Root · Balanced Meals on a Budget
Thai Curry Fried Rice
Curry paste bloomed in coconut oil, then tossed with vegetables, tofu, and rice. One pan, mostly freezer staples.
Flavor tip — bloom the curry paste. Give it 40 seconds in the hot coconut oil before anything else goes in — frying the paste wakes up the spices and builds the base the whole dish sits on.
Ingredients
The base
- Curry paste of choice 85 g
- Frozen vegetable mixthawed 400 g
- Rice, cookedday-old leftover rice is ideal 240 g
- Extra firm tofu, diced 1.5 blocks
- Soy sauceor salt to taste — one or the other, not both 2 tbsp
- Coconut oil 1 tsp
Aromatics & toppings
- Garlic 12 cloves
- Spring onionwhites cooked, greens to garnish 5 strands
- Purple cabbage, finely choppedoptional, for more veggies 1 cup
- Thai green chilioptional — adds a lot of heat to taste
- Cilantrooptional, for topping 20–25 leaves
- Limeoptional, cut into wedges to serve 1
Method
- Heat the coconut oil in a pan.
- Add the curry paste and cook for about 40 seconds to bloom it.
- Add the garlic and the whites of the spring onion, and cook for 30 seconds. This is where the Thai green chili goes in, if you want it — it pushes the heat up a lot, so it is easy to leave out.
- Add the vegetables — already thawed — and cook for 3–4 minutes.
- Add the tofu and a splash of water, cover, and steam over medium heat for 3 minutes.
- Add either the soy sauce or salt to taste — not both, or it will be too salty.
- Add the rice and the cabbage, if using, and mix everything thoroughly.
- Garnish with the greens of the spring onion and the cilantro, and serve hot with a lime wedge.
Notes
- For a creamier finish, garnish with 1 tbsp of coconut milk.
- Leftover rice works better than fresh — it is drier, so it fries instead of turning sticky.
- The chili, purple cabbage, cilantro, and lime are all optional — the cabbage is there if you want to push the vegetable count up.