Eating my greens has never been a challenge for me. My mother always loves to remind me that I was one of those weird babies that ate endless jars of creamed spinach and green beans. I don’t know why but I am always truly perplexed when I come across people that hate vegetables. I think my life would be a lot less interesting if I didn’t eat vegetables. They add such a great variety of tastes and textures and best of all you can eat your fill of them without feeling guilty.
Maybe I’ve gone a bit overboard with this super green coconut curry, but I don’t think so. I’ve been making a variation of this dish for quite some time and never get tired of it. You can add tofu, cod, shrimp or even roasted chicken if you want to make it a bit more filling but I think it makes a great lunch as is. You could also consider serving it over your favorite grain or rice to bulk it up a bit.
Esentially, I make this curry when I have a backlog of ingredients hanging out in the refrigerator. Rather than toss them all into the compost bin, I gather the bits and pieces in the produce drawer and add them to this delicious broth. To keep things lighter I use a combination of coconut milk and water but you could also use all coconut milk for a richer broth or a can of light coconut milk instead.
The curry comes together really quickly once you make the paste. If you don’t have a small 1 cup food processor, you can make it in a blender and add some of the coconut water to get the mixture going. A mortar and pestle will also work, you just want to crush the ingredients so they will infuse well into the broth.
- 1 jalapeno, stems and seeds removed
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lime zest, plus 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce or 1 tablespoon soy sauce if vegan
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups coconut water
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ½ pound Brussels sprouts
- 3-4 baby bok choy, trimmed and cut into quarters
- 1 cup snow peas, cut in half
- 4 cups of mixed greens, such as kale, spinach or chard
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice
- In a small food processor or high-speed blender, combine the chile, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, lime zest and juice, sugar, fish sauce and 2 tablespoons of the coconut water. Process until
a smooth paste forms , adding a tablespoon or two of the coconut water if needed to process into a paste. - Remove 1 teaspoon of the curry paste mixture and place in a small bowl. Add the shredded coconut, mix well and set aside while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add the tablespoon of olive oil and add the remaining curry paste to the pan.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant. Add the coconut water and coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
- Add the Brussels sprouts and cook for 3 minutes. Add the bok choy, snow peas and whatever greens you are using. Cook for 2-3 minutes just until the greens are wilted but still bright green. To serve top with a tablespoon of the coconut and curry mixture, a squeeze of lime juice.
