Sweet & Savory Coconut Curry
July 25, 2021 | By Jeremy Scheck | 7 Comments
I jokingly call this Sweet & Savory Coconut Curry, “White people curry” because it lacks inspiration from one specific culture, although it does not lack in flavor. This curry, which I make with tofu, but you could with any protein you prefer, packs a punch. It’s rich, slightly sweet, a little salty and has the perfect balance of freshness as well.
This is loosely inspired by this NYT recipe, but we ended up changing just about everything.
Sweet & Savory Coconut Curry
Ingredients
- 1 block of extra firm tofu, pat dry and cut into thin planks (I use a local brand that comes in a 16 oz container)
- salt and pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons neutral cooking oil such as avocado, grapeseed, or canola
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 inch of chopped fresh ginger
- 6 cloves sliced garlic
- 1 bird's eye chili, sliced (can sub red pepper flakes)
- 1 can coconut milk (unsweetened, full fat)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or gluten free alternative)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 heads of sliced broccoli
- 1 cup chopped green beans
- 1 bunch of mint, leaves torn off the stem
- 1 bunch of scallions, sliced thinly (you can use white and green parts)
- 1 small bunch cilantro (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- Toasted sesame seeds (for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil to the pan and let heat up before adding tofu slices that you've seasoned with salt and pepper. Don't crowd the pan; fry them in two batches.
- Cook each batch of tofu 3-5 minutes on each side, until deeply golden. When each batch is golden-brown, transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Once all the tofu is browned and set aside on the plate, heat a little extra oil in the pot (if needed) before adding the sliced onion.
- Briefly stir fry the onion on high heat before adding in the ginger, garlic, and bird's eye chili. Cook this all together 1-2 minutes to allow the garlic to soften, but don't burn it.
- Add in the coconut milk, soy sauce, and brown sugar and bring to a simmer.
- Let the sauce simmer 3-4 minutes to thicken a bit before adding in the garlic and the green beans. Then simmer 5-10 more minutes, until the vegetables reach your desired tenderness - I like them to be pretty soft but I don't cook them so long that the green color loses its vibrancy. Taste for salt and add if needed.
- When the sauce has thickened to a richer consistency and the veggies are about done, add the tofu back in. Toss to coat in the sauce.
- Add in the sliced scallions, mint, and cilantro, and toss to let them all warm through slightly. Stir in the rice wine vinegar.
- Serve over jasmine rice and top with sesame seeds.
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
This was such an easy and delicious recipe. I love how you can make it your own changing the veggies and protien. It was so great to make and sooo good
Made this tonight! Loved it—I subbed in the red pepper flakes as suggested, chicken b/c I didn’t have tofu, swapped out the mint for basil, added fresh lime juice when serving. That sounds like a lot of changes but it’s just making swaps for what I had on hand! Def incorporating into my back pocket easy meals.
great recipe! made it today and loved it! so many different possibilites make it more enjoyable to preapre and eat! Thanks for the great recipe once again!
Made this last night and it was delicious!!! Jeremy’s recipes never miss. It was so satisfying while being healthy and vegan. Great meal for busy week dinners.
I just made this tonight for New Years Eve and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! I ran out of mint so I substituted it with fresh basil but I plan to make it again once I have mint. With basil, it tasted like a curry from a 5 star Thai restaurant. Honestly though, I don’t even understand how it’s possible that every recipe he puts out is this amazing!
My only feedback is that I felt it didn’t have enough curry so I added a 2nd can of coconut milk. Because of that, I had to adjust the salt, and add another tablespoon of soy sauce and brown sugar but other than that, it still tasted perfect.
Can’t wait to eat some tomorrow on Jan 1st! Hope it means that I get to eat delicious food like this all year! 😂
This was really great, I’ve made it probably 5 times. Its super easy to put together and gets even better if it can sit for a day before you eat it
Super delicious and fairly quick recipe! Looking forward to making this again and mixing in different veggies. I would definitely add a second can of coconut next time like another commenter suggested