I decided to give a whirl at a vegetarian recipe that I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time now. A vegetarian red curry! If you’re not vegetarian, you could easily add some fatty cuts of meat to this to make even more flavor come out and add more protein to the dish.
For being ready in just under 20 minutes, this turned out to have some incredible flavors. The “fish” sauce definitely comes through, which I love, and adds a more authentic flavor to all of it. Allowing the curry paste to cook and caramelize a little bit releases all of the aromatics in the spices which allows all of those delicious smells to flow through the coconut milk and bring everything together nicely. The onion will add a hint of sweetness, just enough to keep those pungent flavors at bay – leaving the umami and saltiness of everything to play over your taste buds as you eat.
If you need to cut carbs from this, you can easily use coconut milk from the carton (which is only 1g carb per cup). Leaving you room to add more vegetables or tofu, making this more wholesome and ready to be transformed into a dinner recipe! You can also sub out the onion if you’re not a fan, and go with a sweetener of your choice, but I think the sweetness from the onion and the flavor it brings is important to have.
Yields 2 servings of Vegetarian Red Coconut Curry
The Preparation
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 medium onion
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 45 grams spinach
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce, if vegetarian, use Fysh or a similar brand
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
The Execution
1. Gather all ingredients. Heat up half of the coconut oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
2. Slice the onions and mince the garlic while you wait. Once the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan and let sizzle. Allow them to cook for 3–4 minutes until caramelized and semi-translucent. Next, add the garlic and let it brown slightly (about 30 seconds).
3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the broccoli florets. Stir everything together well for 1–2 minutes, letting the broccoli take on the flavors of the onion and garlic.
4. Move everything in the pan to the side and add the red curry paste. You want it to hit the bottom of the pan, so that the spices can release all their flavors.
5. Once the red curry paste begins to smell pungent, mix everything again and add the spinach.
6. Once beginning to wilt, add the coconut cream and mix together.
7. Stir everything together and then add the remaining coconut oil, fish sauce, soy sauce, and ginger. Let simmer for 5–10 minutes, depending on how thick you want the sauce to be.
8. Dish out and serve! Optional: Garnish with a few slices of red cabbage and black sesame seeds for color.
This makes a total of 2 servings of Vegetarian Red Coconut Curry. Each serving comes out to be 485 calories, 48.4g fats, 8.9g net carbs, and 5.3g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 4 tablespoon coconut oil | 486 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/4 medium onion | 9 | 0 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| 1 teaspoon fresh garlic | 4 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| 1 cup broccoli | 35 | 0.4 | 7.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 2.4 |
| 1 tablespoon red curry paste | 26 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 3.3 | 0.7 |
| 45 gram spinach | 10 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.3 |
| 1/2 cup coconut cream | 396 | 42 | 8.4 | 2.6 | 5.8 | 4.3 |
| 2 teaspoon fish sauce | 4 | 0 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| 2 teaspoon soy sauce | 6 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
| 1 teaspoon fresh ginger | 2 | 0 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Totals | 978 | 97.6 | 25.4 | 8 | 17.5 | 10.8 |
| Per Serving (/2) | 489 | 48.8 | 12.7 | 4 | 8.7 | 5.4 |
Vegetarian Red Coconut Curry
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ medium onion
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 45 gram spinach
- ½ cup coconut cream
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce if vegetarian, use Fysh or a similar brand
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients. Heat up half of the coconut oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Slice the onions and mince the garlic while you wait. Once the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan and let sizzle. Allow them to cook for 3–4 minutes until caramelized and semi-translucent. Next, add the garlic and let it brown slightly (about 30 seconds).
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the broccoli florets. Stir everything together well for 1–2 minutes, letting the broccoli take on the flavors of the onion and garlic.
- Move everything in the pan to the side and add the red curry paste. You want it to hit the bottom of the pan, so that the spices can release all their flavors.
- Once the red curry paste begins to smell pungent, mix everything again and add the spinach.
- Once beginning to wilt, add the coconut cream and mix together.
- Stir everything together and then add the remaining coconut oil, fish sauce, soy sauce, and ginger. Let simmer for 5–10 minutes, depending on how thick you want the sauce to be.
- Dish out and serve! Optional: Garnish with a few slices of red cabbage and black sesame seeds for color.
