Thai Pumpkin Curry with Black Rice
A Thai inspired curry full of winter vegetables, tofu, and a savory, spicy, coconut milk broth. Vegetarian by nature but can easily be made vegan or carnivorous.
Thai food has been my favorite cuisine since my 13th birthday. I was vegan at the time and in 2014 there were very few restaurants that accommodated that lifestyle. Asian cuisines were a culinary safe space and almost always had plentiful vegan menu options, hence why I selected a Thai restaurant for my birthday dinner.
As a lover of deeply savory and spicy food I felt right at home. Over the past 10 years my love for Thai food has persisted, but, sadly, I had historically been unable to fully recreate my favorites as home. I attributed this with my unfamiliarity with the flavor profiles, techniques, and sauces used frequently in Thai cooking.
The home cooking I grew up with had heavy Italian and Eastern European influences so, if I was cooking a bolognese and something tasted off I knew exactly what to do to rectify the situation. However, if something in my pad kee mao wasn’t what I wanted I had trouble identifying what ingredient or technique could get me to the final product I was looking for.
As with every new skill, practice makes perfect. While I in no way claim to be able to conjure up some Thai food as well as a restaurant or someone who grew up with Thai cooking, my understanding of Thai techniques and flavor profiles has significantly improved to where I’m able to make my favorites at home.
This is a simple red curry utilizing seasonal winter vegetables. While there is pumpkin puree cooked into the curry, I’ve opted to roast the pumpkin separately and serve on top along with the toasted seeds. A hallmark of Thai cooking is not overcooking the vegetables so keeping the pumpkin separate felt necessary to avoid it becoming mushy.
The rest of the vegetables (onion, eggplant, gai lan, and red bell pepper) are simmered gently in the coconut milk broth then served with black rice and a squeeze of lime. I’ve opted to use firm tofu for this recipe but any meat or seafood could be substituted (add the meat with the onions or the seafood with the rest of the vegetables). To make this dish vegan, use a vegan fish sauce or omit the fish sauce entirely. The spice level can also be adjusted to suit personal preference (more curry paste = more spice).
Thai Inspired Pumpkin Curry with Black Rice
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 cup dry black rice, cooked to package instructions (can substitute jasmine rice or other grain instead)
1 small pie pumpkin, cored and chopped into large dices. Seeds separated.
3 tablespoons avocado oil
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons coconut oil
5 cloves of garlic, grated
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 to 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 12oz cans full fat coconut milk
1 red bell pepper, large dice
1 yellow onion, large dice
1 purple eggplant, large dice
1 bundle gai lan (can also use broccoli), leaves and stems separated, stems cut into large dices
1 block tofu, large dice
Brown or coconut sugar, to taste
Fish sauce or vegan fish sauce, to taste
Lime, for garnish
Cilantro, for garnish
Method:
Preheat your oven to 425F.
In a large mixing bowl, toss together your chopped pumpkin, 2 of the 4 tablespoons of avocado oil and salt and pepper to taste.
On a large foil lined baking tray, arrange your pumpkin in a single even layer. Do not overcrowd the pan.
Bake your pumpkin for approximately 45 minutes, or until it is fork tender and golden.
Toast the pumpkin seeds in a small pan over medium heat or on a small baking sheet in a toaster oven. Set aside once golden, crispy, and aromatic.
While your pumpkin is baking, warm the coconut oil over medium heat in a large pot.
Once melted, add in the garlic and ginger. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant.
Add in your curry paste and pumpkin puree. Add a splash of water and mix continuously to dissolve the paste in the puree. Fry for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the paste and puree have thickened and deepened in color. Do not let it burn.
Add in your onion and fry for 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Bring this mixture to a boil and then to a simmer.
Once simmering, add the remaining vegetables aside from the gai lan leaves.
Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes.
Add the tofu and cook for another 2 minutes.
Remove the curry from the heat. Roughly chop the gai lan leaves and add them to the broth. Stir to wilt.
Taste the broth and add brown sugar for sweetness or fish sauce for salt/umami depending on your preferences. I added about 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar and about a tablespoon of fish sauce.
To serve, pour your curry atop your rice/grain of your choice. Assemble some of the roasted pumpkin on top. Finish with a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
