This dish is a spicy-ass green curry blend, married with unlikely sexy-silky-smooth fried tofu, lightly crispy on the outside but wonderfully soft on the inside. Served with Okinawan sweet potatoes . . . so SO savory and so much fun varying textures in your mouth . . . I LOVE CURRY!
2–4 SERVINGS
⅓ pound Okinawan sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes*
⅓ pound (baby) carrots
5 stalks cilantro, thoroughly cleaned
¼ cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves
1¾ cups coconut milk
2 teaspoons sugar
5 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ cup mushroom bouillon
1 tube silken tofu, cut widthwise into 1-inch-thick discs, or
1 (19-ounce) box soft tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup cornstarch
Radish sprouts, for garnish
BALLS OUT
40–80 SERVINGS
6⅔ pounds Okinawan sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes*
6⅔ pounds (baby) carrots
100 stalks cilantro, thoroughly cleaned
5 cups loosely packed Thai basil leaves
8¾ quarts coconut milk
2½ cups sugar
6¼ cups Thai green curry paste
2½ cups freshly squeezed lime juice
5 cups mushroom bouillon
20 tubes silken tofu, cut widthwise into 1-inch-thick discs or 20 (19-ounce) boxes soft tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 quarts cornstarch
Radish sprouts, for garnish
1. Bring 2 inches water to a rolling boil in a pot over high heat. In the meantime, fill a large bowl with ice water. When the water boils, cook sweet potatoes for 6–8 minutes. Check to make sure potatoes are cooked through and crunchy, still firm, but not mushy. Remove potatoes (but do not dump the boiling water) and shock in ice water for 2 minutes, or until completely cool to the touch. Remove potatoes, strain, and set aside in a bowl.
2. Next, cook carrots for 4–5 minutes until they are cooked through, crunchy, and firm like the potatoes. Remove carrots and shock in ice water for 2 minutes. Remove carrots, strain, and combine with potatoes.
3. Add cilantro, basil leaves, coconut milk, sugar, and green curry paste to a blender. While blending, add lime juice and mushroom bouillon; blend until you reach a smooth consistency. Set aside.
4. Fill a small pot with 2 inches of oil and bring to 350°F over medium-high heat.
5. Coat tofu with cornstarch (and love) in a bowl, shake off excess starch, then fry tofu for 4–5 minutes, turning over sporadically or until both sides are lightly golden.
6. Remove from oil, shake and discard extra oil into pot, and plate. Garnish with sweet potatoes and carrots.
Heat at least ¾ cup green curry in a pot over medium heat until it simmers. Remove from heat and pour green curry sauce on tofu and vegetables to your heart’s desire. Serve with rice.
* Purple potatoes work too but require more time to blanch because of their higher starch content.