Green Coconut Curry Stir Fry with Brown Rice

Stir fry is a great way to incorporate a ton of veggies into your meal, and a mildly spicy green coconut curry sauce is just the vehicle to deliver that Southeast Asian tastiness. This is great dish if you are feeding a few people, and you can easily substitute ingredients according to preferences for veggies, meat or no meat.

My good friend Megan gave me the cookbook, The Best 30-Minute Recipe, and it has a great section on stir frys, offering several super easy versions, as well as tips. For instance: When stir frying the veggies, cook the heartiest first, then push them to the sides of the pan, so you have an empty circle in the middle. Cook the next round of veggies in the circle before you mix it up, then clear a space for the aromatics last.

I have been making variations of stir fry since as long as I can remember and I've never tried this nifty trick, so I decided to give it go tonight.

Green Coconut Curry Stir Fry with Brown Rice
1 lb Beef Sirloin, sliced into thin strips against the grain (or stir fry cut beef)*
1 lb Broccoli, chopped into 1-2 inch tall threes (I'm using my gorgeous farm fresh broccoli shoots with leafy greens)
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped into 1 in. squares
16 oz. Mixed Stir Fry Mushrooms, sliced into strips
1 Onion diced
1 thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and grated
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup Green Onions, green parts sliced into 1 in. long pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 1/2 cups Coconut Milk (Regular or Reduced-Fat)
2 heaping Tsp. Green Curry Paste (used Thai Fresh brand)
1 heaping Tsp. Asian Chili Garlic Sauce (used Tuong Ot Toi Viet Nam brand)
1 Tsp. brown sugar
Canola Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

*Feel free to use only veggies in this recipe, or substitute the beef with chicken or shrimp. 

So stir fry is all about the mis-en-place, or things in place. Once everything is prepped, the meal comes together really quickly, thanks to cooking at a high heat and tender crisp vegetables.

There are some stir fry purists who say all vegetables should to be cut to the same size, so everything cooks evenly. I don't think it matters, but if you are eating with chop sticks, you should consider cutting the veggies in chopstick-friendly chunks. 

If you are making this dish with brown rice, start that first, since it takes the longest. Next, season the beef with salt and pepper, toss and set aside. 

Prep your veggies and aromatics. Peel ginger and grate on a Microplane, mince garlic, cut broccoli, onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms, green onions.

Make the sauce. In a large measuring cup or bowl, combine the coconut milk, curry paste, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar and fish sauce. Whisk with a fork, breaking up any lumps.

Now, heat a wok to medium high and put in about 2 tsp. of canola oil. Wait until the pan gets really hot, then add the beef, stir fry at a high heat until lightly browned, but not cooked all the way (3 mins), set aside. Don't worry, the meat will continue cooking in the sauce.

Wipe out the pan, add 2 Tsp. of canola oil, wait for a few seconds until pan gets hot again, then add the broccoli. Season with salt and pepper, stir fry for about 3 mins, then make a space to add the onions and the red bell peppers in the center.

Stir fry for about 3 more minutes, make a space in the middle again, then add the mushrooms. Stir fry about about a minute then make a space for the garlic and ginger. Cook for just one minute, then stir all together and add beef.

Now add the sauce and combine mixture really well, continuing to cook at a high heat for about 5 more minutes. Turn off heat and garnish with chopped green onions. Serve with brown rice.

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Listening to: The Beatles, 1967-1970 on vinyl. My love to Amanda and Tony for the awesome records. I dedicate this song to my little baby neice, Brooklyn.