Green Curry

I love Thai curry. Green curry is my longest-standing safe food. It freezes great and also keeps in the fridge great (I freeze it the same way I do my yellow curry). The only thing with freezing is that it alters the texture of the tofu. This is my most involved curry recipe, but it's still very straightforward - it just requires some prep on the veggies that takes time more than effort. This recipe is based on the recipe from the curry paste container, with vegetables I chose based on my favorite restaurant curries.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp vegetable/soybean oil (note - err on the less oil side here.)
• 3/4 cup green curry paste (I use Mae Ploy - it's definitely what most restaurants around me use. I can get it at asian groceries or restaurant supply stores.)
• 3 cans (1200 mL) coconut milk (do not cheap out on this! use a brand you like, and check reviews if you're not sure. once I tried store brand coconut milk and it tasted distinctly of soap and vomit.)
• 14 oz tofu (for green curry, I use extra-firm tofu, drained but not pressed. I am going to test pressing it to see how it changes the post-frozen texture.)
• One or two green bell peppers
• One zucchini
• One eggplant
• Three serrano peppers (you can also use thai chiles - serranos are just what's available at my normal grocery store. Also this makes the curry very hot! Not quite as hot as Thai hot, but hotter than a standard 5*. Omit these or use fewer if you don't like your curry that hot.)
• Thai basil
• lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar for adjusting seasoning to taste

Directions

• Cut the vegetables in the way you want for the curry
• Lay the zucchini and eggplant in a single layer and sprinkle with salt. Leave them sit for 10-15 minutes. Pat them dry with a paper towel. (This draws quite a bit of moisture out, which keeps the zucchini and eggplant from getting too mushy in the curry)
• Pre-cook the eggplant - I sautee it until browned. Set aside. (This is because undercooked eggplant is pretty nasty. Precooking helps prevent that.)
• sautee the curry paste until fragrant
• add 2 cans of the coconut milk, stir and simmer until the curry sauce is properly combined
• add the tofu & third can of coconut milk.
• bring the curry up to a boil for a couple of minutes.
• add the eggplant and zucchini and cook for about 10 minutes. (note - I'm still fussing with cooking times here - adding the zucchini some time in between the eggplant & pepper)
• Add the bell & serrano peppers and cook until all of the vegetables are done (about 5 more minutes).
• add the thai basil and wilt.
• taste the curry sauce. adjust the seasoning to taste. If the sauce is already very thick, add 1/2 cup or so of water. (I typically add 1-2 tsp of sugar and 1-2 tsp of soy sauce. Another note here that the quality of soy sauce matters a lot - I use Lee Kum Kee; store brand soy sauce is definitely not flavorful enough)
• serve with rice