Thai Red Curry Stew with Peanut and Coconut
Wonderful comfort food. I serve over quinoa or brown rice.
Wonderful comfort food. I serve over quinoa or brown rice.
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger root
- 1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
- 1 can (28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes with juice
- 3 cups cubed (1 inch/2.5 cm) sweet potatoes or
- 1 lb extra-firm tofu pressed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cups vegetable stock (thai ginger flavored is best)
- 3 tbsp smooth natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp thai red curry paste
- 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
- Carbohydrate 5.54144256500366 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 9.24589640520694 g
- Fiber 1.28022522700427 g
- Protein 6.27664461776417 g
- Saturated Fat 5.12423894539934 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (118g)
- Sodium 9.89258802877965 mg
- Sugar 4.2612173379994 g
- Trans Fat 0.611780086562375 g
- Calories 119 calories
Step-by-step
- In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until carrots are softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, salt and peppercorns and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil.
- Transfer to slow cooker stoneware. Add sweet potatoes, tofu and vegetable stock and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 2 1/2 hours, until hot and bubbly.
- In a bowl, combine peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and red curry paste. Mix well. Add to slow cooker stoneware and stir well. Add coconut milk and red pepper and stir well. Cover and cook on high for 20 minutes, until pepper is tender and mixture is hot. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro.
Traditional Thai curries rely on rapid stovetop reduction to concentrate aromatics, whereas this slow-cooked adaptation builds depth through a prolonged simmering phase that breaks down starches. When pressing extra-firm tofu, applying heavy weights for at least twenty minutes expels excess water so the porous soy blocks absorb the surrounding vegetable stock rather than diluting it. Although the ingredient list calls for Thai ginger flavored vegetable stock, standard vegetable broth fortified with extra minced galangal or ginger yields an identical aromatic profile without requiring a specialized purchase.
Swapping the specified sweet potatoes for winter squash like butternut or kabocha requires no volumetric adjustments, though denser squashes might demand a slightly longer stint in the slow cooker to achieve fork-tenderness. Natural peanut butter containing only peanuts and salt incorporates smoothly into the curry base, whereas commercial homogenized brands loaded with palm oil will separate and leave an oily slick across the surface of the simmering liquid. Utilizing smooth peanut butter is critical for proper emulsification, because chunky varieties leave hard nut fragments that fail to dissolve uniformly during the final twenty-minute heating window.
Adding the red bell peppers and coconut milk during the final phase of cooking preserves the bright crunch of the peppers and prevents the delicate coconut fats from breaking down into an unappealing oily separation caused by excessive heat. Tofu added too early in the process disintegrates under mechanical stirring, which explains why incorporating the pressed cubes alongside the root vegetables before the long simmer is structurally sound. Monitoring the slow cooker lid seal ensures internal temperatures remain consistent, preventing steam from escaping and concentrating the sodium levels prematurely.
Leftovers stored in an airtight container within the refrigerator maintain acceptable quality for up to four days, though the sweet potatoes will continue softening as they absorb more liquid. Reheating portions gently on the stove over medium-low heat prevents the coconut milk from curdling, a common chemical reaction when dairy-free milks experience rapid thermal shock. Adjusting the final acidity with additional lime juice just before serving brightens the heavy peanut and coconut fats through fresh citrus notes.
