Here's a creamy, velvety and easy Thai Yellow Curry recipe that you can practically throw together in minutes. And it's so flavorful that I am putting it right there on top of my vast collection of family-friendly recipes ideal after a busy day at work -- or at home.
You do need to have some Thai Yellow Curry paste on hand to make this curry, but that is something you can easily put together on a leisurely weekend day and then reap the benefits of for months to come. I have for you a great vegan recipe for the paste today too, and you can also check out my recipes for other Thai pastes -- red and green -- making the spice mixes at home. If you are vegan, it is a good idea not to rely on storebought versions of Thai curry pastes because most contain fish sauce.
For this version of my Easy Thai Yellow Curry, I used black beans, corn, and red and green peppers. The veggies, I will admit without embarrassment because I am a busy working mom, came out of a bag in the freezer. But that didn't take away one bit from this recipe. The distinct flavors and textures of the beans and veggies were superb in the creamy sauce. I have, in the past, added chewy, baked tofu to this recipe and it works beautifully. Carrots, sweet potatoes and potatoes and fresh Spring veggies like broccoli and asparagus that don't require too much cooking time would also be great.
I did veer one little bit from making this truly Thai-- apart from the vegan thing, of course. 🙂 Instead of coconut milk, which tends to be more ubiquitous in Thai curry recipes, I used cashew paste. That's because I wanted a true creaminess and clean flavor to let the flavors of the different veggies shine through. Coconut, as delicious as it is, also tends to have a strong flavor of its own.
This curry would be perfect with some boiled white or brown rice, but you wouldn't be amiss if you served it like a stew, with a crusty, robust bread or roll.
Enjoy, all!
Looking for more vegan curries?
- Vegan Thai Curried Chickpeas with Thai Red Curry Paste
- Easy Vegan Thai Green Curry
- Vegan Thai Massaman Curry
- Malaysian Mushroom Korma
- Aloo Gobi
- 20-minute Best Vegetable Curry
Easy Vegan Thai Yellow Curry
Ingredients
For curry
- ½ cup cashews (soaked in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes,then blended into a very smooth paste)
- 1 medium red onion, (finely diced(
- 14 oz black beans (canned, rinsed and drained)
- 2 cups frozen veggies (Try and buy diced frozen veggies. I used a mix of red and green peppers, corn and carrots)
- 2 spring onions (white and green parts chopped)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste (recipe follows)
For Thai yellow curry paste
- 2 hot red chilies, (like Thai bird's eye chilies or just use serrano)
- 2 stalks lemongrass (use juice of 2 limes and their zest as a substitute)
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 2 shallots
- 1-inch piece galangal (use ginger if you can't find this)
- 1 small plum tomato
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1- inch piece of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup coconut milk
Instructions
Make the curry paste
- Place all ingredients and ½ cup of the coconut milk in a blender bowl. Blitz into a smooth paste, adding more coconut milk if needed to keep the blades moving.
- Store in an airtight container in the freezer.
Make the Thai yellow curry
- Place 2 tablespoon of the curry paste in a large saucepan, along with the coconut oil.
- Heat together, stirring often, until the curry paste darkens slightly, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook until they are translucent, 3-4 minutes.
- Add basil, beans and vegetables and stir to mix well. Let the vegetables heat through.
- Add the cashew paste along with enough water to thin out the curry to your liking. Let it heat through on a medium-low flame. Add the lemon juice.
- Turn off the heat, garnish with spring onions, and serve hot.
Minnie@thelady8home
I love Thai food. This looks so yummy and tempting. I am going to give this a try for sure.
hotlyspiced
That's a really pretty curry and I love Thai cuisine. I don't think there's anything wrong with busy people using frozen vegetables. I once heard Jamie Oliver say, 'Anyone who doesn't have a bag of peas in their freezer is a snob' xx
Vaishali Honawar
And Jamie was right, as always. 🙂 I love doing stuff from scratch when I have the time, but I am definitely not above taking help where I can get it.
NancyK
Another amazing sounding dish! I think I will make this with some cauliflower this weekend. Thank you for another delicious thing to try!
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Nancy, cauliflower is a great idea. Hope you try it. 🙂
The Vegan Junction
This looks great. I really like the texture, nice and creamy, and vegan chowder-like. 😉 A good note about the curry paste too, a lot of people seem to over-look that when they first go vegan. I seem to quite like corn bits in my soup/salad, so I'm sure I'll like this one too. And I think I just might add in some sweet potato, you can't go wrong with sweet potato (in my opinion ;)).
Vaishali Honawar
TVJ, sweet potato would be great in here.
Marie @ The Frog Blog
I have never made my own curry paste, but this recipe might just get me to do it!
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Maria, making your own curry paste is a lot of fun-- and definitely more delicious. Hope you try it! 🙂