  
• Heat 1tbsp peanut oil in a large skillet or wok. Add onions, ginger and garlic and saute till transparent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the other veggies and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  
• Then add tofu, curry sauce, coconut milk, soy sauce, jaggery and sauce. Simmer the sauce until it thickens a little bit, about 10-15 minutes.**

I served the curry with brown rice cooked with chopped lemon grass and freshly ground coriander & cumin seeds. Made for a awesome dinner and a lovely lunch the next day.

**If the sauce is too watery, add some cornstarch slurry (mixed in water) and simmer for couple of minutes for a thicker sauce.

Yellow Curry Paste from Scratch.

According to Chat Mingkwan, author of Buddha's Table, Yellow curry paste (Namprik Gaeng Garee) is a direct descendent of Indian curr, with small modification of added lemongreass and kaffir lime for the Thai palate. The word "garee" is derived from the Indian "curry" powder, whose yellow color obviosuly carries the name.

Ingredients:
Dried Red chilies - 6 large (California, New Mexico or guajillo chilies)
Whole coriander seeds - 2tsp
Whole cumin seeds - 1tsp
Lemongrass - 3tbsp, chopped (tender midsection only)
Curry powder - 2tbsp
Shallots - 2tbsp chopped
Garlic - 2tbsp chopped
Galangal - 1tbsp chopped
Ginger - 1tbsp chopped
Kaffir lime skin or leaves - 2tsp
Salt - 1tsp

Method:

• Stem and seed dried chilies. Soak them in warm water for 10-15minutes or until soft. Drain and squeeze dry.
• Dry roast coriander & cumin seeds over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until fragrant.
• Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process into smooth paste with little water if required.