Cà Ri Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Curry)
Cà Ri Chay is a Vietnamese Vegetarian Curry MADE for bread dunking! The vegetables are cooked until tender, melting into a pot of spices.
Servings: 8
Calories: 51kcal
Ingredients
Fresh Ingredients
- 6 stalks lemongrass (cut into 10 cm/4" segments and lightly smashed)
- 150 g / 0.33 lb green beans (halved)
- 200 g / 0.44 lb eggplant (peeled and cut into 5 cm/2" chunks)
- 200 g / 0.44 lb orange sweet potato (peeled and cut into 5 cm/2" chunks)
- 200 g / 0.44 lb purple sweet potato (peeled and cut into 5 cm/2" chunks)
- 200 g / 0.44 lb taro (peeled and cut into 5 cm/2" chunks)
- 400 g / 0.88 lb oyster mushroom
- 3 g / 0.007 lb curry leaves (we get it from the Asian supermarket)
- 135 g / 0.3 lb fried tofu puffs (we get it from the Asian supermarket)
Stir Fry Ingredients
- 100 g / 0.22 lb curry powder (or to preference)
- 6 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 6 tbsp oil
For The Broth
- 200 g / 0.44 lb condensed milk (or to taste)
- 500 mL / 2.11 US cup coconut cream (or to preference)
- 2 tsp vegetable stock powder
- 2.5 L / 10.6 US cup water
What To Serve It With
- Vietnamese baguette
- thick rice noodle (bún)
Instructions
- Pour the oil into a large pan or wok and heat it up on medium heat. Turn the heat to low and add the curry powder in to stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the lemongrass in and stir for 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water on high heat and transfer the cooked lemongrass in when cooked.
- Using the same pan or wok, add the sweet potato, taro and 1 tsp salt in on high heat. Toss for 2 minutes or until semi-coated with the remaining curry powder.
- Pour the cooked vegetables into the pot and add the curry leaves in as well. Add the carrots in as they take a while to soften.
- Like you did with the taro and sweet potatoes, cook the eggplants for 2 minutes in the pan with 1 tsp salt.Use the eggplants to wipe up all the leftover curry powder before transferring the contents into the pot.
- Add the tofu puffs, mushrooms and beans in and season the soup with the vegetable stock powder and remaining salt. Simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
- When soft, bring it to a boil add the condensed milk in.
- Pour the coconut cream in and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately as is with Vietnamese baguettes, rice noodles or both!
Notes
- Use a vegetable stock. Much like how we add or replace water in noodle soups with chicken and pork stock for more flavor, a vegetable version will do the same with this Cà Ri Chay.
- Include more taro. The creamy nuttiness of the root vegetable thickens the soup and adds a ton of rich flavor.
- Fry the vegetables. This is a technique we use to seal in the moisture and prevent it from getting soggy too quickly.
- We use two types of sweet potato (the purple and orange type), but you can choose whichever you like or just stick to one. Regular potato is also a great choice to add in.
- All of the fresh ingredients can be substituted with your favorite ones, except for the lemongrass and curry leaves which provide the curry its base flavor.
- We get our curry powder from the Asian supermarket. Some are sold in jars while some in plastic packets. Be careful not to get it confused with turmeric powder because they look quite similar!
- Condensed milk is interchangeable with your preferred sweetener if you don't have access to any or simply prefer not to use it.
- You can also substitute the cream for coconut milk and even the low fat version, but keep in mind that the creaminess of the curry will change.
- We like to have our curries with thicker rice noodles. However, there are thinner varieties if that's what you like.
- The Vietnamese baguettes can be purchased fresh from Vietnamese bakeries. If there aren't any available to you, just replace it with any of your favorite breads.
Nutrition
Calories: 51kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g