Growing up in Australia I was always spoilt by the incredibly delicious Thai food that was readily available. In fact, Australia has some of the most scrumptious Asian fusion in the world. My ‘go-to’ Thai dishes have always been pad thai and massaman curry. I love the sweetness of the massaman coupled with the crunchy peanuts and the melt-in-the-mouth beef. Since going vegan I didn’t want to miss out on one of my favourite dishes and thankfully the Bosh boys have a cracking recipe!
The following recipe was taken from their book Bosh! which I can highly recommend. However, I have put my own stamp on it by using canned jackfruit, which I think is the perfect addition to this meal! If you can get the chunky jackfruit (not the pulled jackfruit) it replicates the texture of the traditional beef perfectly. There are quite a few ingredients in this and it’s not the quickest meal to make so try it out for a fancy dinner party (it will definitely impress your non-vegan friends!) or make it when you’re not feeling too rushed.
Don’t be too married to the ingredients I’ve listed. If you can’t find them all, leave them out. I left out the lemongrass and coriander and it was still incredibly tasty! Also, feel free to play around with the veg a little. Use up whatever is in your fridge, as so many different vegetables work with this. Carrots, courgettes, green beans, aubergine are just a few that would work just as well as the ones I’ve listed.
Serve it on a bed of white or brown rice. The recipe serves six so it’s perfect for a big family or you can even freeze it!
Ingredients: (Serves 6)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 6 cloves
- 2 lemongrass stalks (optional)
- 8 shallots or 2 small red onions
- 4 garlic cloves (or use a big dollop from a minced garlic jar)
- 2 ½ piece of ginger (or a tsp of minced ginger from a jar)
- 30g fresh coriander (optional)
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 TBL chilli paste (or mix chilli powder and water, use less if you don’t like spicy)
- 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk (full fat is best!)
- 500g tinned jackfruit (chunky kind)
- 1 potato
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 red pepper
- ½ small cauliflower
- ½ broccoli
- 500ml vegetable stock
- 1 TBL tamarind paste
- 1 TBL brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Roasted peanuts (to taste)
- Rice, to serve
Method: (Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius)
- Drain the jackfruit and toss it in a bowl with some salt and any spices you like (chilli powder, paprika, pepper etc). Place on baking paper on a tray and roast for 40 minutes until the jackfruit is slightly brown around the edges. Alternatively don’t roast the jackfruit, put it in the pan when you add the other vegetables. Personally, I like the flavour of the roasted jackfruit so this extra step is worth it!
- Put the fennel, cumin and coriander seeds and cloves into a saucepan and toast for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a blender and add a little oil to the pan.
- Place the chopped lemongrass, shallots, minced garlic & grated ginger into the pan and fry for 3 minutes on medium heat. Tip into the blender. Add the lime leaves, chilli paste (or chilli powder mixed with water) and chopped coriander stalks and blend until it’s a smooth paste.
- Pour the paste into the pan, add the coconut milk and cook on medium heat until it’s all reduced by a third.
- Meanwhile, chop the potatoes into cubes and the other vegetables into small pieces.
- Add the vegetable stock to the pan along with the vegetables. Add the tamarind paste, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and brown sugar and bring to the boil stirring continuously. Reduce the heat to low and simmer.
- Once the jackfruit has finished roasting add this to the pan and simmer for 45-60 mins until the sauce is nice and thick.
- Serve the curry with rice, a handful of roasted peanuts and fresh coriander leaves.
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