Hot Dish: Thai Food Eat-In!

 

Last night I was in the mood for Thai food, but didn't want to spend too much money and calories on the restaurant version.  A quick search led me to this recipe, and allowed me to use up one of the "mystery ingredients" I have in my refrigerator: green peas.  I often make a dish that calls for a cup or so of peas, but not the whole bag, and since they aren't my absolute favorite vegetable, I never eat them on their own. So, I end up with little half-eaten bags of them in my freezer, forgetting their existence when I go to make another pea-required recipe!

This would be considered is a yellow curry, I guess, with a splash of green thrown in.  I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand, always a plus! Sorry that I don't have any pretty pictures of the finished product because, once again, by the time I ate dinner it was too dark to capture one.  However, here's the tofu & onions being sauteed, isn't that a gorgeous golden color?!



Please note: the original recipe states that "Red curry paste can be found in the ethnic or gourmet sections of most large supermarkets. The paste is a blend of clarified butter (ghee), curry powder, vinegar, and other seasonings" which is not accurate. Not all curry paste contains clarified butter and, as a matter of fact, the most commonly available brand, Thai Kitchen, is vegan.

Tofu with Red Curry Paste, Peas & Yellow Tomatoes

(print friendly) 

 

Image courtesy of Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 (14-ounce) package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced onion
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1 to 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 1 cup shelled green peas (about 1 pound unshelled) or frozen green peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow tomato
• 4 cups hot cooked long-grain rice (I used brown rice)

Preparation

1. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu; cook until liquid from tofu is evaporated (about 3 minutes). Remove tofu from pan; sprinkle with lime juice, turmeric, salt, and pepper.
2. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add tofu, and cook 7 minutes or until golden. Combine milk and curry paste; add to pan. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Add peas and tomato; cook 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Source: Cooking Light MAY 2000

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup tofu mixture and 1 cup rice)

Nutritional Information, per serving:   Calories: 421; Calories from fat: 23%; Fat: 10.6;Saturated fat: 3.1; Protein: 15.5g; Carbohydrate: 66.9g; Fiber: 5.3g

The Verdict: Very tasty!! I will warn you that unless you like your Thai really spicy (probably 3 stars), you should stick to one Tablespoon of curry paste. I used two and it had quite a kick!

Other than the coconut milk, this recipe is relatively low in fat and if you use brown rice, as I did, could almost be considered Simply Filling.  I ran the original nutrition info through the WW calculator, not the Recipe Builder, because I was lazy, came up with a total of 11 PointsPlus.  A little higher than I normally spend on dinner but certainly less than it would "cost" at a restaurant!

Off to do some laundry, have a beauty-full day!

Michele~