vegetable thai curry

While this dish would taste absolutely wonderful made with chicken or shrimp, I had bought some tofu at the store earlier in the day and wanted to try cooking with it. I've never attempted tofu and thought a curry, with its complex spices and sauce, would be the perfect flavoring for the blank canvas that is tofu.

I also realize that the picture looks a sort of sickly-green, but the dish actually is a kind of sickly green color... partly due to the fact that I accidentally overcooked the broccoli. How sad!

for the green chili sauce:
2 Tbs coriander seed
1 medium or large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
2-3 jalapeno or other hot peppers
1 cup cilantro, washed and de-stemmed
3 lime leaves
2 Tbs fish sauce
1 thumb-size piece of ginger

1. Grind the coriander seed with a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder.
2. Add the coriander seed, onion, garlic, peppers, cilantro, lime leaves, ginger, and fish sauce to a food processor and process until the consistency of a chili sauce. (of course!)

for the rest of the ingredients:
I added vegetables I had on hand (and needed to use before they went bad). I think this recipe can handle most vegetables, but some should be pre-cooked and tossed in only a bit before serving. Sure, they might not soak up as much of the flavoring, but nothing is worse than limp broccoli!

1 can of coconut milk
2 tbs sesame or other seed/nut oil
1 package of extra-firm tofu
1 medium head of broccoli, chopped
3 bell peppers, chopped
1 can of bamboo shoots
1 package of mushrooms

1. Cut the tofu into bite-sized squares and sautee in oil briefly, until semi-firm on the outside. This will help the pieces hold their shape in the curry.
2. Mix green chili sauce and the can of coconut milk in a wok or large stir-fry pan; let it simmer (you might want to cover the pan or the mix will spit everywhere).
3. Add the tofu and bamboo shoots to the curry mixture.
4. Start cooking the mushrooms in a separate pan; let some of their water boil off, and place in the curry.
5. Add broccoli to the curry and let cook for about ten minutes.
6. Add the green peppers and cook for another ten minutes.

Serve with jasmine rice and add fish or soy sauce at the table if necessary.