Thai Curry Rice/Noodle Bowl

2 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and minced

1 bunch of scallions – remove the long green parts and chop into 1 inch pieces and set aside to be added to the rest of the veggies for stir frying.  Slice the white parts and put with the minced ginger

1-2 garlic cloves minced or about a teaspoon of bottled minced garlic

½ cup carrot chips or carrots slice on the diagonal

1 crown broccoli florets - or more if you like

½ small head Napa cabbage roughly chopped - or however much you want, could also use regular cabbage

1 bunch bok choy chopped – I used mostly the green part of the bok choy and just a bit of the white stem part

Snow peas

Zucchini sliced in half moon shapes

Any other veggies you want to throw in – sometimes I add a handful of frozen haricots verts

Cilantro

1 can light coconut milk – I only use about half or 2/3 of the can

Chunky peanut butter (optional – this dish is still awesome without it)

Crushed red pepper

Curry powder

Raw cashews

Short grain brown rice (or brown rice noodles) - you can use any noodles you want - I use brown rice because they are gluten free

1- 1 1/2 cups frozen shrimp thawed in warm water and rinsed (use shrimp if desired – but this dish is great even without meat.  Chicken or tofu could also be added)

1) Start your rice or noodles cooking according to package directions.

2) Rinse and chop all your veggies and combine into a big bowl – except for the ginger, garlic, and white parts of the scallions which you should chop and put into a smaller bowl

3) Heat a large wok or dutch oven on medium heat. Add sesame oil and begin to sauté ginger, garlic and scallions

4) Let that go for several minutes until all are tender and the scallions turn clear-ish.  Add more oil if needed

5) Add the rest of the veggies, season with curry powder, crushed red pepper and soy sauce or salt. 

6) Stir fry until desired tenderness – I like my broccoli to be kinda crisp-tender.

7) Add the shrimp at this point if using it – continue to stir fry a few minutes until shrimp turn white.

8) Add coconut milk and peanut butter (if desired) and stir well to mix.  Sometimes I'll warm the peanut butter in the microwave to soften and mix it with the coconut milk before adding to the dish.  Use enough milk to make it saucy but not soupy!  I used about ½ or a little more of the can.  Reduce heat slightly and let it simmer.

9) Let the veggies simmer in the coconut/peanut sauce for a bit.  At this point I usually taste and re-season and add a bit more curry powder, salt or soy sauce – taste and see. If you like a kick add a bit more crushed red pepper.  The mix of the curry and coconut is the key to this dish so make sure you use enough curry!!! 

10) Let it simmer a few more minutes and let all the flavors blend.

11) Serve over rice or noodles in a bowl.  Top with fresh cilantro and chopped cashews or peanuts, and maybe a drizzle of sesame oil J