Recipe | Vietnamese yellow curry

This recipe is courtesy of Peggy Chan, former owner of Grassroots Pantry, an authority on food sustainability.

Peggy Chan has been setting an excellent standard with her plant-based menus and initiatives, including with Zero Foodprint Asia.

While she is an eco-warrior with years of fine cooking under her belt, she doesn’t brandish her beliefs like a zealot. Instead, she lets her outstanding food do the talking.

This delicious curry calls for hedgehog mushrooms, but as these are hard to find in Australia I’m using portobello mushrooms instead.

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Serves 4

Ingredients

250 g (9 oz) portobello mushrooms

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ brown onion, chopped

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

200 ml (7 fl oz) coconut milk

1 Asian eggplant (aubergine), diced

1½ tablespoons coconut sugar

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) leafy greens, such as Chinese broccoli, spinach or bok choy

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Marinade

10 cm (4 inch) piece ginger, finely grated

2 lemongrass stems, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chilli powder

1½ tablespoons ground turmeric

1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate

2 teaspoons coconut sugar

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Method

Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl, add the mushrooms, cover and leave for 1 hour.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a chargrill pan. Add the mushrooms, reserving the marinade, and grill for 4 minutes or until golden brown. When cool enough to handle, cut into quarters.

Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan. Add the marinade and stir over medium–low heat for 4 minutes until browned and fragrant. Increase the heat to medium, add the onion and stir-fry for 4 minutes.

Add the potatoes, carrot and mushrooms and stir gently to combine. Pour in the coconut milk, bring to the boil and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add 100 ml (3½ fl oz) water and return to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, then add the eggplant and simmer for another 15 minutes until the carrot and potatoes are cooked. Add more water if the sauce is reducing too quickly.

Stir in the coconut sugar and season with salt and pepper. Add the greens, stir until wilted and serve at once.

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Other recipes from Hong Kong Cult — 

Sichuan dry-fried green beans