Slow Cooker Vegan Masaman Curry

Day 274.

I’m completely enthralled with masaman curry tofu. It’s one of my favorite dishes to order at any Thai restaurant. Years ago, pre-kids, I made a vegetarian Masaman curry “chicken” version with delicious chopped avocado and mock chicken cubes, but somehow neglected to write down the recipe. So, with my new love of seitan, I thought I’d try to make a seitan version instead of the tofu one I usually order out. It seems like such a complex dish at the restaurant, and the curry paste is pretty complicated to be sure; if you make your own. But the vegan yellow curry paste sold available at Whole Foods is a pretty good approximation. The rest of the dish is actually pretty simple. I combined what I felt was a more authentic (in ingredients) recipe with a slow cooker recipe that made the task simpler to create this meal. As far as the conversions, I swapped the meat for seitan and used vegan masaman paste (it often includes fish sauce and oyster sauce).

Masaman Curry
Adapted from Masaman Curry and Crockpot Masaman Curry.
Ingredients

• 8 ounces seitan (like this)
• 1/2 cup Easy Slow Cooker Vegetable Broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (it’s always great to buy them in bulk!)
• 1 tablespoon masaman curry paste (you can buy vegan yellow curry paste at Whole Foods, or buy online or make your own Masaman paste)
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup potato, cubed
• 4 cardamon pods (like these)
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
• 2 bay leaves (optional)
• 1/4 cup cashews for garnish
• Cilantro or Thai basil for garnish

Directions
Pour a bit of oil in the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker. Place seitan and vegetable broth in the bottom of the crock. Mix coconut milk and curry paste in a bowl. Mix in salt and sugar. Place chopped onion and potato in crock. Wrap remaining spices in cheesecloth, if desired, and place in crock. You can also just put these in and fish them out later, but I find the cheesecloth satchel to be simpler.

Pour coconut milk mixture over seitan and vegetables. Cook on low for 5-8 hours, adding more broth, if desired for sauciness. Stir once halfway through the process, if possible. Serve over rice topped with cashews and cilantro or basil. You can also add diced avocado, if desired.

The Results
This sauce turned out fantastic. I used a homemade seitan and the texture of that turned out a bit mushy for the saucy dish, but once I seared it a bit when reheating it was perfect. This is almost always better the second day after the spices have time to really soak in and the potatoes break down to nearly melted deliciousness. The kids and husband also loved it. Though the kids favored the cashews above everything else. 🙂

This post is shared with What’s for Lunch Wednesday , Gallery of Favorites, Simply Delish and Muffin Tin Monday.