Did anyone else work at Earls back in the day and love their Thai Green Curry? I remember thinking it was the most delicious thing on the planet!!! It was creamy, salty, sweet, rich and oh so fragrant…with pineapple and pistachios on top, it’s anything but traditional, but it works SO WELL. Give it a shot.
The only real details I could remember from my old favourite Earls dish was the garnish, so I winged the rest of it over on Instagram stories after browsing a few other basic Thai green curry recipes online. While in the middle of cooking, a few lovely followers informed me that the recipe is actually in the Earls cookbook…and they gave me the recipe! I can’t wait to make it, but the recipe I made ended up turning out so well (it’s actually quite similar) that I’m going to share it with you here. I used eggplant as the main vegetable in the curry. Earls uses zucchini. Feel free to swap the eggplant for zucchini here if you wish. I think both would be delicious!!
Ingredients
- 6 large cloves garlic (minced)
- 5 tsp ginger (minced)
- 1 large stalk lemongrass (sliced in half lengthwise, pounded with the blunt edge of a knife, then chopped width-wise so it fits in your pot)
- 8 tbsp Thai Green Curry Paste (I used one full jar of Thai Kitchen brand but I hear there are better ones out there)
- 2 14oz cans full-fat coconut milk (you can use light, but of course it won’t be quite as flavorful*)
- 2 cups vegetable broth (I mixed two large tsp of Better than Bouillon paste with 2 cups of hot water)
- 2-4 tbsp coconut sugar (or any sugar you have)
- 1 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
- 12 kaffir lime leaves (fresh is ideal but dried works too — find this unique ingredient at South China Seas or elsewhere)
- 1 350g block firm or extra firm tofu (cubed)
- 2 medium Japanese eggplants (chopped into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 large white potato (or any kind, peeled if using Russet) (chopped into bite-sized pieces)
- Handful Thai basil leaves (around 16)
- Juice of one lime
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios (chopped)
- 1/2 cup pineapple (chopped into small bite-sized pieces)
- 1/3 cup fried onions (optional) (usually found as a packaged good in the produce section)
- Handful cilantro (chopped) (optional)
- Fresh pepper
- Rice (to serve with the meal)
Directions
- Prepare rice (according to package instructions) if serving your curry over rice.
- Heat a medium to large pot over medium high heat and add a spoonful of the firm white fatty coconut cream (thanks to you guys for this tip!!). Once hot, add garlic, ginger, lemongrass and cook for about three minutes, until fragrant.
- Add coconut milk, veg broth and curry paste to the post, stir until dissolved. Next add sugar, salt and lime leaves. Bring mixture to a low boil.
- Next add eggplant and potato. Cook for five minutes in the boiling curry, then add in your tofu. Taste and adjust the flavour (adding more sugar or salt if needed). Cook until eggplant and potatoes are nice and soft.
- Stir in lime juice and Thai basil leaves.
- Plate your dish: add rice to a bowl, load on the curry and garnish with pistachios, pineapple, lots of fresh cracked pepper and fried onions (if desired). Make sure to save some for leftovers — this dish is definitely more delicious the next day once the tofu etc has soaked up ALL that delicious flavour!!