Turmeric, such a powerfully health promoting spice with evidence from clinical trails to endorse its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous properties and the positive effect eating more turmeric can have on our mood, memory, skin, cardio vascular health and inflammatory joint pain.
For those of us who are used to eating the Standard American Diet however, it can be difficult to find a place where this medicinal spice fits into our everyday diet. Enter this delicious and flexible Turmeric and Vegetable Thai Curry.
The recipe for Thai Curry is based around a homemade Thai paste that is whizzed up with a hand blender and makes enough paste for two curries. Freeze the paste and you have a head start for the next time you are craving this flavour filled dish.
Let’s start with the Curry Paste!
Thai Curry Paste
Ingredients
1 lime juiced
3 cloves garlic
1 dessert spoon shrimp past or 2 tbsp gluten free Tamari soy sauce
1 stalk lemon grass cut into 3rds
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
1 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Stalks from 1 bunch cilantro
Fresh chilli or ground chilli flakes to taste (optional)
Instructions
Place all of the ingredients in the goblet of a hand blender and blend on high until you have a stiff paste. This can also be done in a pestle and mortar.
Once you have the paste made you can freeze half in a container to use to make a Thai Curry at a later date.
Once you have the paste made we can start to plan for what we want to include in our curry.
This paste is delicious with chicken, shrimp or beef and if you eat a plant based only diet then cubes of firm tofu would also be perfect as a protein source. Go easy on yourself and grab a rotisserie chicken to shred into your curry for a delicious meal in less time. I used ground turkey as it is a staple in my freezer. Turkey meat is rich in tryptophan the amino acid building block for our happy neurotransmitter serotonin.
Get creative and look at the different veg that you have in your refrigerator. carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, red pepper, green beans, collards, spinach, rutabaga, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage and kale are all perfect for this dish.
Ingredients
1 red pepper sliced
4 carrots thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 red onion sliced
2 cups broccoli florets separated and stalks peeled and sliced thinly
1 large handful of spinach
1 bunch cilantro leaves from the bunch used to make the paste.
1- 2 tbsp coconut oil
1 14oz can coconut milk
1/2 quantity of Thai Curry Paste
Instructions
Melt the coconut oil in a large pan on a medium heat and sauté the carrots , onion and red pepper stirring continuously for 2 minutes.
Add the Thai curry paste to the pan and sauté for 1 minute with the vegetables to activate the flavours.
Add the broccoli florets and your protein of choice and sauté for another 2 minutes to cook your meat or shrimp and being sure to move the ingredients around the pan so that they do not catch.
Add the can of coconut milk and reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the curry to simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes.
Add the spinach leaves and cilantro and allow to wilt into the pan. if you are using cooked chicken you can stir your shredded chicken into the curry at this point.
Serve over cooked rice and enjoy all of the delicious flavours.