Eat Healthy and Cheap
Green Curry, Coconut-Free
Coconut milk in a Thai curry does two jobs: it supplies the liquid, and its fat is what the raw paste fries in before that liquid goes in, which is where most of the curry's depth comes from. Without coconut, a dry pot still handles that first job: the paste of shallots, lemongrass, galangal, and fresh chiles browns and concentrates on its own in a few minutes of hard, dry heat. The body then comes from cauliflower, simmered soft and blended smooth, with a modest measure of cashews added for the kind of fat richness coconut cream would otherwise supply, rather than asking the nuts to carry the whole sauce. The color stays a true pale green because it comes from the blended herbs and chiles, not a can or a shortcut.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Coriander seed, toasted
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seed, toasted
- 1/4 tsp White pepper
- 2 Shallots, peeled and quartered
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 stalks Lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, tender core sliced thin
- 1 piece Galangal, 1-inch piece, peeled and sliced thin
- 3 Thai bird chiles, stems removed
- 1 Serrano, stemmed and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, stems, roughly chopped
- 1 Lime, zested
- 4 Makrut lime leaves, stem removed, torn
- 1/3 cup Raw cashews, soaked in just-boiled water 15 minutes, drained
- 2 cups Cauliflower, florets
- 1 tbsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1 Medjool date, pitted
- 1 medium Eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 6 oz Green beans, trimmed and halved
- 1 Bell pepper, red, sliced
- 10 oz Firm tofu, pressed and cubed
- 1 1/2 tsp Low-sodium tamari
- 1 Lime, juiced
- 1/2 cup Thai basil, leaves, torn
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, leaves, for garnish
- 2 Scallions, sliced, for garnish
Method
- Cover the cashews with just-boiled water and let them soak for 15 minutes, then drain. Hot water softens them fast enough that a regular food processor can puree them smooth without a high-powered blender.
- Toast the coriander seed and cumin seed in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute, until they smell nutty and a shade darker. Toasting whole spices before grinding is the difference between a curry paste that tastes flat and one that tastes like something.
- In a food processor, combine the toasted spices, white pepper, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, thai bird chiles, serrano, cilantro stems, and lime zest. Add 2 tablespoons water and blend, scraping down the sides, until you have a rough, fibrous, deep green paste. Use fewer chiles for a milder curry.
- Warm a dry, wide pot over medium heat and add the paste directly, no oil. Stir constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, until it turns a shade darker and smells toasted instead of raw. A coconut version fries its paste in the fat that rises out of simmered coconut cream: a dry, hot pot does the same concentrating job on its own.
- Dissolve the bouillon in 3 cups (700 ml) water and add it to the pot with the cauliflower florets. Simmer for 12 minutes, until the cauliflower is fully soft and falls apart when pressed with a spoon.
- Transfer the cauliflower and its liquid to a blender with the drained cashews and the date. Blend for a full 1 to 2 minutes, until completely smooth and pale green, then return the cream to the pot. Cauliflower supplies the real body here, the cashews add a small measure of true fat richness rather than carrying the sauce on their own.
- Add the eggplant and the makrut lime leaves and simmer for 6 minutes, until the eggplant starts to soften. Add the green beans and bell pepper and simmer 5 minutes more, until everything is just tender.
- While the vegetables cook, dry-sear the tofu in a separate nonstick pan over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden on a few sides. Searing it dry before it goes into the curry keeps the cubes firm instead of letting them turn to mush in the simmer.
- Fold the tofu into the curry and warm through for a minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the tamari and the lime juice, both lose their edge if they keep cooking.
- Taste: it should be hot from the chiles, faintly sweet from the date, and sharp from the lime, with the tamari staying in the background instead of reading as salt. Stir in the thai basil, top with the cilantro leaves and scallions, and serve over a whole grain like brown rice. A curry this loose needs something underneath to hold onto.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 260 calories, 15 g protein, 7 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.
