Thai Green Curry

Over Christmas I was introduced to Thai green curry from a local Thai restaurant.  I decided to take a stab at making my own at home.  I found the recipe I plan to use (sort of) tonight on about.com courtesy of a Google search.  My local supermarket predictably didn't have essentials like kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, but they did sell a jar of Thai green curry paste that had all the exact same ingredients listed in the recipe, so I just bought that instead.  Whatever.  I wasn't looking forward to sauce-making anyway.  I'm not going for "authentic" today so much as "using up things I already had," so you'll see lots of substitutions on the ingredients list.  If they don't work out, I'll try to stick to the recipe better next time.  My notes are in italics.  I'll have to come back to this and make adjustments based on how everything turns out.

Ingredients

• GREEN CURRY PASTE:  (Nope.  I'm just using a jar of ready-made Thai Kitchen brand green curry paste.  Had no desire to take Simran hunting for an Asian grocery store to get half this stuff.)
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, sliced finely and minced OR 3 Tbsp. frozen or bottled lemongrass
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2+1/2 Tbsp. [wheat-free] soy sauce, OR see 'Other Sauces' below recipe*
• 1-2 tsp. brown sugar (to taste)
• 1-3 green chilies, minced (to taste)
• 1 small onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, sliced
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh or frozen), snipped into thin strips with scissors, OR substitute 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 loose cup chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce, OR substitute 1 more Tbsp. regular [wheat-free] soy sauce
• OTHER:
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute 1 bay leaf (Going with the bay leaf because I have some already. I plan to grate some lime zest into the mix too since a different recipe suggested that.)
• 1 can good-quality coconut milk (Nope. I'm using the can of lite coconut milk that has been in my pantry for several months now.)
• 1.5 to 2 cups firm tofu sliced into cubes, OR equivalent of wheat gluten 'chicken', OR canned chickpeas, drained (I'm going with firm tofu here.)
• 1 small yam or sweet potato, cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into chunky pieces (I'm doing thin slices of green and yellow bell pepper instead.  I remember no red bell pepper in the restaurant version, and green and yellow just seem like they'd taste good here and look prettier.)
• 1 cup snow peas (I have none.  I'll be adding finely cut broccoli florets, zucchini, and a handful of frozen chopped spinach instead.)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp. oil for frying (I will probably reduce this amount by at least 1 tbs.)

Directions

1. To make the green curry paste, place all paste ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add a few Tbsp. of the coconut milk, enough to blend ingredients. Process well.
2. Place oil in wok or deep frying pan. Turn heat on medium-high and add paste. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the coconut milk. Add wheat gluten or tofu and stir to combine.
3. Add lime leaves and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
4. Add yam/sweet potato. (Note: if more sauce is desired, add up to 1 cup good-tasting vegetable stock.) Cover and simmer another 7-10 min, or until yam is soft enough to pierce with a fork.
5. Finally, add bell pepper and snow peas. Stir and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until snow peas are cooked but still retain some of their crispness.
6. Do a taste test for salt and spice. If not salty enough, add up to 2 Tbsp. more vegetarian fish sauce, soy sauce, or sea salt. If too salty, add a little fresh lime or lemon juice. If too spicy, add more coconut milk until desired taste is reached.
7. To serve, transfer to a large serving bowl or plate up individual portions. Sprinkle generously with fresh basil. Accompany your curry with Thai jasmine-scented rice, Thai brown rice or your choice of noodles. (I'll be making some brown rice at Sameer's request.) For an extra special treat, serve this dish with my Easy Thai Coconut Rice. ENJOY!

*Other Sauces Used in Green Curry: Normally fish sauce is used to flavor green curry. If you're a vegetarian who eats fish (a 'pescatarian'), using fish sauce instead of soy sauce will give you a 'greener'-looking curry paste. If not, another excellent vegan substitution for fish sauce is Thai Golden Mountain Sauce. (I could not find this. If I have to add anything, I'll just add Bragg's Liquid Aminos.) Use equal parts soy sauce and Golden Mountain sauce to equal a total of 3 to 3.5 Tbsp.(the flavor will be rich enough that you can then leave out the dark soy sauce).

Other Vegetables: Other vegetables that work with this recipe include: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, chopped spinach, green beans, eggplant, squash, and zucchini.

[Edited 1/19/13:  I made this curry this week and it was really good.  Surprisingly good since it is so healthy.  Sameer liked it better than the restaurant's version, though I think the restaurant's version was too spicy for him.  I ended up making the sauce from one can of lite coconut milk (I'll try full fat in the future, but the lite turned out fine), about a cup of vegetable broth (additional liquid made it easier to cook the vegetables, plus added a little salt), a couple tablespoons each of green curry paste and Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and the zest of two limes and the juice of one.  The fresh basil is essential, as in most Thai recipes.  Dried will NOT do.]