Yellow Coconut Curry w/ Bok Choy & Shiitakes

I have an unhealthy obsession with coconut oil.  At any given time, we have several containers floating around the house.  There's a jar in the kitchen devoted to baking and frying while another resides in the bathroom for face washing, hair conditioning and moisturizing.  Thankfully, it's a heart-healthy ingredient and a happy obsession.  But as I eyed the five cans of various coconut milks and creams in my pantry last week, it became evident that I was sliding the dangerous slope and becoming a coco-hoarder.  That meant one thing - it was time to get cooking with coconut.

For me, the texture of the coconut is the hardest part.  That's why I adore nutty, pungent coconut milk.  All the delicious flavor with the texture of cream..fabulous.  It can be a wonderful fat to use in basting a turkey (gorgeous crispy skin) and an excellent alternative to steamed milk in your morning coffee (*slurp*).  But without a doubt, our coco-classic is curry.

Yet again, we are blessed with a fabulous abundance of gorgeous farmers market produce.  Feast your eyes on the bok choy, beautiful mushrooms and green onions as thick as your thumb.  I typically use shiitakes in this recipe, but these farm fresh portobellos were just begging, "Make me into curry!!!"  The fabulous thing about this soup is the interchangeability of the vegetables.  If you have kale, bell peppers and snap peas in your vegetable bin, toss those in instead.  Cook with what you have - waste not, want not.  

This recipe is super simple, super easy, super good.  As is the case with almost every soup/stew/stoup, the flavor is always better the next day.  Typically we scarf this up within a few days, but this year I'm going to try freezing it in individual containers with brown rice.  Now that's a grown-up lunchable to be proud of.

With the pantry slightly less horder-esque and an emptied vegetable bin, it's time to curl up with a good book and a big bowl of curry.  How marvelous....


Yellow Coconut Curry with Bok Choy & Bellas (4-5 servings)

• 4 oz bok choy, chopped
• 4-5 green onions, chopped (depending on size)
• 8 oz shiitake mushrooms (or portobellos)
• 1 tbs coconut oil
• 1/4 c curry powder
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 13.5-oz can light coconut milk
• 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c water
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp agave nectar (or 1 1/4 tsp sugar)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/8 -1/4 tsp cayenne (to taste)
• brown rice, to serve
  
  

Begin by prepping your vegetables.  Wash and chop the bok choy.  Remove and discard the white part of the onions, then chop and set aside.  Clean and stem the mushrooms, cutting any large mushrooms in half and leaving the smaller ones whole.  This is a nice, chunky vegetable curry.

Place a large pan, wok or braiser over medium heat.  Add the coconut oil.  Once hot, swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.  Stir in the curry powder to form a paste, and let cook until the paste is bubbling and fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the ginger and garlic, then stir together and cook for another 30 seconds.

Pour the coconut milk, diced tomatoes, water, fish sauce and agave nectar into the pan, stirring together until smooth.  Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.  Add the chopped vegetables.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce and simmer for 30-40 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Serve hot over brown rice or reheat throughout the week