Green Curry with Kabocha Squash and Spinach
Falls Church, Virginia, just outside DC, has a large Vietnamese population and an amazing ecosystem of markets and restaurants that might as well be in Saigon—if Saigon had strip malls. I love going there on a rainy day and spending hours meandering through the aisles, filling my cart with vegetables and starches and condiments that I sometimes know little about. I am no curry expert, but you don’t need to be if you have a good Asian market nearby. Any of the amazing variety of roots, leaves, herbs, and tubers will work in this curry (push yourself!—and you can even add some chicken or shrimp or firm tofu), but the squash is the star: Its sweetness contrasts nicely with the spicy-rich coconut-chile combination of the curry.
SERVES 4
1 kabocha squash (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 small onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup Thai green curry paste (I like Mae Anong)
1 cup coconut water
1 cup vegetable stock, homemade or store-bought
One 14-ounce can coconut milk
Kosher salt
One 5-ounce bag baby spinach
Juice of 1 lime
TO FINISH
½ cup chopped roasted peanuts or toasted pumpkin seeds
½ cup cilantro leaves
4 lime wedges
Cut the squash lengthwise in half and scoop out the seeds. Peel the squash, then cut into 1-inch chunks.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Add the onion and curry paste and cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender. Stir in the coconut water, bring to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half, about 7 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock, coconut milk, kabocha, and 1 teaspoon salt, bring to a simmer, and cook until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Add the spinach and lime juice and cook until the spinach wilts. Season again with salt.
Divide the curry among four bowls and garnish with the peanuts and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and jasmine rice.