Spicy Thai Coconut Quinoa

I've stumbled across this recipe several times over the past few years and it's a shame it has taken me so long to finally make it. Though the flurries of snow we got this week might indicate differently, it is in fact spring, and spring cleaning at my house includes the fridge, freezer, and pantry. Fortunately for me, this recipe's list of ingredients happened to be perfectly suited to helping me clean out the fridge, and I'm quite glad that happy accident brought me to these fantastic results.

I'm typically making big batches of grains to portion and freeze for an as-yet-unknown use, so they usually just get cooked in water with a pinch of salt. It's recipes like this that remind me how much better grains are when they're cooked in a flavorful liquid. Don't get me wrong, I like quinoa just fine as it is, but when it soaks up flavorful stock and rich coconut milk, it becomes worlds better. Even better, making the quinoa extra-creamy and luxurious makes the fresh and crunchy vegetables, crispy tofu, and spicy peanut sauce pop even more in contrast. All of the elements blend beautifully together, while still retaining their own distinct flavor and texture, creating a meal that is harmonious, but far from monotonous.

Although I eat a primarily plant-based diet, I'm far from an herbivore, and I realize that tofu isn't for everyone. I don't eat it as a substitute for meat, but as a protein all its own, though chicken would make a fine alternative here if tofu isn't your thing.

This recipe might have helped to clean out the fridge, but it also gave back to freezer, portioned into several work week lunches after feeding me so well for dinner. Save the garnishes for when you reheat your meal, but this comes out of the freezer nearly as perfect as when it went in.

Spicy Thai Coconut Quinoa

adapted from CHOW 

serves 4 to 6, heartily, or 6 to 8 for smaller appetites

For the dressing:
1 2/3 cups fresh cilantro (from about 1/2 bunch), long, thick stems removed
3/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
1/3 cup Sriracha hot sauce
2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest (from about 3 medium limes)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 3 medium limes)
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
2 medium garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the quinoa:
2 cups quinoa, any color or variety
1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/3 cups vegetable stock or low-sodium vegetable broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 (14- to 16-ounce) package firm tofu
2 medium carrots (about 8 ounces)
1 medium broccoli head (about 1 pound)
4 medium scallions
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Optional garnishes:
Coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Coarsely chopped roasted, unsalted peanuts
Thinly sliced scallions

For the dressing:
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 1 minute; set aside. (Alternatively, use a high-quality store bought sauce. I like San-J Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce.)

For the quinoa:
1. Rinse the quinoa in a strainer under cold water until the water runs clear. Place in a large saucepan; add the coconut milk, vegetable broth, and measured salt; and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the white outer casings on the quinoa have popped, revealing translucent little beads, about 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, line a large plate with several layers of paper towels. Drain the tofu, cut it into large dice, and place it in a single layer on the paper-towel-lined plate; set aside. Trim the carrots and cut them into 1/8-inch-thick rounds; set aside. Trim the stem of the broccoli to 1/2 inch and cut the head into 1-inch florets; set aside. Thinly slice the white and light green parts of the scallions; set aside.

3. When the quinoa is ready, remove it to a large serving bowl and set aside. Wash the saucepan, fill it with water, and season generously with salt. Cover with a tightfitting lid and bring to a boil over high heat.

4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the tofu and cook without stirring until the bottoms are golden brown, about 4 minutes. (While the tofu is cooking, line the plate you drained it on with fresh paper towels.) Flip and cook until the other sides are golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, remove to the paper-towel-lined plate and season with salt; set aside.

5. Add the carrots to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove them to the bowl with the quinoa. Return the water to a boil, add the broccoli, and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and place in the bowl with the quinoa and carrots.

(Alternatively, add a bit more oil, if necessary, and stir-fry the carrots and broccoli in the pan that the tofu was just cooked in.)

6. Add the cooked tofu, dressing, and scallions to the bowl and stir to combine. Garnish with additional cilantro, peanuts, and scallions before serving.

Thai-Flavored Green Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans

When it comes to shortcut ingredients, curry is king. Curry powders and pastes are frugal and efficient ways to create a vibrantly flavored dish with a minimal list of ingredients and time to spare. I've been on an epic sweet potato kick lately, so it wasn't much of a leap to merge the two ideas together in this quick weeknight meal. It's virtually guaranteed that there's curry powder in my cabinet, and even though there's pretty good odds of curry paste (red or green) hanging out my fridge, I'll confess that I don't reach for it quite as often. That tiny jar gets easily lost among the ample library of condiments, but it's always a pleasant surprise to rediscover it.

For me, Indian curries are generally cozy, hearty, comforting meals and Thai curries are light and lively bites that really perk up the palate. During the depths of winter, I need both of these kind of meals. When I want to curl up under a cozy blanket and watch a movie, give me warm and inviting Indian curry. When it's time to refuel and wake up after a long day, I'll happily devour a plate of the Thai variety, which takes less than 30 minutes to make it to the dinner table. Bright lemongrass, rich coconut milk, and spicy ginger and chilies are the perfect antidote to icy winter weather, with extras freezing well for a healthy meal at the ready any time. This vegetarian dish is wonderful simply served over brown rice with a drizzle of hot sauce, but is also a nice complement for salmon, chicken, or pork for carnivores or heartier appetites.

