Yellow Coconut Curry

Difficulty:
1/5

There are many, many curries in Thai cuisine. As in India, every region, every valley, every home has its own special blend of ingredients and cooking technique. This is a vegetarian dish featuring yellow curry sauce, more mellow than its red or green counterparts. Thai eggplant is round and green; substitute Japanese eggplant if you can’t find it.

Ingredients

Yellow curry paste

  • 2 teaspoons (10 mL) coriander seeds
  • 2 teaspoons (10 mL) cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon (5 mL) white peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground turmeric
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed, chopped, bottom half only
  • 1 medium Shallot, finely diced
  • 2 red bird’s eye chilies, seeds removed, roughly chopped
  • 1/2-inch (1 cm) piece unpeeled galangal or peeled fresh ginger, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 fresh lime leaves, finely chopped

For the curry

  • 2 tablespoons (30 mL) vegetable oil
  • 1 cup (250 mL) coconut milk, divided
  • 1 cup (250 mL) vegetable stock or water
  • 1 teaspoon (5 mL) finely grated or chopped palm sugar
  • 1 cup (250 mL) diced peeled carrots (medium dice)
  • 8 to 10 baby canned corn, halved
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, cut in medium dice
  • 6 small Thai eggplants, sliced into 1/2-inch (1 cm) rounds
  • 2 teaspoons (10 mL) soy sauce
  • 15 fresh Thai basil leaves

Directions

Yellow curry paste:

  1. In a spice grinder (or coffee grinder set aside for spices), grind the coriander, cumin, and peppercorns until it’s a fine powder. Transfer to a food processor or blender along with the rest of the ingredients, and make a fine paste. You may need to add a bit of water or coconut oil to help the mixture purée. You may also use a mortar and pestle to pound all of the ingredients, including the spices.

For the curry:

  1. In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the curry paste, and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the coconut milk, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the stock (or water) and sugar, and season with some salt.
  2. Add the carrots, canned corn, red peppers, and eggplants, and let simmer until almost soft but still slightly firm, about 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, and the remaining 1/2 cup (125 mL) coconut milk.
  3. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove the wok from the heat, and stir in the Thai basil.
  4. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Serves 6