Is it unhealthy to be head-over-heals in love with a meal? Before you call for an emergency psych consult and fit me for a tight fitting jacket with extra long arms, let me explain my infatuation with Thai red curry. See, it’s the meal that has it all! First of all, it only takes *15 minutes* to prepare, start to finish! The silky smooth sauce has luscious savory-sweet flavors with just the right amount of spicy heat. It’s rich enough to satisfy the most hardened carnivore. The flavors of the sauce blossom in your mouth, and since it’s thick, it’s easy to hide lots of healthy vegetables in it. And the addition of pineapple also adds a surprising, sweet burst of flavor to keep your palate interested with every bite.
Thanks to jarred Thai red curry paste, this is my go-to dish when I’m feeling really lazy but we still want to eat a delectable, flavorful meal. When I want to mix it up a bit, I sub in Thai green curry paste for the red curry, which has a mellower, earthier and equally alluring flavor that’s a little less spicy. And yes, it’s carnivore tested and carnivore approved: John loves Thai curry! He likes it so much that sometimes I can sneak in a handful of tofu cubes w
ithout him noticing, which is cause for much rejoicing. So can you blame me for being crazy about Thai red curry?!
(Well, you might still want to have me committed when you read the story about my attempt to make red curry paste from scratch, which is below the recipe).
Cimeron’s Vegan Version of Thai Red Curry
From prep to plate: 15 minutes!
Serves: 3 big eaters, or 4 people who have had an appetizer
Cooked rice (I prefer basmati since it’s so fragrant and has a lovely hint of nuttiness)
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, blend the coconut milk and red curry paste until the paste is fully integrated and the coconut milk turns pinkish red. Once it’s heated through, add the salt, brown sugar and broth. Stir and bring to gentle boil. Add the mushrooms, red bell pepper, tofu and pineapple, stir well and cook for a few minutes. Test the mushrooms – when they’re soft, add the baby corn, asparagus and basil. Cook just until the asparagus is tender but still crisp in the middle. In a bowl, serve atop rice and prepare yourself for a loud chorus of “omm nom nom nom!”
Note: The pineapple and shitake mushrooms really add a lot of flavor, depth and a unique flavor to this dish, so I think those are pretty essential. However, you can swap out some of the other veggies for your favorites, like broccoli and sugar snap peas. Get crazy!
Operation Carnivore Conversion 
Awesome, I’ll look out for the sauce and the pics look TASTY!
mmmm, I love curry. I will try this this week (but my Committed Carnivores would gag if their pickytarian mother put tofu in their food – I’ll sub in some chicken…).
Yum!
I totally understand – if mine finds the tofu, he makes a face. Hey, instead of chicken, try the Vegetarian Ginger “Chicken” by Vegetarian Plus (in the frozen food aisle at Whole Foods). It’s an imitation chicken with a yummy glaze that John actually really liked – I nearly had a stroke when he said he thought it was tasty and that he liked the texture. He even went so far as to say: “Yeah, you can make this one again, I’ll eat it.” (Carnivore-to-vegetarian translation: “Please make this again. I won’t gag, whine or make a face, and in fact, I’ll probably like the meal so much that I’ll smile and possibly make ‘mmmm’ noises.”) Since I haven’t had chicken in more than 25 years, you know you can’t trust my judgement about the authentic taste/texture of imitation chicken, but you can probably trust that of John’s!