Thai Coconut Red Curry

This Thai Coconut Red Curry is to DIE for. (Okay maybe not that extreme, but its seriously sooo good). It has the right mixture of creaminess from the coconut milk and crunch from the vegetables with a side of rice. That, my friends, is perfection in my eyes.

Without further ado, you will need:

• 1 large red bell pepper (cut into medium-sized strips ~1/2 inch)
• 2-3 small sized zucchinis (cut into ~1/2 inch strips)
• 1 bag of baby carrots or cut up 2-3 carrots into ~1/2 inch strips
• 2 heaping cups of spinach (or as much as desired)
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 Tablespoon grated ginger (~1 inch cube of ginger)
• 2 Tablespoons Red Curry paste
• 1-2 cans of coconut milk ( I used 1 & 1/2 cans)
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1 & 1/2 Teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 lime (zest and juice)
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce or fish sauce
• 1-2 Tablespoons coconut or olive oil
• 1 container of tofu ( I used a 30 ounce container)

Directions

1. Prepare all your ingredients and start your tofu preparation
2. For the tofu, cut them into 1/2 inch strips or cubes and lay them out on a tray lined with parchment paper. Place another layer of parchment paper on top of the tofu along with another tray over-top the parchment paper. You can them place some heavy object on top so that the tofu can drain itself from excessive fluid (~20 minutes)
3. In a pot, saute your diced onions in your oil til translucent (around 3-5 minutes).
4. Add your minced garlic and grated ginger and saute for another minute. Stir constantly so nothing burns.
5. You can now add your carrots and close the lid so they can get somewhat cooked before you add your other ingredients since carrots take a bit more time (~5 minutes).
6. Add your bell pepper and zucchini strips along with the 2 tablespoons of red curry and saute all the ingredients (~2-3 minutes).
7. Once all the vegetables are sauteed, add your can of coconut milk, 3/4 cup of water, 1& 1/2 teaspoons of brown sugar, and tofu strips/cubes. (At this point, I felt that I needed some more coconut milk so I added another 1/2 can.)
8. Allow for the curry to simmer for around 5-10 minutes till all the vegetables are fork tender or at your desired texture.
9. Turn off the heat under the curry, add the zest and juice of one lime, tablespoon of soy/fish sauce stir everything together, then add the two cups of spinach and close the lid so they can wilt.
10. When its time to serve your curry, stir the wilted spinach into the curry and pour it over your rice.

And now, I'm hungry thinking about how I made this meal.