Well the good news is that the summer solstice is now only 5 months away.
(Right around the corner, really).
In the meantime, anyone care to join me in my flannels for this mood boosting, winter blues busting, bowl of goodness? The combination of coconut milk, ginger, lemongrass and coriander is an aromatic feast for the senses – you will love the complexity of flavor, ease of prep and beautiful warming properties as you hear the call of tropical birds singing yonder.
It’s the kind of recipe you’ll welcome at the end of a busy week day and want to come back to again and again (those addictive warming spices). The prep time is really in the chopping of the vegetables (which you can do in advance or buy pre-chopped if it’s in the budget) — the meal itself comes together in about 15 minutes in a single skillet.
I’ve used a combination of vegetable broth and coconut milk for the broth offering a nice balance of comfort and flavor without being overly rich or heavy. You can play with the ratios here and add more coconut milk as desired, but we found this combination quite satisfying.
For week night simplicity, I’ve used a quality prepared green curry paste made by Mae Ploy which I strongly recommend (unless you want to keep this recipe vegan, see notes). You may be familiar with the more commercially available Thai Kitchen curry paste brand (I use their red curry paste occasionally) but for green curry, the taste profiles are incomparable. Mae Ploy is the superior paste by a country mile. You will find this little gem in Asian markets (and online). It’s a more concentrated paste however, so if you’re accustomed to using several tablespoons of Thai Kitchen to spike flavor/heat levels, you’ll definitely want to start slow with Mae Ploy (much hotter but so good!).
You can sub your favorite veggies (or whatever happens to be lying around your fridge) — this is a versatile recipe ready for your interpretation.
I think you’ll be happy to have this one in your back pocket. Let me know if you give it a try!
- 1 yellow onion, medium dice
- 3 cloves of garlic, smashed salted and minced
- 1 Tbsp grated ginger
- 2 tsp Mae Ploy Thai Green Curry Paste (see Notes)
- ½ head of cauliflower cut into small florets (about 2 cups)
- 15.5 oz (439 gr) can of chickpeas (BPA lining free)
- 1 orange bell pepper, medium dice
- 5 oz (142 gr) baby spinach
- 1 cup (7 oz) vegetable broth
- 1 cup (7 oz) full fat coconut milk
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- In a large skillet/wok set to low-medium heat, sauté onion and garlic in some olive oil until translucent (about 5 minutes), adding a few cracks of salt and pepper to the mixture. Remove mixture and set aside.
- In the same skillet, sauté cauliflower and bell pepper for a couple minutes (adding more oil as necessary), and then mix in the chickpeas.
- Return the onion/garlic mixture and add veg broth bringing it to a gentle simmer before reducing to lowest heat again. Add the green curry paste (using the back of a wooden spoon to break it up and integrate). Add the ginger and the coconut milk, stirring to combine.
- Taste the curry and make any flavor/heat adjustments. You can also make any liquid adjustments as desired (a little more coconut milk, broth, etc).
- While things are still warm, add the spinach - one large handful at a time - mixing to integrate until all has been added and the spinach is wilted.
- Serve right away with accompaniments of choice and top with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast and/or cilantro as desired.
Is Mae Ploy green curry paste vegan? It is not (it contains shrimp paste). For flavor profile, I suggest Maesri Green Curry Paste or Aroy-D Green Curry Paste in its place. If you don't have access to an Asian market, both are available on Amazon. There are also a number of homemade vegan green curry paste recipes available online if you want to go that route.
What's the deal with nutritional yeast? Typically sold in flake form (looks a bit like a shaker of parm cheese), nutritional yeast adds yummy flavor and nutrients to food. A source of B vitamins -- notably fortified with B12 important for vegans. I like its nutty (mildly hoppy) taste and many find it has a flavor reminiscent of cheese. Give it a try!
I have shared this with many people as it is such a great recipe. I am encouraging all my friends to eat less meat in 2020 so I’m posting one recipe a week for everyone to at least do meatless Monday’s. This was my first recipe for 2020 that I posted on my FB page.
What a delight to read your note Faye – thank you so much for taking a moment to drop in and let me know about your 2020 initiative 🌱 (I can get behind that one :) and your feedback on this recipe; it’s really meaningful to me. So glad you’re enjoying! thank you also for sharing the love, x.
Dear Readers, since posting this recipe, my lovely Thai friend introduced me to Aroy-D green curry paste (her home favorite) and also kindly treated my family to some of this delicious curry. It is packed with flavor (and lots of heat!) a great one to add to the list. It also happens to be vegan. I have added it to the Notes in the recipe card. (Thank you Maria!) x.
A very unusual combination – at least for me – but it looks and sounds particularly good! I also always cut down the coconut milk with water or stock to slim it down a bit. (In fact, there are some traditional Thai curries which don’t call for any coconut milk, but they are usually very very hot (these are green curries, moreover, which are always hotter!).)
I’m actually now soaking chickpeas to make some hummous but maybe I’ll put some aside and add them to a Thai curry… Really wonderful idea!
Interesting on the red and green curry paste- I have them both, but from Thai Kitchen and now want to find the other brand to compare – I love to use those because they add so much flavor, with just a teaspoon…
I doubt I’ll find that brand, but there s one store in town that might have it…
Five months, you said? I suppose I can hang in there until… ;-)
you’ll have no trouble finding the brand Sally – if you don’t have access to an Asian market, Mae Ploy, Maesri and Aroy-D are all available via Amazon ;-). Happy Sunday!
