Description
Butter & Air’s Yellow Coconut Curry is the best possible way to get your vegetables: gently simmered in a soul-warming, sweetly spicy, creamy coconut broth.
Ingredients
1 lb yukon gold potatoes (2–3 medium), unpeeled, cut into 1/2-in pieces
1 TB coconut oil (or other vegetable oil)
4 TB yellow curry paste (this is the one I use, or you can make your own)
Two 13.5-oz cans unsweetened coconut milk (avoid “light” varieties)
1 tsp turmeric
1 TB fish sauce (or soy sauce if making vegetarian)
1 cup (8 oz) chicken stock (or water if making vegetarian)
2 TB maple syrup
one-inch square piece ginger, peeled and smashed
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced whole lengthwise
2–3 medium carrots, sliced
medium head of broccoli (about 10 oz), cut into florets
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 sweet peppers (red, yellow, and/or orange), cut into bite-size pieces
basil or cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
Set a large pot of salted water to boil; when boiling, add potatoes. Cook for 7-10 minutes, until tender but not completely done. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add curry paste and saute for a minute or two, until it becomes fragrant (be careful of sniffing too close or you’ll inhale painful chili fumes). Open your coconut milk cans. If the cream has separated and risen to the top of the can, add just the cream from one to the curry paste and mix to combine (if the coconut milk is still uniform, measure out about half a cup and use that). Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the rest of the coconut milk, along with the broth (or water), maple syrup, fish sauce (or soy sauce), and turmeric. Mix to combine, then stir in the ginger and lemongrass. Bring the sauce to a low simmer and cook for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Remove the piece of ginger and the lemongrass stalks and discard.
Add the potato, carrots, and onion to the sauce and simmer for five minutes, until carrots and onion begin to soften. Add the broccoli and pepper and cook until all vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve over hot jasmine rice. Garnish with thinly-sliced basil or chopped cilantro.
Notes
… don’t be tempted to use Russet potatoes in this recipe. Their high starch content will cause them to fall apart in the sauce.
… you can certainly add chicken or other protein if you wish. Just add it after removing the ginger/lemongrass and cook through before adding vegetables.
… if you’ll be making this in advance of serving, hold off on adding vegetables such as broccoli or any greens you may be using until you reheat. Otherwise they’ll get sad and floppy.
