Easy Vegan Curry

From the spices, to aromatics, to the thickness of the broth and varieties of vegetables and proteins, there are so many ways to make a delicious curry dish. My mom’s chicken curry (ca ri ga) has a great blend of yellow curry powder, lemongrass, garlic, onions, root vegetables, overnight marinated chicken, and coconut milk. Mom used a variety of root potatoes, but what made her curry very unique is the use of Yucca (khoai mi).  Whenever my mom came home from the grocery store with yucca, I knew we were having curry for dinner. The overnight marinated chicken is worth the time because the chicken can really soak up that marinade to the bone which gives the dish that extra flavor. Mom added the coconut milk toward the end, so the broth is very rich and creamy and quite not as spicy as the Thai or Indian curry broth.

I like curry sauce from Siam Royal Thai Restaurant in Palo Alto (located next to the Apple store).  The menu offers a variety of curries but my go to dish to order is Panang curry. The consistency of the curry broth is just perfect -  a bit thicker than the Vietnamese curry and with more heat and mixture of different spices! I tend to use store bought curry paste instead of making my own. It’s harder to locate all the correct ingredients to make the paste just right. On the bright side, it saves me a little bit of time in the kitchen. For this recipe, I want to combine the Thai Panang curry paste with elements of the Vietnamese curry that I have learned from Mom to make an easy vegan curry dish. A perfect weekday dish that you can serve with rice or with a piece of baguette.