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§03 · Dinner · Thai · coconut-curry

Revised Aug 2026 · 3 revisions

Coconut Curry

Tofu and vegetables in a silky coconut sauce, built on spices toasted in oil so it tastes slow-simmered. Mild, cozy, and mostly hands-off while the rice cooks.

Illustration of Coconut Curry
Hands-on 22 min Total 45 min Serves4 Ingredients16 Cost / Serv.$2.05 Calories576 Contains Soy
Servings
4 servings
×1

Ingredients

Everything here is already in your pantry.

Ran low on something?

What swaps in
Tofu
Extra-firm tofu less pressing neededSuper-firm tofu no pressing at all
Canned Coconut Milk
Coconut cream richer; thin with waterHeavy cream 1:1, the closest dairy match for fat and bodyWhole milk about a quarter the fat, so sauces stay thinLight coconut milk thinner, so sauces won't body up the same
Frozen Cauliflower
Fresh florets 1:1 by weight
Frozen Bell Pepper Strips
Fresh bell peppers 1:1, and they'll actually crispFrozen pepper-and-onion blend pull back the onion accordingly
Frozen Spinach
Fresh spinach roughly 4:1 by volume; a 1 lb bag wilts down to a 10 oz blockFrozen kale chewier, needs longer
Red Onion
Yellow onion milder cooked, none of the anthocyaninsWhite onion sharper raw, none of the anthocyaninsShallots sweeter and finer; about 3 small per onion
Garlic
Fresh cloves 1 tsp jarred = 1 clove
Ground Ginger
Fresh grated ginger about 1 tbsp per ½ tsp; brighter and hotter, not the same warmth
Red Pepper Flakes
Cayenne about ⅓ the amount, and no flecksGochugaru milder and fruitier
Tamari
Soy sauce 1:1, but it contains wheat, so the dish stops being gluten-freeCoconut aminos soy- and gluten-free, sweeter and much less salty; use about 1.5× and salt to taste
Bottled Lime Juice
Fresh limes 1 lime ≈ 2 tbsp
Maple Syrup
Honey 1:1, floral and a touch sweeterDate syrup 1:1, deeper and less sweetAgave nectar thinner and sweeter; use about ¾
Canola Oil
Sunflower oil 1:1Grapeseed oil 1:1Avocado oil 1:1, higher smoke pointRefined coconut oil 1:1, solid at room temperature
Brown Rice
Short-grain brown rice stickier; same ~45 minutesMedium-grain brown rice between the twoWhite rice about 20 minutes instead of 45, with less fibre

No close substitute for Ground Coriander and Turmeric.

What you'll need

Method

  1. Start the 1 cup185 g brown rice first: simmer it in 2 cups water, covered, until tender, about 40 minutes. It’s the long pole, so get it going before anything else and the rest comes together while it cooks.
  2. Heat the 1 tbsp14 g oil in a deep skillet over medium-high. Brown the 1 block324 g cubed tofu on all sides, then push it to one side. Add the 1110 g sliced onion and cook 3 minutes until soft, then stir in the 3 tsp15 g garlic, 1½ tsp2.4 g ginger, 1 tsp1.8 g coriander, ½ tsp1.4 g turmeric, and ½ tsp1.1 g red pepper flakes. Keep stirring a full minute, until the spices smell toasty and darken — that bloom is what gives the sauce its depth.
  3. Pour in the 1 can (13.5 oz)400 g coconut milk and ½ cup water. Add the 2 cups214 g frozen cauliflower and 1 cup149 g bell pepper. Simmer 12 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
  4. Stir in the 1 cup85 g spinach and cook about 2 minutes, until it thaws and disappears into the sauce. Pull the pan off the heat and season with the 2 tbsp36 g tamari, 1 tbsp15 g lime juice, and 1 tsp6.7 g maple syrup — adding the acid off the heat keeps it bright. Serve over the rice.

Kids: hold the red pepper flakes and shake them over the adult bowls instead — the coconut milk keeps the base sweet and mild.

Dietary

  • Gluten free
  • Tree nut free
  • Peanut free
  • Soy contains
  • Sesame free

Nutrition

Per serving · makes 4
Calories576Protein23gCarbs53gFiber7.1gSugars5.5gFat34gSaturated Fat21gSodium566mg
Vitamins & minerals
Iron7.6mgCalcium639mgPotassium947mgMagnesium187mgZinc3.4mgFolate134µgVitamin C80mgVitamin B120.0µgOmega-3 (ALA)0.36g
Estimated from pantry data.
Change log · 3 revisions
  1. 5 Aug 2026

    HeardThe last step said to cook the spinach until wilted — a fresh-spinach cue. Frozen spinach goes in as a block and never wilts; it thaws.

    ChangedRewrote the cue to match: two minutes, until it thaws and disappears into the sauce.

  2. 24 Jul 2026

    HeardThe rice was assumed already cooked — nothing told you to make it, and 'on the table in half an hour' didn't count the time it takes.

    ChangedAdded a first step to get the brown rice going (about 40 minutes, the long pole here), corrected the total time to a realistic 45 minutes, and dropped the half-hour claim from the summary.

  3. 14 Jul 2026

    FoundEvery top coconut curry fries its aromatics before the liquid and wilts a leafy green into the finished sauce; ours only gave the spices a 30-second toast and carried no greens.

    ChangedBloomed the ground spices in oil a full minute so it tastes slow-simmered, and stirred spinach in at the end for real greens at near-zero cost, keeping it tofu-and-veg to stay clear of the dal.

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