Thai-Flavored Green Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans

adapted from Bon Appetit

serves 4

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 medium onion, quartered, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons green Thai curry paste
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1 large sweet potato, scrubbed, quartered, cut into 1/2” chunks
3 cups trimmed green beans, cut in 2” pieces or one 10-ounce bag frozen green beans
Kosher salt
Thai basil or cilantro, for serving (optional)

Sriracha or other hot sauce, for serving (optional)
Brown rice or naan, for serving (optional)

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add curry paste; stir for 1 minute. Whisk in coconut milk and 1 cup water. Add sweet potato and cook, uncovered, until sauce thickens to a creamy consistency, about 10 minutes. Stir in green beans, cover, and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt. Turn off heat and garnish with cilantro and/or hot sauce, if using, into the curry. Serve over rice.

Thai Red Curry Squash Soup

When faced with pounds and pounds of beautiful organic squash from my CSA, my thoughts immediately turned to soup, and strangely specifically, curried soup with coconut milk. A quick search through Food and Wine recipes revealed that I am certainly not the only one to think of this as a perfect combination and was delighted to fine a recipe from Joanne Chang, owner of Flour Bakery and Cafe and co-owner of Myers + Chang with her husband, Christopher Myers, both in the Boston area. Although I've not been lucky enough to visit Boston and dine at either of her restaurants, I have had great succcess with her recipes in the past and I have immense respect for her diverse skills as a baker, pastry chef, and chef. My opinion of her is also greatly elevated by the fact that in every TV appearance she seems like a truly wonderful person with no ego and is a Harvard graduate who left her career to pursue a passion for cooking, one of those dreams that is constantly swirling around in my head. 

But on to the food! The sweetness of butternut squash is the perfect foil for curry spices, and the coconut milk makes everything irresistably creamy and smooth. I tend to eat a copious amount of soup in the winter, particularly since I started getting my winter CSA and this is nice change of pace from minestrone-type soups and dense stews (though they most certainly have their place, as well). The soup is unmistakably hearty and satisfying, but the Asian spices and ingredients keep the soup light and bright. When the days turn even colder, this soup is a fabulous taste of warm lands far, far away to transport you from the icy winds and dark skies of winter.

Thai Red Curry Squash Soup

from Food and Wine

serves 12 (as a first course)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger, plus 1 cup slivered fresh ginger

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

3 pounds kabocha, kuri or buttercup squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces

5 cups water

Two 13 1/2-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk

2 lime leaves or 1 teaspoon lime zest

1 large stalk of fresh lemongrass, smashed and cut into 2-inch lengths

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large scallions, thinly sliced

1. In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter. Add the onion and sliced ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, 7 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the squash and water and bring to a boil. Cover partially and simmer over low heat until soft, 25 minutes. Add the coconut milk, lime leaves and lemongrass, cover partially and simmer for 30 minutes longer. Discard the lime leaves and lemongrass.

2. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender; add it to a clean pot. Stir in the sugar and lime juice and season with salt.

3. In a medium skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the slivered ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until golden brown and crisp, 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the ginger to paper towels to drain.

4. Reheat the soup; ladle it into bowls. Garnish with the fried ginger and scallions and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Thai Beef Salad

Now that my winter CSA is over and I've used up nearly all of the produce that came from it, I've been eating salads like crazy. After a few months of eating primarily root vegetables, I'm really craving huge, fresh, crunchy salads. Luckily for me some greens are available at the winter farmer's market, but I have also had to resort to buying greens from other states at the grocery store to satisfy my salad appetite. And while I would happily crunch away on green salads, grilled chicken salads like this or this, or the irresistible combination of dried cranberries, pecans or walnuts, and blue cheese, I wanted to find a new salad to love and inspire me.

The original recipe called for the dressing to be thinned with water; I did not find this at all necessary, although you may, depending on how juicy your limes are. This dressing is a nice balance of tart limes, toasty sesame oil, and heat from the pepper, although the dominant flavor is most assuredly lime, which pairs famously with cilantro. While the savory beef is a great foil to the light, fresh vegetables and dressing, seafood, chicken, or even tofu would also be delicious. Biting into this salad while sitting in the warm afternoon sun was a welcome taste of summer in the cold depths of winter.

Thai Beef Salad
adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman
serves 2

8 oz. skirt or flank steak
6 cups mixed salad greens, torn into bite size pieces
1 cup torn fresh mint, cilantro, or Thai basil, or a combination
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded if you like, and chopped
1 small fresh hot red chile (like Thai) or jalapeno, or to taste, minced (remove seeds to adjust heat)
Juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon nam pla (fish sauce) or soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar

1. Prepare a grill or turn on the broiler; the heat should be medium high and the rack about 4 inches from the fire. Grill or broil the beef, turning one or twice, until medium-rare, 5 to 10 minutes total depending on the thickness; set it aside to cool slightly. (You can prepare the recipe up to this point and refrigerate for up to a day; bring the meat to room temperature before proceeding).

2. Toss the lettuce with the herbs, onion, and cucumber. Combine all of the remaining ingredients and toss half of this mixture with the greens. Remove the greens to a platter, reserving the remaining dressing.

3. Thinly slice the beef, reserving its juice; combine the juice with the remaining dressing. Lay the slices of beef over the salad, drizzle the dressing over all, and serve.