Vegan Indonesian Curry

Called “gulai sayuran”, which can be translated to vegetable curry, this Indonesian-inspired curry is flavored with a homemade curry paste made of garlic, shallots, chili, and fresh turmeric.

It’s deliciously creamy, a bit spicy, and so rich! Plus, it takes just 35 minutes to prepare!

🥣 How to Make It

As opposed to some other curry recipes, this one relies a lot on fresh aromatics. Here is what you will need:

• Shallots and garlic – For a natural sweetness and garlicky aroma.
• Fresh turmeric – For a bright orange flavor and very subtle bitterness.
• Chili – To spice it up! We are using two kinds of chilies: bird’s eye chili and chili pepper.
• Galangal – Not to be confused with ginger, galangal has a more peppery and citrusy flavor.
• Kaffir lime leaves – Lime leaves bring some freshness and a citrusy flavor to the curry sauce.
• Lemongrass – Use one whole fresh lemongrass stalk and slightly crush it with a pestle to release its flavors.
• Coconut milk – For the creaminess, use full-fat coconut milk for a richer curry.
• Tofu – Use medium or firm tofu. You can also substitute the tofu for tempeh or jackfruit!
• Green beans – In authentic Indonesian curries, it is long beans (also called asparagus beans or Chinese long beans) that are used. Since I couldn’t find any here, I went with regular green beans. Their flavor and texture are obviously different, but it still makes a good substitute.
• Salt and sugar – To season. Sugar also helps balance the spiciness.

Preparing the aromatic paste

First, we start by making the curry paste. It’s as easy as adding all of the aromatics to a blender, covering with water, and blending until smooth.

Curry

Now that our curry paste is done. Let’s make the curry!

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a deep skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the curry paste and fry it for a few minutes. This step will help release flavors and cook the raw aromatics.

Next, pour in the full-fat coconut milk as well as the kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass stalk, galangal, and bay leaves.

I kept this curry simple by only using a combination of tofu and green beans for the add-ins, but nothing is stopping you from adding extra veggies! I’m thinking carrots, potatoes, or bell peppers would taste delicious in this curry!

Let the curry simmer for about 20 minutes, uncovered. Your kitchen will be filled with a fresh and citrusy smell!

To serve, top with fresh cilantro and crispy fried shallots! You can serve this curry with white rice, quinoa, noodles, or even crusty bread like banh mi baguette!

💬 FAQ