Ginger Family Tomato Curry
As of this writing we’ve completed eight full-day Thai cooking classes and without fail what we’ve learned is that the curries definitely rely on salt, fat, and sugar. Because, sure… one slice of galangal might shine after you fry it in oil and extract its flavors into something that floats on the surface and is easily carried onto your tongue. But when you want the dish to really sing in the absence of such cheats, when you demand SOS-free flavor, you need to put aside your notions of what’s “too much” and just go for it—and that’s exactly what we did with this curry.
We included “Ginger Family” in the recipe name because we’re using four ingredients from the Zingiberaceae family: ginger, galangal, fingerroot, and turmeric—talk about a medicinal plant powerhouse! There’s a picture of the ingredients because people sometimes think I’m exaggerating when I say how much we actually add.
Together with Thai chilis, garlic, and tomatoes, the curry becomes very balanced. While you can probably use any vegetables for the body of the meal, we like to add kabocha for sweetness, potato for starch, mushroom for umami, and cauliflower for cruciferous. The cabbage is a side dish—because you can never have too many greens!
Oh yea, and earlier this week we decided it was time to cheat! We purchased a travel blender so we can “pound” curry paste without, well… you know… actually having to pound anything. I look forward to what other delicious sauces this little guy will help us whip up.
Note: I had to add a little more water than pictured to get the blender moving. Don’t worry about adding too much water, though, because you’re going to add a bunch more to cook the veggies in anyway.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Peel the ginger, galangal, fingerroot, and turmeric.
- Chop everything into blender-friendly sized chunks. (You know your blender better than I do.)
- Layer in the ingredients with the seeds and garlic closest to the blades and the tomatoes on top.
- Add enough water to get it moving. Blend until smooth. Let sit for a bit so the garlic can do it's enzymatic thing.
- Cut everything into inch- or inch-and-a-half-sized pieces.
- *Chop the cauliflower first so it can do its enzymatic thing too. #Sulforaphane
- Add the curry paste, kaffir lime leaves, potatoes, mushrooms, squash and enough water to simmer to a pan and let cook until the potatoes are close to done.
- (If you're planning to steam some cabbage, this is a good time to toss the steamer on top.)
- Add the cauliflower and continue simmering until everything is cooked to your liking.
- Let the soup sit for 15-20 min on the hot stove. Potatoes stay hot forever anyway and this gives everything time to absorb the flavor of the sauce.
- Pick the Thai basil from the stems, rough chop. Add the basil to the hot soup and mix in before serving.
- Chop the scallions, sprinkle on top of your bowl.
