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Tag Archive: Curry

My Favorite Store-Bought Sauces

Written on September 10, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

The food bloggers who cook everyday and love making time-consuming sauces and stews amaze me.

I’m nothing like that.

Sure, I like making desserts and even occasionally a dinner or two, but a lot of the time I have no problem phoning in meals. Cereal and yogurt for dinner is more than fine with me. But occasionally I like to pick up pre-made products at the store to help me make something easy and delicious that’s also a little bit more impressive than cereal.

Here are a few of the trusty, reliable, go-to sauces I’m sure to have in my pantry.

Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce

Trader Joe’s sells my favorite marinara sauce. I would happily serve this to guests and not say a thing. It’s delicious, cheap, and has all vegan and gluten-free ingredients. I usually have 3-4 in my pantry at any time because that’s how many I’ll go through in between shopping trips.

Of course it’s good with (corn) pasta and (soy) meatballs. I also like poaching eggs in the sauce and putting that over pasta or rice or quinoa. Just add some fresh herbs and you’ll forget it ever came from a jar.

Thai Kitchen Curry Paste

I really have no clue about Thai cooking and yet I love eating it; that’s where the Thai Kitchen curry paste comes in handy. All you need to do is mix it over a stove with coconut milk and it turns into a curry sauce—super simple. All the ingredients are vegan and gluten-free, too! I like it more than the bottled curry sauces because it lasts longer and the ingredients are simpler. Again, this is something I usually have in my pantry waiting to be used.

I always have tofu and frozen vegetables on hand and usually have some leftover brown rice in my refrigerator. When you mix them all together it’s a perfect combination.

San-J Stir-Fry Sauces

Like I mentioned, tofu, vegetables, and rice are big in my diet so I like anything that makes those tastier without lots of pressing and cooking. San-J stir-fry sauces are great because you just have to dice a block of tofu and sauté it in a pan in the sauce. It’s also hard to find sauces that use gluten-free soy sauce and I love the fact that they have a variety of flavors that are all gluten-free.

Perfect.

Have any favorite sauces I should try? By the way, none of these were given to me or offered compensation. I just really like the sauces.

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Maple-Curry Acorn Squash

Written on October 13, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

One of my favorite things is when readers make recipes from really old posts on this site. A lot of the time they’re recipes I’ve forgotten about. More importantly, I’ve forgotten how good some of the recipes are, too.

When Danielle made my maple-curry squash recipe I immediately added it to the list of foods to make. The unexpected combination of maple and curry powder work surprisingly well together for a squash that’s spicy and earthy.

Another reason I like remaking old recipes is it gives me a chance to take better pictures. Over the past year, I’ve learned a lot about what goes into a good food photo. While I still have a lot to learn in terms of lighting and styling, I can look at these and not cringe like I do some of the photos I published when I first started writing this blog.

Maple-Curry Acorn Squash

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 3 servings):

1 Large acorn squash
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt*

*omit if your curry powder is already salted.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking tray
Cut the squash in half to remove all the seeds. Once de-seeded, cut along the ridges into thin wedges.
In a large bowl, toss the wedges with the maple syrup, curry powder, and salt.
Lay the squash out on the baking tray and roast for 45 minutes or until fork tender.
Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Maple syrup and curry powder—who would’ve thunk it?

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Chickpeas In Green Curry

Written on April 29, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

I get on food kicks on occasion. Most of the time it’s chocolate. This week it’s still chocolate, but it’s also Thai and coconut. Bear with me. It will be gone soon.

I love food you can slurp, especially food that has a sauce that makes you want to lick the bowl clean. That’s probably why I shouldn’t eat in public. Anyhoo, that’s part of why I love curries. The coconut milk is cool and refreshing but spicy at the same time; it makes me want to eat every last drop. This recipe uses chickpeas for the protein which is more an Indian flare, but you could add in browned beef, fried tofu, or baked chicken cutlets instead. Just make sure it’s cooked through before adding it to the broth.

