There’s a reason that fall and winter are soup season(s). When you’re exploring in colder weather, it takes more than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to tide you over. You want something hot and filling.
This simple vegetarian curry recipe is the answer to just that. It’s easy to make at home and put in a thermos or insulated food canister and take with you wherever your outdoor adventures take you, and you can also add a variety of additional ingredients to it depending on your taste preferences and what you have on hand.
Made with coconut milk, the recipe is vegan-friendly. It also functions as a good base to add ingredients to according to your taste preferences and/or what’s lying around in your refrigerator or cooler. Try cubes of tofu or a can of garbanzo beans, or adding other vegetables like broccoli or red bell pepper. Chopped peanuts can make for a great topping too.
To make this dish even more filling, I like to add cooked grains to the curry—like brown rice or quinoa—but you can also eat it on its own. Out for a few days or an overnight? It also can easily be made at camp if you’re in need of a warm and hearty recipe to cook outside.
Ingredients
2 to 3 tablespoons oil (safflower, coconut, etc)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons red curry paste
1 large potato, cubed
2 to 3 medium carrots, chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
Optional:
1 cup cooked grains, like brown rice or quinoa
Directions
In a large pot on medium-high heat, place the oil, garlic, and onion and sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the curry paste, stir together, and sauté for an additional minute or two.
Add the potato, carrots, and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. If using, add the cooked grains in the last few minutes.
Place in a thermos or insulated food canister to keep warm until you are ready to eat.
When do you add the ginger??
If this is as I think it is, if you substitute sliced jalapeños for the ginger (yuck) and something else mildly spicy for the curry paste, then add some shrimp and sliced sausage, you’ll probably have something sort of resembling a very modern, albeit minimalist, gumbo.
I made this dish last night and it was a hit at the dinner table!
I added the ginger at the same time as the onions to sweat them a bit in the coconut oil and add that little pungency to the overall dish.
Also, to increase the portion size; I used a whole small jar of the Red curry paste from Thai kitchen and two cans of the coconut milk. The flavor at the end was phenomenal but did need some salt.
I used a very large Russet potato, some heirloom carrots of purple, cream, and of course orange, as well as 1/2 of a baseball sized yellow onion. At the end, I threw in 1/2 cup of Quinoa but it wasn’t nearly enough for that size of dish… needs at least a cup, and even more wouldn’t hurt.
We just made this dish tonight for a dinner party and it was a huge hit!
We added the ginger along with the potatoes and also tweaked it a bit by cooking up some chicken thighs and breasts in the sautaed onions and garlic for a hardier meal.
What a hit! (Just like every article y’all put out!)