This took about 45 minutes, start to finish, with cheap & frozen ingredients. I got the tofu on sale for a buck a pound. I buy onions, frozen veggies, oil and rice in bulk from Cash & Carry. Curry paste, coconut milk & garlic from the Asian grocery up the street. Probably a total of $5 or $6 for the portions of ingredients used, so about $1.25-$1.50 for a meal.
This uses the Moosewood method of cooking short grain brown rice because it makes it a million times more awesome (separate grains with a firm bite rather than a ball of mush).
Curry pastes are different so see how much the package recommends for a pound of 'meat' or veggies, and use that. You can always add more if it's not tasty/spicy enough.
Makes 4 large servings.
5 tsp olive oil, divided
1 cup short-grain brown rice (or carb of choice)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb frozen tofu
1 lb frozen veggies of choice
1/4 cup favorite vegan curry paste (I used panang)
1/2 can coconut milk
- Defrost the frozen tofu in the microwave (2 turns of 5 minutes on low/defrost should do).
- Wash the rice thoroughly. Heat 1 tsp oil in a medium or large pot over high heat. Add the rice and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add 2 cups of cold water. Stir and cover. When steam escapes from the lid, turn the heat off. Set a timer for five minutes. When the timer for the rice goes off, turn the rice on simmer and set a timer for 35 minutes.
- Drain the tofu package, then squeeze the excess liquid out with your hands or between two small plates (no need to be gentle with the tofu, but don't break the plates). Cube the tofu.
- Heat 2 tsp oil in a large sautee pan on medium heat, then add the tofu to the sautee pan and let sit for a few minutes. Start flipping the tofu cubes over to check and see if they are turning golden brown, even lightly. If they are, start flipping the cubes over. Feel free to squash the water out. Once a few sides of the cubes are browned, set tofu aside on a plate for later.
- In the same sautee pan, heat 2 tsp oil. Add onion and sautee until it starts to soften. Add garlic, sautee until fragrant. Add frozen veggies & stir. Add 1/4 cup of water, stir, and cover.
- When the veggies start to boil, remove the cover and cook until veggies are softened/defrosted. Add curry paste & stir well. Add tofu, stir. Add coconut milk plus half a can of water (1/2 or 3/4 of a cup, depending on how thick your coconut milk is). Reduce heat to simmer, let cook for five to ten minutes depending on your patience.
- When the rice timer goes off, turn off the heat and let it set for ten minutes. At this point, the curry and the rice should both be done. If the curry is too thin, cook for a few more minutes, uncovered. If it's too thick, add water.
- NOM.
