Today I want to tell you about the best airplane food I’ve ever had. It was a vegan green curry, and I loved it so much, I was inspired to make my own high protein vegan thai green curry.
Usually, I don’t think much of the food they serve on airplanes. Vegetarians are stuck with mushy pasta dishes, and no other options. The last time I few, they ran out of mushy pasta, and I refused to take the chicken dish.
The young, sweet flight attendant was a little baffled by the idea that I didn’t eat meat. But, I was in luck. There was a leftover vegan meal. I had never tried green curry before, and now I’m so glad I did!
You can use almost any vegetables you want in this dish. I loaded it up with protein options, including tofu, chickpeas, and edamame. The version I had on the airplane included green beans, and water chestnuts, so I used them here as well.
Variations to the High Protein Vegan Thai Green Curry recipe:
- The water chestnuts are not traditional, but I love the crunch that they add to this curry. If you want to use more traditional veggies, try spinach, green peas, or cauliflower!
- I used full fat coconut milk for a rich flavor in this dish. If you watch saturated fats, try using light coconut milk instead.
- For even more protein, try serving this curry over quinoa instead of rice!
- 1 cup brown basmati rice
- 8 oz extra firm tofu
- 1 small onion, diced
- splash olive oil
- 1 inch ginger, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup frozen edamame
- 2-3 TBS green curry paste
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (from a can, rinsed and drained)
- 14 oz can coconut milk
- ½-1 cup vegetable broth
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in half
- 8 oz can water chestnut, drained
- 1 TBS reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1 TBS lime juice
- Cook rice in a rice cooker or on the stove top according to package directions. I like to use 2.5 times water to rice.
- Place the tofu block between two plates and top with something heavy from the pantry, like a jar of peanut butter. Let this press for 10 minutes while you prep the curry. Drain and cut the tofu into ½ inch cubes.
- Meanwhile, saute onion in olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in ginger and garlic. Saute 2 more minutes.
- Stir in frozen edamame, and cook until thawed. Mix in curry paste (using more for a stronger flavor) and saute another 2 minutes.
- Stir in chickpeas and pressed, cubed tofu, along with coconut milk, vegetable broth, and salt. Bring to a simmer.
- Stir in green beans and water chestnuts. Cook for 5 minutes or until the green beans are tender-crisp.
- Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce or tamari and lime juice. Serve with cooked rice.
Recipe adapted from Cookie and Kate.
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