Eggplant Green Curry Recipe with Quinoa

Mar
2014

I love green curry. I make it often and it changes everytime according to what vegetables I have on hand, so this Thai green curry recipe is very adaptable. The vegetables in this recipe are some of my favorite, so this is a great initial green curry recipe to follow. But what really makes a Thai green curry is the sauce, which as you may know, is very different from an Indian curry.

What is Curry?

The word curry was adopted and anglicized from the Tamil word kari, which means sauce. It generally means vegetables (and for some meat) cooked with spices in a sauce. Thai curries and Indian curries use very different spices. While they can both be hot (spice heat level) as many enjoy them that way, but they don’t have to be. Either type of curry recipe can be made quite mild by putting in very little of the chili, cayenne or other hot pepper that is used to add heat.

Thai Curries

Thai curry is often differentiated by color. There are red, yellow and green Thai curries and while all are delicious and flavorful, green curry is my personal favorite. Most people make a green curry dish by using a premade paste. I have noticed there are a lot of different types and flavors to these green curry pastes and have a photo below of my favorite one. You can make your own curry without using a paste, but it is hard for most people to get all of the ingredients to do so.

Thai Green Curry Ingredients

Galangal root is often used, which is similar to our ginger, but the flavor is different and Kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil really give it its unique taste, along with shallots, garlic, Thai chilies, lemongrass, cilantro, coriander, cumin, lime and coconut milk.

How to make it

I will show you with photos below how I make my Thai green curry. Even using just the paste alone will give you a delicious green curry. However, the flavor is even better with the inclusion of any or all of the following: Kaffir Lime leaves (I keep some dried in the cupboard and they last a long, long time), Thai basil (best fresh) and freshly grated galangal root, which is the ingredient I often don’t have as it’s harder to find where I am living.

Zucchini Eggplant Thai Green Curry

1 large Eggplant, or 4 thin Japanese Eggplant – diced
3 Zucchini, approx. 3 cups – diced
1 to 2 Carrots – sliced diagonally
8 to 12 Baby Bok Choy, or 4 cups Bok Choy – chopped
1 Onion – diced
2 tsp Coconut oil
1 bunch Thai Basil – chopped
1 can Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Green Curry Paste
4 to 6 Kaffir Lime leaves
2 cups Quinoa – cooked, to serve the curry on

Directions

Heat pan and add coconut oil and onion. Saute until onion starts to soften. Then add eggplant, zucchini and other vegetables except bok choy or leafy greens. Saute and cook until starting to often, then add the bok choy.

Meanwhile in another pot add coconut milk and green curry paste. Heat and stir until green curry paste is dissolved and mixed in. Add the kaffir lime leaves, basil and all of the cooked vegetables. Simmer to heat together and combine for 20 minutes, and then it is ready to serve.

Serve with, or on top of, a bed of quinoa. This green curry vegetable dish can also be served with rice or rice noodles, but I really enjoyed it on the quinoa and thought that it made a nice change.

Photo description

Chop the vegetables. This was a HUGE batch!

I was fortunate to have fresh galangal and Kaffir lime leaves. Often I only have dried lime leaves and no galangal.. but if you have it, use it. Both make the curry extra delicious!

I added some garlic too. Since I had lots of fresh ingredients and spices, and wanted a milder curry, I used less of the paste, which is quite spicy and hot, and made mine here from more fresh ingredients.

Add coconut milk to a pot and then add the green curry paste, and chopped Kaffir lime leaves and grated galangal root if you have. Because I was adding less of the paste in this batch than the recipe above indicates, I also added fresh cumin, coriander seeed and turmeric.

This is my favorite brand of Thai green curry paste. Aroy-D also has a nice thick coconut milk. It often costs a bit more but it is thick, rich and has more coconut, so worth the extra cost. Tosca also makes a great thick coconut milk, while Grace brand is quite thin and watery. Fresh coconut milk would be ideal!

Saute the onions, along with garlic and galangal if you are using them fresh. Then add the rest of the vegetables and continue cooking.

After the vegetables are getting soft, add the bok choy. Then add the coconut milk/green curry sauce mixture. Stir and let simmer together for awhile, at least 15 to 20 minutes, for flavors to join before serving.

We served the green curry with quinoa, which was a wonderful change from rice, and with a big side salad. You know how I love salads! The green curry can also be served and eaten on it’s own, like eating a stew, and a stew of the most delicious kind.

Hope you try and love it too! This is one of my all time favorite dishes.