Thai jungle curry, or kaeng pa, is different from the other more common Thai curries in that it does not use coconut milk. Coming from the northern jungles of Thailand, this curry traditionally comes with whatever can be found easily in the wild. To be true to the spirit of foraging, I used only produce around my garden for this vegan jungle curry.
I used green papaya, Thai eggplants, and the Filpino wonder vegetable, malunggay (moringa). To replace the wild boar, jungle fowl, or whatever is commonly used, I used Meat Magic. Of course, you can use tofu, change the vegan protein, or just use vegetables.
This vegan jungle curry is great for one of those days where you feel like a curry but not the heaviness of coconut milk. So it’s also excellent for all you healthy kids out there. Green papaya is a very interesting ingredient. It almost tastes like a gourd/melon when it’s cooked through and is easier on digestion than the usual potato.
If you can get all the ingredients, I would totally recommend that you make your red curry paste from scratch. Eatingthaifood’s Authentic Thai Red Curry Recipe (CW: meat) is very good. That guy knows what he’s on about.
For another interesting curry and fruit combo, check out my Red Curry (Kang Phet) with Rambutan or Avocado Green Curry (Kang Kaew Wan) recipe.
I like to serve my Thai curries with Vegan No Name Vegetable Fritters, which soak up the curry sauce nicely.
Ingredients
Instructions
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500ml of water and 1 tsp of vegetable stock over medium heat in a pot. Add 50g vegan red curry paste and stir well until incorporated,
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It is ready when some oil appears as a separate layer on the top and it's on a gentle boil.
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Add the green papaya, kaffir lime leaves, and Meat Magic. Cook for about 10 minutes.
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Add the Thai eggplant and half the malunggay. Cook for another 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. If the curry is too spicy, you can add 0.5 tsp of sugar.
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Turn the heat off. Add the basil leaves and the other half of the malunggay.
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Serve hot with plain or fried rice.
