Quick n' Easy Green Curry with Tofu

Mariah loves anything that I make that involves tofu and coconut rice, in this case it's a curry. Green curry is milder than red curry. This is also a Thai-insprired version, rather than an Indian one. To make it vegan, fish sauce was omitted. Also, take care when selecting a curry paste. I use the brand Thai Kitchen because it's vegan and doesn't contain any preservatives. Using Jasmine rice (which is traditional in Thai cooking) also saves time because it only takes about 10 minutes to cook. This dish takes about 30 minutes to make.

Serving this dish over plain Jasmine rice is also a very tasty alternative (1 c. rice to 2 c. water).

Coconut Rice:
1 c. Jasmine rice
1/2 (regular-sized) can coconut milk
1 1/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. turmeric

Sauce:
1/2 can coconut milk
1 1/2 Tb. tamari or soy sauce
1 Tb. brown sugar
1/2 Tb. Thai Kitchen green curry paste
1 tsp. chile paste (such as Sriracha)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
2 small dried red chiles

Stir-fry:
1 block extra-firm tofu
1 onion
1 c. mixed frozen veggies (an Asian blend without water chestnuts is good)
1 tsp. minced garlic
oil to saute + 1 tsp. chile oil
2 small dried red chiles

Press tofu for about 15 minutes, or until water stops coming out, then pat dry, cube, and brown on all sides in a skillet with the oil, chile oil, and dried chiles. Set aside. In the skillet, saute the onions and frozen veggies (I always steam my veggies first to make sure they taste okay, since they're frozen and all, but I'm weird like that) with the garlic and a little more chile oil if you'd like.

Meanwhile, combine all the sauce ingredients. When the veggies are halfway-done, add the tofu and the sauce to the skillet, along with two more dried chiles. Cover and reduce to a simmer (this will simmer while the rice cooks).

Rinse the rice and place it in a pot along with the coconut milk, water, salt, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce, and simmer about 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 more minutes before serving.

To serve, place the curry on top of the rice. Feel free to garnish with a little cilantro or shredded unsweetened coconut. Enjoy!