Aug 4-7 Green Curry with Tofu and Eggplant

Aug 4     green curry with tofu and eggplant
Aug 5     Taste of the Danforth
Aug 6    
Aug 7     Dinner out in Ottawa


I bought some of those little, round Indian eggplants and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. I spent a couple of days just opening the fridge and looking at them but just didn't know what to cook and it was getting dangerously close to having to go out for dinner again if I didn't make something in the next half an hour. A green curry was in order and so I made one with whatever I had in my fridge and the curry cooked in the time it took the basmati rice to do it's thing in the rice cooker. This makes a really mild green curry because although I like a hot, spicy curry, The Kid does not.

Green Curry with Tofu and Eggplant
serves 3-4

1 cup basmati rice

1 1/2 tbls green curry paste ( I used Mae-Ploy)
1 can of coconut milk
2 cups cube Indian eggplant (you could also sub in the small asian eggplants since both don't need salting)
2 cubes of deep fried tofu (it's a good sized cup or so chopped up)
handful of green beans, ends trimmed
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped in large chunks
1 tbls of fish sauce
(fresh cilantro and/or thai basil is a nice addition to throw in at the very end but I didn't have any so I used a bit of mint on the rice. If you plan ahead, get some cilantro and/or thai basil)
squeeze of lime juice optional

rinse the basmati rice a few times under cool tap water and drain. Cook it how you like to cook it. I put it in my rice cooker with a pinch of kosher salt and 1 1/3 cup water for every dry cup of rice. Press the button and walk away.

Open the can of coconut milk without shaking first and scrape off the top layer of fatty coconut cream. Add that to a pot that you are heating over med heat and fry the curry paste in that coconut cream for a minute until it's really fragrant. At that point, dump the rest of the can of coconut milk into the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the eggplant and let it simmer lightly for about five minutes. Now add the tofu and the green beans and simmer for another five minutes. Pour in the fish sauce and taste and if it tastes good to you, add the yellow pepper and let it simmer for a few minutes more.

Anytime now your rice cooker is going to turn off.
If you have the fresh herbs, chop a handful coarsely and add them to the curry after you take it off the heat. You can also squeeze in some lime juice to taste. It's up to you.

Put some rice in a bowl, ladle some green curry over top and if you want, garnish with some more fresh herbs.