Chinese Vegetable and Coconut Curry

I have one final Chinese recipe to add to the collection today. This time it's for a classic vegetarian curry of mixed vegetables in a lightly spiced coconut milk base.

This dish can be served as both an accompaniment and a vegetarian dish in it's own right. I like my curries with a bit of heat, and though this recipe only calls for a single chilli, if you would like to dial the heat back a little for your own taste, simply remove the seeds and membranes from the chilli before chopping (the heat is actually in the membranes that hold the seeds, not in the seeds themselves).

Chinese Vegetable and Coconut Curry

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2.5cm (1 in) length of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
2 fresh green chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground cumin seeds
1kg (2 1/4 lbs) mixed vegetables (eg cauliflower florets, courgettes [zucchini], potatoes, carrots, green beans and broccoli sliced into chunks)
200ml (4/5 cup) coconut cream or coconut milk
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), to taste
freshly-cooked rice, to serve

Method:

Combine the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies in a food processor and process until the mixture is almost smooth.

Heat the oil in a large wok over medium-low heat. Add the onion paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Now add the turmeric, coriander and cumin ad cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. At this point add the vegetables and stir to coat in the spice paste.

Stir in the coconut cream then cover the wok and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper then turn into a serving bowl, garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves and serve accompanied by plain rice.

Below are some other classic Chinese recipes on this blog that you can use in conjunction with this recipe to produce a complete Chinese meal or banquet:

Soups and Starters

Chicken Steamboat Soup

Wonton Soup

Main Dishes

Spicy Szechuan Pork (Meat)

Xinjiang Lamb Casserole

Fish and Seafood Dishes:

Deep-fried River Fish with Chilli Bean Sauce
Stir-fried Scallops with Asparagus

Vegetarian Dishes:
Chinese Vegetable and Coconut Curry

Szechuan Fried Aubergine (Vegetarian)

Noodle Dishes:

Sour and Spicy Pork with Noodles

Seafood Chow Mein (Seafood)

Accompaniments:

Perfect Steamed Rice

Egg Fried Rice

Desserts

Rice Pudding with Dried Fruit