A Bold Vegan Thai Curry That Hits Hard With Flavour

A versatile and delicious curry that doesn’t skimp on the big umami notes

Not pictured here: absurd amounts of sliced chillies for serving | Photo: Alex Heery

A lot of recipes that are adapted to be vegan fall into one of two categories (sometimes both): difficult to make (hard to find ingredients) or overly basic and subsequently, bland.

Not this curry…

One of my roommates is vegan so a few days ago I challenged myself to make a vegan Thai red curry that wouldn’t leave any of us feeling unsatiated. I’m not vegan and consume absurd amounts of fish sauce so, needless to say, I was very sceptical that the curry would have enough umami flavour without the fish sauce and shrimp paste. Those two ingredients are the backbone of a good curry paste so replacing them, in a time-appropriate manner, is a challenge. Typically, lack of umami is what ruins a lot of vegan meals for me. I used to be vegan so I’d like to think I know what I’m talking about.

My goal here was to not have to spend a considerable amount of extra time boiling dried mushrooms, making umami-rich reductions or subbing expensive and hard to find ingredients, which a lot of recipes call for. No doubt these methods work brilliantly but I wanted a recipe that was as quick as, or quicker than, a regular Thai curry.

The good news is that the curry was fucking delicious, like, non-vegans-will-love-it delicious.

I went with eggplant as it packs a pretty decent umami punch when roasted. Not to mention, it’s (normally) cheap and easy to find. Asian varieties will work better here as you can cut them into more appropriately-sized pieces while still retaining some skin on each piece — important as we’ll be roasting pretty hard and don’t want mushy eggplant — structural integrity if you will.

Having said that, use whatever eggplant you can get, it’s not a big deal. If the common globe variety is all you’ve got, then globe it is. I mean, the premise of this recipe is that it’s approachable, right?

Good luck and buen provecho!

Vegan Thai-style Red Curry

Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 30 mins | Serves 4

Note: Some people will hate me for some of these substitutions but, you know, we’re not aiming for traditional or authentic, rather, vegan and approachable while staying as true to the style as possible.

Could have a better consistency (the soy sauce and miso add moisture) but a fine paste

Ingredients

Curry paste

• 8–10 dried red chillies (depending on how spicy you’d like it)
• 3 tbsp shallot/red onion chopped
• 3 tbsp lemongrass (white part)
• 8 cloves of garlic (about 4 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp galangal/ginger chopped
• 1 tbsp coriander root (or stems)
• 1 tbsp white peppercorns (or sub black if you have to)
• 1 tbsp toasted cumin seed
• 1 tbsp toasted coriander seed
• The rind/zest of a Makrut lime (or sub regular lime)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp dark soy (1.5x for regular soy)
• 1/2 tbsp miso

Rest of ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk (Aroy D if you can get it)
• 500 gm eggplant
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• Handful green beans (char them first in a dry pan for extra flavour)
• 2 tbsp palm sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (half-half if you have dark soy)
• 1 tbsp miso

Garnish

• Cilantro
• Thai holy basil (sub regular if you need to but remember it is sweeter than Thai basil)
• Sliced red chillies
• Fried shallots/red onion (prepare these before everything else to make your life easier)

Tips for a better curry (before you start)

• Chilling the coconut milk in the fridge helps the cream to separate.
• The length of time you need to fry the paste with the coconut milk will depend on the brand. Some have a lot of stabilizers and will never “crack”. It usually takes 10–15 mins at med-low heat.
• Salt your eggplant pieces first for 20–30 mins then pat dry. This will pull out excess moisture, helping it roast better.
• Taste, taste, taste! Taste everything while you’re cooking. Every time you add seasoning, taste it. This will help you understand the flavour and what you like. Maybe you’ll find that you like a little extra sugar than the recipe suggests. You have time to adjust seasoning and fix flavour issues while you cook so don’t wait until you sit down to realize it’s not what you wanted.

Good curry starts with good chiles | Chile costeño criollo de Oaxaca

Method

1. Prepare dried chillies by deseeding and soaking in hot water for 10–15 minutes until softened, then strain.
2. Cut eggplant into appropriately-sized cubes, making sure to keep some skin (if possible) on each piece.
3. Lightly sprinkle the eggplant pieces with salt and let them drain excess moisture in a colander or a few layers of paper towel
4. While eggplant is salting, prepare the curry paste ingredients and preheat your oven to 200C (400F).
5. If using whole spices (you should be), lightly toast them in a pan and grind evenly. If using pre-ground spices, add them later as you fry the curry paste.
6. If you’re pounding in a motor and pestle, start with the chillies and salt first, then proceed in order of hardest to softest ingredients. The last two ingredients you should add are the soy sauce and miso.
7. If you’re using a food processor, add everything together and pulse until everything is well chopped but not soupy — a little chunky is ideal.
8. When eggplant has been resting for 20–30 minutes, pat it dry, lightly coat in oil and put it in the oven to roast for 25 minutes or so, or until well-browned. Make sure you leave some space between the pieces so they brown nicely and don’t steam each other.
9. At this point, prepare your rice. Everybody has different brands, types, and methods so stick to whatever has worked well for you. It’s good to start your rice at this point as it'll keep warm until serving.
10. When eggplant is halfway finished roasting, add 1 tbsp of neutral oil to a wok or large pot and fry the cream (what separated when we chilled it) from the coconut milk on medium heat until it cracks and oil appears.
11. Add the paste and fry on a low heat for 5 minutes or so until you get a deep red colour and strong aroma.
12. If using pre-ground spices, add them once your paste has reduced and shows the layer of oil on top. Fry until fragrant.
13. While the paste is frying off, get another pan (cast iron skillet if you have it) ripping hot and char the green beans. Once charred, cut into bite-sized pieces (1–2 inches)
14. With the paste ready, add the rest of the coconut water in the can and 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock and bring to a simmer on high heat.
15. Once simmering steadily, add the palm sugar and half the soy sauce. Taste and add more soy sauce/sugar if necessary, remembering that the soy sauce will affect the final colour a little if you add a lot.
16. Not all soy sauces are created equal, so if you are happy with the umami flavour from the soy sauce at this point but want more salt, add some a pinch at a time.
17. Add the eggplant and beans and simmer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning accordingly (if necessary).
18. Roughly chop up all the herbs and thinly slice some red chillies for garnish.
19. Garnish with all your herbs, chilli slices, and fried shallots and serve with warm steamed rice.
20. Most importantly, enjoy your food and take a moment to think about what you like about it and what you could do better. It’s important to constructively criticize your own cooking!