Coconut Curry with Crispy Tofu
This vegetarian coconut curry is comfort food at its best and one of my favourite recipes during the cold season. The coconut base is very easy to prepare and you can get creative and swap the vegetables with whatever you have at home. I have added eggplant, potatoes, courgette and many other veggies before. If you are vegan, you can simply leave out the egg when preparing the crispy tofu by just coating it in flour.- it will still turn out crispy.
Let me know if you have tried this recipe - it is always nice to see and hear how it turned out for you!
Ingredients
Serves 4
400 g basmati rice
2 cans coconut milk (400 m each)
1 sweet potato
1 broccoli head
300 g mushrooms (e.g. chestnut mushrooms)
300 g firm tofu
4 tbsp flour
2 tsp chili flakes
1 egg
2-4 tbsp red curry paste
vegetable oil
salt
cashew nuts and coriander for garnish
Method
In preparation: Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan and add a generous amount of salt.
Peel 1 sweet potato, then cut it into bite-sized cubes.
Wash 1 broccoli, then cut off the florets and cut the stem into bite-sized pieces.
When the water is boiling, add sweet potato and cook for 8 minutes, then add the broccoli and cook for 5 more minutes until both sweet potato and broccoli are tender. Drain the water and set vegetables aside.
Wash 300 g mushrooms and cut them into thin slices.
In a large frying pan, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil to medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt, and fry for 6 minutes or until they have released all liquid. Set mushrooms aside for later and wipe the pan with a piece of kitchen roll.
To prepare the crispy tofu: Pour vegetable oil into the same frying pan that you have just used until the bottom is covered up to 3-5 mm.
Cut 300 g firm tofu into 1-2 cm-sized cubes.
Mix 4 tbsp flour and 2 tsp chili flakes in a shallow dish. Beat 1 egg in a second dish. Now place the tofu into the dish with the flour and fully coat it, then coat it with egg.
Fry the tofu for about 8 minutes, turning it around throughout so it gets nicely golden from all sides. Transfer the tofu onto a plate that is laid out with kitchen roll. (If you would like to make this dish vegan, simply leave the egg out. The tofu will still become nice and crispy.)
Wipe the pan with kitchen roll, then heat up 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Add 2 tbsp red curry paste. Let the curry paste fry for one minute on medium heat, then stir in 800 ml coconut milk. Keep stirring whilst on a low simmer until the curry paste and the coconut milk are well combined. Add about 1 tsp salt. Now, taste the sauce and add more curry paste if not spicy enough and more salt if needed.
To prepare the rice: Rinse 400 g basmati rice with cold water until the water is running clear (This is to wash off the starch which makes the rice sticky.) Add rice to a saucepan with at least a whole finger’s length of water and a generous amount of salt (as much as you would when making pasta). Bring water to a boil, then cook for 8-10 minutes. Drain the rice using a sieve.
Whilst the rice is cooking, add all vegetables to the curry base and let simmer on low heat.
When the rice is ready, also add the crispy tofu and give it a stir.
Divide rice and tofu between plates and garnish with chopped cashew nuts and coriander.
Enjoy!
