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My
sister Nina and I were chatting the other week here on the island, when she
exclaimed – “Buff, you need to do more one-pot recipes on the blog. For people
like me, that literally want to make din in under 30 mins, and only wash ONE
POT”.
And
so the ideas began to flow (she’s a major foodie, and super-talented cook too).
Both of us were unanimous however, that a top notch Thai Green Tofu Curry should
be high on our one-pot-priority list.
Incidentally, I’ve had “Thai Green Curry” on my “to-blog” list for years. YEARS! We probably go out for Thai at least once a week (definitely one of my favourite cuisines), but I’ve never much experimented with it at home, for fear I wouldn’t be able to get it quite as good as the locals. Nevertheless, I pulled out some crumpled old notes I had made from a cooking school Tone and I went to years ago in Thailand, and with a few tweaks here and there, made this epic home-chef version of the classic Thai Green Curry.
I’m super excited to share it with you, because… dang it turned out 10/10 delicious! So easy. So tasty. And definitely all in the one-pot (ok, bar the rice). Don’t tell the locals… they might just start ordering from you.
The
great thing about this curry, apart from it being mega easy to make, is that
it’s packed with vegetables and virtually any specimen works well. I’ve gone
with onion, pumpkin, carrot, eggplant, broccoli, and kale – because that’s what
was available from my local Countdown supermarket’s organic range. But potato,
kumara (sweet potato), squash, beans, peas, capsicum, even cherry tomatoes,
would all go down a treat. The key is – add the hard veggies first, followed by
the soft, for Thai curry perfection.
It’s super exciting to see more and more organic produce becoming available at the supermarket, and Countdown here in NZ (our local on both Waiheke, and in Westmere), has an ever increasing range, both in terms of fresh and pantry staples. I managed to get all of my veggies for this one-pot-wonder, as well as the brown rice and coconut oil, certified organic from there (look out for their Macro brand for these).
Indeed, the organic market in NZ is growing at an impressive 15% per year, twice as fast as conventional products, and one of the fastest growing sectors in food (only beaten by the growth in plant-based eats!).In fact – the first ever blog post I wrote on this blog, was indeed, the Top 3 Reasons to Buy Organic. You can read that old chestnut as a refresher here. Super exciting to see the market finally joining my hippie fringe views!
Top 3 Things to Buy Organic
When you’re thinking about which foods are most important to buy as organic, here are three areas I’d recommend you aim for first.
Soy products
Many
soy products overseas are made with GMO (genetically modified) soy beans, which
isn’t the best for your endocrine and hormone systems, and puts additional load
on your liver clearance also. It’s less of an issue here in NZ, where most of
our soy beans are sourced from Australia and are organic anyway, but it’s still
really important to make sure you are indeed getting organic soy products where
possible.
That means your soy milk, soy or tamari sauce, tempeh, tofu sausages, and tofu. Be sure to check on the ingredients list that it specifies “whole organic soy beans”, not “soy protein” or “soy isolate”. These refined forms of soy are not well recognised by the body, and don’t provide the same beneficial isoflavones that unrefined organic soy does.
(PS if you’re still in fear of phytoestrogens from soy, ready my post here and here.
2.Thin skinned produce
Anything that’s got a thin skin, or that you’re going to be eating
the skin, is important to buy organic too. Think blueberries, strawberries,
apples, pears, carrots, broccoli. If there hasn’t been a thick skin to protect
the fruit or vege from sprays and pesticides, then you don’t want to eat the
thin layer that was trying to protect it.
In contrast, you can be a bit more relaxed with our thick skinned sisters,
such as oranges, avocados, and bananas. Where (a) you’re removing the skin and
throwing it away (composting, of course), and (b) the skin has been able to
absorb some of the pesticides used.
3. Dirty dozen
A final list to keep in mind, is one that is compiled in the US by an organisation called the Environmental Working Group. Each year, they update which produce has been tested with the highest levels of contaminants, as well as a list of the lowest contaminant containing produce. Whilst it’s much more important if you’re living in the US, it is still of relevance to us here in NZ, as much of our fruit and vege is imported from the US. Even if it’s not, similar pesticide usage practices are used in many industries in NZ, as well as the other countries where we do import from.
The current list of “dirties”? Strawberries, spinach, kale, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, and potatoes. Incidentally, you’ll see much of this crosses over with our “thin skinned” rule #2, with many of these fruits and veggies naturally absorbing more pesticides than others. The current “Clean 15” meanwhile includes avocados, sweet corn, pineapple, snow peas, onions, papaya, eggplant, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, cauliflower, rockmelon, broccoli, mushrooms, and honeydew melon. Certainly a few of our thicker-skinned compatriots in there.
So hop to it and make this curry! You only need a handful of ingredients
to do so – a block of organic tofu, selection of your favourite in-season
organic vege, can of coconut milk, soy/tamari sauce, coconut sugar, squeeze of
lime and dash of chilli if you want to be fancy, and jar of ready-made green
curry paste (of course you could make your own, but… who has the time!). Pop
the whole lot in a big wok or pot, then serve over a perfectly mounded pile of
brown rice for Saturday night take-out meets dine-in perfection.
Let me know what you think in the comments below! Or take a snap of your
one-pot-wonder on Insta and tag me @begoodorganics and #begoodorganics.
I reckon once you realise how easy and tasty this curry is, you won’t be frequenting
your Thai local for quite some time…
Here’s to another beautiful weekend – our last on Waiheke before we move back to the mainland for the winter. Of course, I’m hoping we’ll still get out here occasionally, but for now – our solar paneled heat pumps in Westmere are calling. I’m going to be dashing in for one final swim before we do though!
Take care, and til next time – as always, stay happy and well.
PS If you like this recipe, share it with your
friends on Pinterest (hover over any of the images and
click Pin It), Facebook or Twitter (hit the buttons up top). And if you’re not already subscribed to
my weekly emails you can do that here!
Please note – if you are wanting to meet any of the specific dietary requirements below, please read my recipe notes.
Thai Green Tofu Curry
Ingredients
1
cup
jasmine brown rice
1 1/2
cups
boiling water
Veges
1
onion
1/8th
pumpkin
1
carrot
1/2
broccoli
1
small eggplant
1
handful of kale
To serve: Lime wedges
Chilli
Instructions
Rinse jasmine rice, then add to a pot with boiling water, cover and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. When cooked, fluff with a fork then re-cover and rest for 5 minutes until curry is done.
Meanwhile, add coconut oil to a large wok on high heat, add tofu, and stir fry 5 minutes until golden brown and crunchy.
Add coconut milk, curry paste, soy, coconut sugar and salt, and heat until oil appears on the top.
Now add the veges from hard to soft. Onion, pumpkin, and carrot first for 4-5 minutes, then eggplant and broccoli, then finally kale just briefly at the end til it’s wilted but still a bright vibrant green.
Serve immediately in bowls with brown rice, lime wedges, and sliced chilli on top if desired.
Recipe Notes
you can use any vege eg cauli, potato, peas, beans – whatever is in season and organic!
Nutrition Facts
Thai Green Tofu Curry
Amount Per Serving
Calories 212
Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g
14%
Saturated Fat 5g
25%
Sodium 341mg
14%
Potassium 735mg
21%
Total Carbohydrates 26g
9%
Dietary Fiber 7g
28%
Sugars 13g
Protein 9g
18%
Vitamin A
180.6%
Vitamin C
94.9%
Calcium
20.2%
Iron
12.9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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