My husband and I had this last night and it was delicious. We used your recommendation for the Mae Ploy curry and 2 teaspoons was the right amount for us, lots of flavor with just enough bite. We used sliced carrot instead of the pepper, it worked well. Really tasty and so easy.
Ah, this note made my day! So happy to hear you enjoyed the meal (and the Mae Ploy) a positive discovery, then. Carrots are perfect in curry, great idea. Thank you for taking the time to drop in with your feedback, really appreciate that.
Such a comforting curry, and as you mentioned, so versatile. A back pocket meal and so quick to pull together! I feel as long as I have some tofu or chickpeas and some vegetables in the fridge, I can make dinner. I use Thai Kitchen curry paste and love the red. I’ve used green before, but it wasn’t to Rob’s liking (he loves red however). So I generally stick with red or make a yellow curry. Summer seems so far away… but I’m relishing in the quieter winter days, and dark mornings. I love them so.
I’m trying to embrace the shorter, darker, cooler days too Traci :) but truly, there’s something so welcoming about the slower, quieter pace of winter that I find myself loving too (plus, book reading season!). I was so happy to discover a few other curry paste options – Thai Kitchen seems to have cornered the NA commercial market but for green curry it’s bù hǎo ;o)
Thank you for this week night meal inspiration, Kelly. It’s surprisingly hard to find healthy, tasty recipes for my family that don’t require jumping through a hundred hoops (written by people who don’t have kids!) I appreciate your down to earth approach and I’m excited to try this warmer on a bleak winter solstice feeling day! :-)
Thanks so much for your note and feedback; I’m so glad to hear this works for you! I hope you love this recipe if you get a chance to make it. Happy cozy Saturday:)
Oh Kelly, anything with green curry paste gets my attention. This is a great dish to sit in front of the fire in your pjs and let the winter blues roll by. Unfortunately, my husband is one that can’t eat cauliflower for digestive reasons. He likes it, but it doesn’t like him. What do you think would be a good substitute? Maybe, coarsely cut cabbage? I’m open to suggestions. Thanks!
Cheers to toasty nights by the fire MJ. I’m sure cabbage would be delicious here – carrot and potato is another curry classic. Hope you both love it if you give it try.
I usually use Maesri brand and love it but also heard Mae Ploy is excellent. I wish more people knew about it because Thai Kitchen is awful (for green curry anyway). Do you use the canned coconut milk for this?
Hi Krisshi, thanks for your note. I use BPA free canned coconut milk – full fat – I find it richer tasting than the carton coconut milk in recipes like this but you can certainly experiment. Another way to approach it might be to try 2 cups of the carton coconut milk instead of the 1 cup canned coconut/1 cup veg stock, to achieve the same intensity of flavor. Also, I find leftover carton coconut milk lasts longer in the fridge and if you can find the smaller cartons, that’s another good way to minimize waste. Coconut powder, as Eva mentioned in her comment, is another option to keep in mind. I hope that helps!
Somehow I just knew you’d come through with a cauliflower and chickpea dish! Our new year’s resolution is to eat a more plant-based diet (not to become vegetarian, just more balance) and I’ve been enjoying a roasted cauliflower and chickpea with turmeric, cumin, coriander and raisins; JT loves it but I’ve already made it a few times and was starting to worry that we would grow tired of it (btw, it blends into an awesome creamy soup for a total change-up!). We adore green curry so I know this would be right up my alley, thank you. Also, thank you for the green curry paste reco, I used to use Thai Kitchen but they have changed their recipe and the new one is virtually flavourless! I will look out for the brand you recommended or perhaps I’ll bite the bullet and make a batch myself. I like to keep coconut milk powder on hand and add it to these types of curries, you don’t need much but it adds a big bang of flavour and I don’t need to figure out what to do with the leftover can! Beautiful dish…but 5 months?!?!? Thank goodness we’ve already booked a couple of weeks in Arizona before the Summer Solstice, I know I just can’t wait for it! ;-)
Oh, yum, I hope you share your roasted cauli chickpea dish with us Eva, it sounds delicious! I’ll have to experiment with the coconut milk powder – I agree that just a small amount can make a world of difference with these things — I add a tsp (literally) of coconut oil to our rice and it is magnificent, so fragrant. Arizona sounds about right to me :D
I made this dish tonight with a couple of minor substitutions (forgot to get a pepper) so I added some Chinese eggplant and I had kale instead of spinach and I ended up making my own green curry paste. It was awesome! Definitely a keeper!
I also added a few kaffir lime leaves to the curry broth, it really brightened up my green curry paste.
Hooray! So happy to hear that Eva :) Your switch-ups sound delicious and that’s one of the things I like most about a recipe like this – you can make it a little different each time to avoid boredom and prolong service life ;-) ps. I purchased some coconut powder and have been using it in my afternoon tea! It does bring a lot of flavor which is wonderful; I still like a lil’ coconut oil in my winter tea (just need a touch) but it’s nice to have the option plus I can see so many other uses for the powder. Thanks Eva.
😊