Aish Cooks

Mushrooms In Coconut Milk Curry

Here’s a Thai-inspired coconut milk soup-like curry that you can customize as you please. If you’re wondering why I have oh-so-cautiously used “inspired” instead of Thai-style, its because I’ve added almost nothing that ought to go into a Thai recipe, except for the coconut milk, but still manged to find substitutes in my pantry which happened to do pretty well for a lazy weeknight dinner.

The chili-garlic sauce took care of the spice (I used an Asian-style one that I always have at hand), soy sauce was the best I could do for fish sauce and the final squeeze of fresh lemon was all that was needed to replace all that lemongrass could do. So… if you’re craving Thai but don’t want to bother buying specific condiments for the cuisine, this is your best bet!

The soup was perfectly spiced, and tangy just the way I like it. We had it with egg fried rice for dinner, and the combination was so satisfying. Go ahead and add chicken or any other stir-fry friendly vegetables of your choice and help yourself to a bowlful.. the flavors will leave you wanting more! I still miss Tom Yum in all its original glory – but for now, this will do.

Mushrooms In Coconut Milk Curry

Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 Tbsp olive oil
2. 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
3. 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
4. 2 Serrano peppers or 3-4 Thai green chilies, slit lengthwise (cut into smaller pieces for a more fiery version)
5. 8 cups vegetables of choice, diced into medium size pieces
   • What I used for this recipe:
     • 16 oz button mushrooms, cleaned and diced (approx. yield = 5.5 cups)
     • 2 green peppers, seeded and diced (approx. yield = 2.5 cups)
6. 2 Tbsp Asian-style chili garlic sauce, adjust to taste
7. 1 tsp soy sauce
8. 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
9. 1 cup water
10. salt to taste
11. ground pepper to taste (optional)
12. a squeeze of lemon juice (approx. 1 tsp)
13. few stalks of fresh cilantro, finely chopped, for garnish

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a wok or heavy pan.
2. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a few seconds on medium heat.
3. Add the slit green chilies and diced vegetables. (Note: cook the firmer vegetables like peppers first before adding faster-cooking ones like mushrooms)
4. Season with some salt and pepper, and combine until everything is mixed well.
5. Cook with lid on, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are done (should be still crunchy and not all mushy).
6. Add the chili-garlic hot sauce and soy sauce and combine.
7. Add the coconut milk (Note: Mine was thick from storing in the fridge, and started to liquefy when heating up).
8. Add the water and mix well to combine everything together.
9. Check taste and add salt/more hot sauce if needed.
10. Add the fresh cilantro and bring to a simmer.
11. Cook with lid on for another 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
12. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and give it a stir.

Serve hot as-is in a soup bowl or with some fried rice!