Chickpeas In Green Curry

Ingredients(for 2 people)

1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, julienned
1 green pepper julienned
3 Tablespoons neutral oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 Tablespoon green curry paste
1 can of chickpeas, drained
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add in the cut vegetables and sauté for a few minutes until the oil gets absorbed and the onions turn translucent.

Pour in the coconut milk.

Add in the green curry paste(a blend of garlic, curry, salt, lemongrass and a few other ingredients) and mix it into the broth.

Let the broth boil for 2-3 minutes until it thickens up slightly. Add in your protein for the last minute to heat. Serve hot with rice or greens if desired.

I definitely licked the bowl clean.

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3-Ingredient Thai Curry Tofu

Written on December 2, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

I’m not usually a fan of shortcut ingredients; they’re too Sandra Lee for my preference. But some of them are too good to pass up. For that reason, I love to keep a jar of Thai Kitchen’s curry paste in my refrigerator. Curry paste is all the ingredients needed for a good curry all concentrated and combined. Since it’s so dense with ingredients and flavors, you don’t need much more for a delicious lunch.

*Emily crafted her own green curry paste from scratch! If you want to be really enthusiastic, try that and I bet it would work just as well, though you might need to double the amount here because it seems less concentrated.

3-Ingredient Thai Curry Tofu

Ingredients:

1 block firm or extra-firm tofu
1 tablespoon Thai curry paste
1/3 cup coconut milk

Cut the tofu in whichever manner you prefer. Add the tofu, coconut milk, and curry paste to the pan and heat to medium-high.

Continue to cook the curry until the tofu picks up color and the coconut milk gains a runny syrup consistency.

Serve the tofu over seasoned rice or quinoa. Reserve the excess curry milk for drizzling.

I usually don’t make many ethnic dishes because I can never understand the flavors or the cooking techniques and how they all work together. But when it’s made this simple, anyone can make a tasty curry dish.

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Maple-Curry Acorn Squash

Written on November 27, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

We had plenty of side dishes at our Thanksgiving table this year. Aren’t they the best part? I love sweet potatoes, but sadly they didn’t make the cut this year. We all eat enough of those regularly. Instead, we made this acorn squash recipe for something equally delicious. This is something I make whenever I have an acorn squash around; the sweet maple syrup pairs perfectly with some heat from the curry powder. Even though it might not be a “traditional” Holiday side, it’s surely one to please.

Maple-Curry Acorn Squash

Ingedients(Makes 4 servings)

2 medium acorn squashes, cut into 1/6ths or 1/8ths
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon Indian curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil.

Add all of the ingredients into a large ziploc bag and toss around to coat. Once the squash is covered, lay each piece out individually on the tray and bake for 50-55 minutes, until the squash is tender. Serve hot.

Not only is it flavorful, but it’s simple, too! And the maple syrup-curry glaze that forms during cooking is warm and comforting. This is one of those dishes that will have everybody eating their vegetables.

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Rich Pumpkin Soup With Sautéed Curried Apples

Written on November 3, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

I swore to myself I wasn’t going to make a soup this season. I just don’t love soup, and it gets too complicated too fast for my liking. But then things changed: I got an idea for flavors in my mind and it wasn’t long before I caved. I love how simple the actual “soup” is to make, and the rest is just the cherry on top—a savory, buttery cherry.

Rich Pumpkin Soup With Sautéed Curried Apples

Ingredients(for 2 servings):

1 1/3 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream(or coconut milk)
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter(or Earth Balance)
1 apple, diced
1 teaspoon curry powder
Roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish(optional)

To make the body of the soup, simply combine the first six ingredients in a sauce pan and heat over medium until hot.

In a separate pan, melt the tablespoon of butter and add in the diced apple.

Sauté the apple for about 5 minutes until it’s heated through but still has a slight crunch. Flip the pan occasionally for even heating. After 5 minutes, turn off the burner and sprinkle in the curry powder, tossing to distribute it evenly. Serve the hot soup into 2 dishes and spoon on half of the apple mixture on each.

I swore I wasn’t going to make a soup; I’m glad I broke that promise. This was warm and comforting on a cold Autumn night. It even heated up well, too! The next time I talk myself out of something, I just might have to change my mind.

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