Thai Curry

On gloomy days where there is a nonstop drizzle outside accompanying the sound of my sniffles and cough, I dream of a bowl of piping hot, spicy Thai curry to warm me up on the inside and help clear out all of my congestion. This used to require going to my favorite local Thai restaurant, which has since shut down, but now I have mastered what must be the simplest recipe (if you can even call it that) for Thai curry. And on a side note, what is curry? Is it an entree? Is it soup? Things I ponder in this congested haze..

I've made it twice so far, both times served on a bed of instant brown rice, and in the time it took for the curry and rice to cook, I managed to do all of the dirty dishes that were waiting for me in the sink, while the second time I unloaded all of the groceries in that same time. On both occasions it was outstanding, although when I made it with green curry it was actually too spicy for me to handle, so I had to add more liquid.. and it was still too spicy. The key then is having good coconut milk. While I am all in favor of using low fat options, this recipe really calls for full fat, full flavor coconut milk. So if you're going to try and lighten it up, only go so far as to use one can of low fat or fat free coconut milk.

Thai Curry

Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 4 oz can of Maesri curry paste, use whatever type of curry you fancy! I found them at the local Asian grocery store, but they might be sold in larger "regular" grocery stores in the international section. For reference, they look like the following.
  
• 2-3 13.5 oz cans of good coconut milk, depending on your spice tolerance
• 2 bags of frozen "Asian medley" vegetables
• 1 block of tofu of choice.. extra firm, soft, fried, whatever you desire!
• Lime

Directions

1. Place large pot onto burner set to Medium.
2. Add curry, coconut milk, and vegetables to pot.
3. Cut tofu into bite-sized pieces. Add to pot.
4. Allow pot to heat until it comes to a boil.
5. Dish out curry into a bowl, squeeze fresh lime over it, and an enjoy!

I know, I know, this recipe is a joke. In truth, it produces a really hearty and perfectly flavored curry. It's pretty close to what you order at your favorite Thai restaurant, but right at home!