Vietnamese Saigon Style Tofu Curry

This fall we've had two Vietnamese students boarding with us. So in the past few months I've been trying out some Vietnamese recipes from my ow files, from one of the students, and from my Internet searches.  When I made this recipe  for the first time, I realized the curry sauce tasted a lot like one my Taiwanese friend Rose gave me several years ago for Chinese chicken curry.  So I'm  using that one for this recipe.

What I learned about Saigon style curry was it uses sweet potatoes instead of the potatoes in Rose's curry and it adds cauliflower to the carrots, onions, and peppers.  I was a bit hesitant when I first made it wondering what cauliflower would taste like in a curry. 

You can see that this curry is colorful, and the sauce is so yummy!  If you want more heat you can add more curry powder, chili sauce (Sriracha is what I use) or black pepper.   And all of our students liked it, but  the Vietnamese students appreciated that I would try to make a curry from their country.  

Vietnamese Tofu Curry  - Serves 8-10 

1.  Prepare vegetables:
(1)  Slice 1 onion and then cut the slices in half.
(2)  Slice 1 green pepper and then cut the slices in half
(3)  Mince 4 cloves of garlic
(4)  Scrub 5 carrots and slice on the diagonal.
(5)  Scrub 3-4 medium sized sweet potatoes and cut into circles or quarter it and cut into wedges.
(6)  Put carrots and sweet potatoes into a steamer and cook for about 12 minutes until almost tender. They will finish cooking in the sauce.
(7)  Cut up tabour 2 cups of cauliflower florets.   (Add more if you can!)
Garnishes:  Sprinkle these on the top of the curry before serving
(8)  Chop up 1/2 cup of cilantro.
(9)  Chop 1/2 - 1 cup of basil leaves.
(10)  Slice up 2 green onions.

2.  Mix spices in a pinch bowl:  Mix together in  a small dish 4 T Indian curry, 3 t chili sauce,  2 T fish sauce, 2 t lemon grass powder,  2" of ginger minced, 2 T brown sugar, 1 t salt, and 1/2 - 2 t black pepper.  

3.  Cube 1 package of tofu into 1" pieces.
(You can put a plate on the tofu to squeeze out excess water, then cut it and  brush sesame oil on it and bake it for 10 minutes at 30 and then flip it for 10 minutes more to make it a little more like meat.)

4.  Stir-Fry vegetables:
(1)  Put 2 T of coconut oil into a large skillet and when it's warm sauté the onion, peppers, ginger, and garlic.  
(2)  Add 4 T of  Indian curry and stir for 10 seconds until it's fragrant.
(3)  Pour  3 cups of chicken stock or water with  4 t of Chicken Better Than Bouillon into the pan and stir to mix.  
(4)  Then add the cauliflower and let it cook 2-3 minutes.
(5)  Stir in the spices and other seasonings.
6)  Add 1 can of canned coconut milk.
(7)  Then add the tofu along with the steamed potatoes and carrots and gently stir to combine.
(8)  Let the curry simmer 3-5 minutes.  If the curry needs to be a bit thickened, mix 2 T of tapioca starch  with 1/4 cup of water and stir it into the sauce. 
(9)  Taste and make any adjustments.

Serve with rice.  

Check out some of the other curries on this blog!

Tasty Thai Red Curry   (Modified  recipe from back of curry paste & Thai recipe)

Fantastic Thai Green Curry (Modified a recipe from back of curry paste & Thai recipe)

Rose's Authentic Chinese Yellow Curry  (From a Taiwanese friend who brought this to dinner)

Thai Salmon & Vegetables in Green Curry  ( Modified recipe from Internet search)

Massaman Chicken Curry with Yams & Pineapple (Modified  recipe from back of curry paste & Thai recipe)

Spectacular Chicken Panang Curry (Modified  recipe from back of curry paste &  recipe)

Amazing Vegetable Panang Curry (Modified recipe from back of curry paste & Thai recipe)

Gluten Free Thai Chicken & Pumpkin Curry  (From Internet search)
Thai Salmon & Butternut Squash in a Red Curry