This simple vegetable curry is the answer when you want something hearty, really tasty, and packed with lots of nutritious veggies. Our recipe takes inspiration from a few regions, but I like to think of it as a Southeast Asian curry since we use Thai red curry paste and coconut milk. This is a perfect vegetable recipe to keep in your back pocket for when you don’t have a plan for dinner but have a bunch of half-used veggies piling up in the fridge. It’s quick to make, light, and fresh. For more curry recipes, see our favorite chicken curry, these curried chickpea bowls, and our Thai curried cauliflower.
Key Ingredients
Veggies: I always use a base of onion, but you can swap in the other veggies I recommend in the recipe below if you need to. I love cauliflower since it soaks up all that delicious coconut curry sauce. Other veggies we like to include are carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and green beans or snap peas. Fresh Garlic and Ginger: Store-bought curry paste already has some garlic and ginger added, but I like bumping up their flavor in the curry, so I use a generous amount of minced or grated garlic and ginger. Red Curry Paste and Turmeric: These add color and flavor to the curry. You can make your own red curry paste (recipe coming soon) or use store-bought. I have Thai Kitchen curry paste at home, and I use dried turmeric. Coconut Milk: I love full-fat coconut milk for this. When shopping for canned coconut milk, shake the cans. If you hear a lot of liquid, skip it. If you shake the can and it’s pretty quiet, you’ve found a can with lots of delicious coconut cream, making this curry more decadent and delicious. Fish Sauce: I’m a big fan of fish sauce for seasoning all sorts of dishes, but I especially love it for this creamy coconut ginger curry. I have Red Boat fish sauce in my kitchen and love it.
How to Make Vegetable Curry
When making this veggie curry, add the heartiest veggies first and follow up with the more delicate, quicker-cooking vegetables. I start with my onions, carrots, and cauliflower and cook them until they soften. Then, stir in minced garlic, ginger, turmeric, and curry paste. Follow up with potatoes, coconut milk, and a bit of water. Simmer everything until tender, and finish with fresh chopped tomatoes and green beans. Before serving, I season it with fish sauce, cilantro, and lime juice to taste. I love a good amount of lime! For serving, I love plain white rice, our cilantro lime rice, or for even more coconut flavor, this coconut rice! 1 large onion, halved and sliced Half of a medium cauliflower, cut into florets 2 medium carrots, sliced 1 large Yukon Gold potato, halved and thinly sliced 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 3 to 4 medium cloves 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, 1-inch piece of ginger 1 teaspoon dried turmeric or substitute 1 tablespoon minced fresh turmeric 1 ½ tablespoons red curry paste, we use Thai Kitchen or homemade red curry paste 1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk, about 1 ½ cups 1 to 1 ½ cups water or use broth Handful of green beans or snap peas, trimmed and cut in half 1 cup chopped tomatoes, 3 small tomatoes 1 tablespoon fish sauce, we use Red Boat Handful fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems, chopped Juice of 1 lime or more to taste 2Toss in the minced garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Cook while tossing the spices around the pan for one minute. 3Add the curry paste, and then toss, making sure that it has a chance to coat most of the vegetables. 4Stir in the potatoes, coconut milk, and 1 cup of water. Stir, and then bring to a simmer. Cook, at a low simmer, until the potatoes are almost tender, 5 to 10 minutes. If the curry seems too thick or there isn’t enough liquid, add another 1/2 cup of water. 5Toss in the tomatoes and green beans, and cook another 3 to 5 minutes or until the green beans are bright green and tender. 6Finish by stirring in the fish sauce, cilantro, and lime juice. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce or lime juice if necessary.
