Thai green curry makes quick dish

If you're looking for a satisfying meatless meal, you can't beat Thai food.

Seasoned with an exciting balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet, Thai cuisine is so colorful, flavorful and fragrant that meat is unnecessary. The best part is that Thai curry pastes make cooking Thai a snap.

Don't be confused, the curries of Thailand will not call for any of that curry powder in your spice collection. Curry powder is a Western convenience, meant to replicate the spicing of an Indian meal.

No, Thai curry pastes are a completely different kind of seasoning. To start, they are moist. The green curry paste we use in today's recipe is made by pounding fresh green chiles with other pungent plants. A Thai cook would use a large stone mortar to pound the ingredients to a perfect texture, but you can simply buy pre-made paste.

Green curry paste has almost no dried spices in the mix, only ingredients like galangal (a relative of ginger), shallots, garlic, lemon grass, kaffir lime peel and leaves, and cilantro roots, with some white peppercorns thrown in. Red curry is made from dried red chiles. Believe it or not, there are at least 12 kinds of curry paste available, each with its own balance of flavors.

Many curry pastes contain dried shrimp or fish sauce, so if you are vegetarian, read the label. The Thai Kitchen Brand that most grocery stores carry is vegetarian.

The genius of curry paste is that it puts a whole bunch of hard-to-come-by ingredients into a convenient jar, and removes all the work of trimming, toasting, slicing and crushing them yourself. The pastes last a long time in the refrigerator, although their heat and flavor will fade over time.

For this dish, I simply simmer extra-firm tofu, mushrooms and peppers in the sauce, then add snap peas for the last few minutes to keep them snappy. Fresh Thai basil is best, but if you can only get regular basil, so be it. Black rice looks beautiful on the plate, but white rice works, too.

Once you make this, you'll see how easy it is, and you can easily sub in a zucchini or green beans, or whatever is on hand next time, Thai style.

Robin Asbell is a cooking instructor and author of "Big Vegan," "The Whole Grain Promise" and "Great Bowls of Food." Find her at robinasbell.com.

Serves 4.

Note: Green curry paste varies in heat, so start with 1 tablespoon and see if you need more. If you'd like more chewiness to the tofu, try frying it first in canola or coconut oil. To do so, heat plenty of oil in a sauté pan or wok and stir-fry the cubes until browned, then add to the coconut milk mixture in the pan. If you want a scattering of chopped roasted peanuts or cashews on top, definitely go for it. From Robin Asbell.

• 1 c. black rice (sometimes called Forbidden Rice); or use white rice

• 1 (15-oz.) can coconut milk

• 1 tbsp. green curry paste, or more to taste (see Note)

• 2 tbsp. light brown sugar or palm sugar

• 1 tbsp. soy sauce

• 2 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms (2 c. before stemming and slivering; or 2 c. button mushrooms)

• 1 small yellow bell pepper, slivered

• 1 c. snap peas, trimmed

• 1/2 large lime, cut in 4 wedges

• 1/2 c. Thai basil, plus sprigs for garnish (or use regular basil)

Drain tofu and wrap in a towel, blotting the excess water from the tofu. Cut the tofu in 3/4-inch cubes and reserve.

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a small pot, and add the black rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover tightly. Cook for 25 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Take off the heat, and let stand, covered, until serving time.

In a wok or large skillet, heat coconut milk over medium-high heat. Add curry paste and mash it to mix well, then stir in sugar and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer, reducing the heat to keep it from boiling hard, and stir until fragrant. Taste for spiciness. It will thicken a bit and get a bit spicier, but if it seems mild to you, just add another teaspoon of curry paste, one at a time, until you reach your desired heat.

Add the mushrooms, yellow bell peppers and tofu and cook until the vegetables are soft and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Add the snap peas and stir gently until the peas are bright green. Squeeze a lime wedge into the pan and stir; taste to see if you need more.

Serve over the cooked rice, scatter Thai basil over the curry and garnish with lime wedges and sprigs of basil.

Calories480Fat27 gSodium460 mg

Carbohydrates49 gSaturated fat17 gTotal sugars12 g

Protein19 gCholesterol0 mgDietary fiber5 g