This Vegan Coconut Curry with crispy tofu, sweet potato, and broccoli is quick and easy to make, filling and the ideal weekday meal. It’s best served with basmati rice.
I’m a sucker for curries. Especially when there is broccoli, sweet potato, and tofu involved. There is something about this combination…the sweetness of the coconut milk and sweet potato, the crispiness of the tofu, the broccoli and basmati rice soaking up all the flavors… I just love it.
I’ve had a very similar curry almost 10 years ago in Berlin, and whenever I make this curry, this reminds me of the trip. So the curry is comfort food for my belly and for my mind. And I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.
Fun fact: I haven’t cooked rice in a pot for at least a year thanks to my Instant Pot but I just moved and I’ve left the Instant Pot at the old place, so I still have to get one for the new apartment. So this rice was cooked totally old-school in a pot. I was kind of nervous, I was afraid I would mess it up after such a long time but it turned out perfect. Lucky! This is such a stupid thing to worry. But yep, that’s me.
The Ingredients for the Coconut Curry
You will not need a ton of ingredients for this curry. They are pretty basic, actually!
For the crispy tofu you will need:
- firm tofu
- all-purpose flour (or if you want to keep it gluten-free, use cornstarch)
- salt
- canola oil
For the curry itself you will need:
- broccoli
- sweet potato
- fresh spinach
- coconut milk
- red curry paste
- and salt
Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, it is!
Of course, you can mix and match the veggies! For variations, use potatoes instead of sweet potatoes. Cauliflower instead of broccoli. Add carrot slices. Green curry paste instead of red one. You see how this works. Anything goes!
Vegan Coconut Curry with Crispy Tofu
Ingredients
Ingredients for the curry
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 1 1/2 cups sweet potato (cubed)
- 14 oz full-fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon red curry paste (you can start with a smaller amount of curry paste and add more until you reach your preferred spiciness level)
- 1 handful fresh spinach
- salt to taste
Crispy Tofu
- 12 oz firm tofu
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or cornstarch for a gf variation)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
Instructions
- For the crispy tofu: Cut the tofu in cubes. Add the all-purpose flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the tofu to the bowl and toss carefully until all the tofu cubes are coated. Bring a large pan with canola oil to high heat, toss in the tofu. Let it cook on each side until browned and crispy. Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside.
- Wash and cut the broccoli. Peel and cube the sweet potato.
- In a small pot add water, cook the sweet potato until soft. Steam the broccoli on top.
- Add the drained sweet potato, broccoli, and fresh spinach to a large pan on medium heat. Leave it to cook on medium heat until the spinach has wilted. Then lower the heat and add in the coconut milk and curry paste. Mix well so that the curry paste dissolves. Heat until all warmed up. Add salt to taste and the crispy tofu.
- The curry is best served with a side of basmati rice.
This looks like a combination of sooo many flavors! I’ll have to make this recipe for dinner very soon. I know my wife would love it too, thank you
I love adding pumpkin and chickpeas to curries as well! :) and spinach adds a perfect amount of bitterness to it all! Great!