Savory and spicy: Malaysian Green Curry Stir Fry

Two notes about this recipe. 1. When I say “green curry”, I really mean GREEN curry, not green curry paste. But a curry that is green. Get it? Good.

2. Whenever I hear Malaysia, which is admittedly not very often, I think of Zoolander. I love me some Will Farrell.

Most frozen veggies are good, but not as good as fresh, but green peas are one of the few vegetables that taste equally good frozen as fresh. Although, now that I am thinking about it, I don’t know that I’ve ever had fresh peas.

Canned, yes. Those are NASTY little mushy salt bombs though. ICK.

Frozen peas are pretty versatile though. They are smooth when blended, and they are great in most Asian and Indian dishes.

Bon Appetit just posted a round-up of 10 things to do with frozen peas, which I swear, had no influence on me deciding to post this recipe. I’ve had this idea in the back of my brain for weeks. I made this “recipe” weeks ago.

Basically, what I am saying is that I’m way ahead of the food curve. Nice try Bon Appetit, but I’m cooler than you.

For most people, green peas probably conjure up memories of your parents making you sit at the kitchen table, where you were told you had to eat at least 5 more peas.

Yes, I grew up in a home where our side vegetable was usually a scoop of the ubiquitous carrot, peas, and corn mixture. Given my hatred of vegetables, I would pick out the corn and then sit there and whine.

Thankfully, I am much more into peas these days.

It started a while back when I was looking for something to replace some garbanzos in hummus. I can take down some hummus, and too much was….painful.

I started replacing half of the beans with peas and I was pleasantly surprised. They lend a little sweetness to the dish, and they are ultra creamy, which is a very desirable trait when it comes to any dip.

Like I said, peas pair really well with Asian and Indian dishes, so why not combine curry powder with a pureed mixture of peas?

Or that’s what I was thinking the morning I was making this up.

When I make sauces/dips/stir fries, I usually don’t have any ideas in my head to start with. I just throw some things into a bowl, and see what grabs me in the spice cabinet. I’ve had some really good, som great, and some not so great results, but I’ve never had any abject failures, so I guess this method is working for me.

I don’t usually post recipes for stir fries, not because I don’t love them or eat them (I actually eat a stir fry pretty much every day) but because I don’t really use recipes for stir fries, just like sauces. (Or most of my cooking, actually.) I just take a crap ton of veggies and saute them, add sauce, and dump on a plate.

While this is officially a recipe for a stir fry (not that there is anything official on this blog), this also works as a dip. Mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers – dip away.

Malaysian Green Curry Stir Fry

• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1 tsp Malaysian curry powder (or regular curry powder with a pinch of cinnamon added to it)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 2 T tahini
• salt, to taste
• 2 cups assorted veggies (I used carrots, onions, and cabbage)
• 1 cup pasta or rice
• Sriracha or other hot sauce, to taste

Thaw peas in microwave, or leave out for a few hours if you plan ahead. Combine peas through salt and blend in a blender or using an immersion blender. You will have way more sauce than you need for the stir fry, but the leftover will last for up to a week to be used for dips or whathaveyou.

Cook your veggies using your preferred method (saute, steam, roast, etc.). Add about 1/4 cup of the sauce in a pan with the veggies and pasta (or rice) and mix to combine. Heat through.

Serve with a squirt or two of Sriracha.

I need these pea salt and pepper shakers. Not want. NEED.

Do you like peas? Did you eat your veggies when you were a kid or did you have to do the “sit there until you eat four more” song and dance”? I think we know what camp I fall in.