Try this savory Vegan Thai Green Curry sure to satisfy the pickiest meat lover

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Flavor booster 

• ¼ cup green curry paste, store bought or homemade (see note 1) 
• 10-15 leaves of greens such as baby spinach or Thai basil, finely julienned (see note 2)
• 1 dried shiitake mushroom, medium size, about 5-6 g
• 2 teaspoons miso paste

Vegan green curry

• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 cup water 
• 7 oz fried tofu, bite-sized pieces
• 5.3 oz canned bamboo shoots strips, drained and rinsed well (half a can)
• 9 oz winter melon, 1-inch chunks
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar 
• 2 Tbsp coconut amino
• 6 makrut lime leaves, optional
• ½ red bell pepper, julienned (optional for color)
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves 
• Cauliflower rice, for serving

Instructions

For the curry paste

1. In a mortar and pestle, grind the leafy greens into a fine paste. Add the miso paste, then use a microplane zester to grate the shiitake mushroom (don’t worry about the stem. You can throw the stem into the curry to extract more umami if you want, but don’t eat it as it’ll be chewy.) Add the curry paste and pound just to mix. You can make this paste in bulk and freeze for later use.
2. Without a mortar and pestle, you can blend the leafy greens with some of the coconut milk that you'll add to the curry. Then simply mix the curry paste, miso and grated mushroom together.
3. 10-15 leaves of greens such as baby spinach or Thai basil, 1 dried shiitake mushroom, 2 teaspoons miso paste, ¼ cup green curry paste

For the green curry

1. In a heavy-bottomed, large pot, add about ¾ cup of coconut milk and reduce it over medium-high heat until thick; about 5 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the curry paste; stir until very thick and coconut oil separates from the curry paste; 3-5 minutes. (If you’ve been at it for a while, and the paste is very thick, but no oil has separated, you can move on; some coconut milk has been processed to prevent separation.)
3. Add the rest of the coconut milk and water; bring to a boil. Add the fried tofu, bamboo shoots, winter melon, brown sugar, and about half of the coconut aminos. Grab the makrut lime leaves and twist them to bruise and tear before adding them into the pot. Simmer the curry until the winter melon is fork tender; about 10 minutes. When you’re about 1 minute out, add the red bell pepper so it will finish cooking with the winter melon.

(If using different vegetables, adjust the cooking time accordingly, but if your vegetables take only a few minutes to cook, let the curry simmer without it for at least 10 minutes before adding, as you want the total simmering time to be a minimum of 10 minutes to allow flavors to mingle.)

   4. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more coconut aminos as needed. 

   5. Turn off the heat and stir in fresh basil, letting it wilt in the residual heat.

   6. Serve with cauliflower rice - and as with most Thai curries, it will taste even better the next day!

This is an adapted recipe created by Hot Thai Kitchen. Click here to view the original recipe.