Last week Whole Foods had a 5 for $5 special for mangos. Obviously I had to indulge in this deal. While the mangos were ripening on my counter, I came across Recipe Tin Eats‘ Mango Thai Red Curry dish. Um, yes please. Sign me up! Was this timing a coincidence? I think not. The original called for fish sauce and while I have no problem eating anything with fish sauce, I literally cannot cook with it to save my life. It would add a tangier, richer flavor, but I did a little modifying and my version is still tasty. I made the mango red curry sauce separate, allowed it to cool and fully thicken into a delectable sauce to then top brown rice and juicy chicken. (Swap the chicken for tofu and sweet potato to be fully vegan and vegetarian! I also tired this over cauliflower rice and it was still so filling.) Mango Red Curry is tangy, not overly sweet, creamy and perfectly spiced.
Ingredients (serves 4-6).
- 2 t coconut oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely minced
- 2 t minced garlic
- 2 T red curry paste
- 1 can sliced water chestnuts, chopped **
- 1/2 c baby carrots, thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1 can (15 oz) light coconut milk
- 1 c puréed mango (about 2 small mangoes or 1 large) *
- 1 can (15 oz.) no salt added diced tomatoes, slightly drained +
- Sea salt to taste
- 2 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked (I cooked it in oil, garlic and fresh lime juice) **
- 2 c brown rice or of choice (like cauliflower rice!)
- Lime wedges to garnish
- Cilantro to garnish
- Sriracha (optional)
* NOTE: use a blender or immersion blender to purée fresh mango.
+ for the diced tomatoes, drain off about half of the liquid. It helps from the sauce from getting too watered down.
** I also made this with 1 sweet potato (cut into small cubes) and 1 package (14 oz) extra firm tofu (pressed to remove excess liquid and cut into small cubes) over cauliflower rice — see photos!
Directions.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté until onions are tender and translucent.
- Mix in red curry paste, water chestnuts and carrots. Continue sautéing until curry paste is well distributed.
- Add coconut milk, mango purée and diced tomatoes. Mix well and reduce to a simmer. Add salt to taste. Allow curry sauce to thicken and then remove from heat.
- If using tofu and sweet potato, add to the sauce and allow all the flavors to simmer for about 5 min before removing from heat.
- Let sauce cool and refrigerate overnight. This helps the sauce solidify and thicken.
- Plate with 1/2 c hot rice and chicken. Spoon 1 heaping c of heated curry sauce over rice. Garnish with cilantro leaves and fresh lime juice from lime wedge. Sriracha optional.
- Enjoy!