Easy Everyday Thai Curry Sauce and Stirfry

This sauce is hands-down my favorite curry of all time; I'll be diplomatic and add "so far", but it would be a real challenge to dethrone this one. It has become nearly a daily staple; I make a double recipe a couple of times a week, and use it on vegetables, tofu, legumes... but typically in some version of the stirfry recipe below. I find that I have never loved tempeh more (which I didn't think was possible) since the inception of this sauce. It would also make a fantastic salad dressing; try it on a salad of baby greens, cucumber, sweet red pepper, snow peas, waterchestnuts, mung bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and fresh Thai basil.

Ginger Peanut Thai Curry Sauce
yields 1 cup

1/2 c hot water
1 Tbsp dark barley miso
2 Tbsp smooth natural (non-hydrogenated) peanut butter
1 thick inch-long piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 medium clove garlic
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2-full dropper of alcohol- and sugar-free stevia (or 1 tsp sucanat)
2 tsp Thai curry powder
1 scant tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Cajun spice blend

1. Dissolve the miso in the hot water. Blend in the peanut butter with a fork; the hot water will help it dissolve.

2. Add in the remaining ingredients and blend well.

Alternative prep method: To save time, avoid having to grate the ginger, and end up with a smoother sauce, add everything -- leaving the chunck of peeled ginger whole -- to a blender bowl, and blend 20-30 seconds until ginger is completely blended and sauce is smooth.

Total recipe (using stevia): 238 calories


Ginger peanut Thai curry stirfy
yields 1 large or 2 small servings

1/2 c ginger peanut Thai curry sauce (above)
4 oz tempeh; slice horizontally into two thin stacked cakes, slice into thin matchsticks and then into 1/4-inch cubes
1 pound package frozen stirfry vegetables -- my favorite for this recipe is a mixture of snap peas, carrot matchsticks, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms
(or 1 pound diced mixed fresh vegetables, 150 calories worth, if you're counting)
optional: lime wedges and/or julienned fresh Thai basil for garnish


1. Brown the tempeh cubes in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat

2. Add frozen vegetables plus 1/4 cup of water, cover and reduce heat to medium, and stirfry until vegetables are tender, adding tablespoons-full of water if needed (if using fresh vegetables, they will take longer to cook; remove browned tempeh cubes and set aside, then stirfry the fresh vegetables in water until tender, adding the tempeh cubes back in once the vegetables are cooked through)

3. Turn the heat off, then stir in the curry sauce, stirring until tempeh and vegetables are well coated and the sauce is heated through. Use garnish(es) if desired, and serve hot.

Total recipe: 494 calories