Creamy Coconut-Curry Sauce

There aren't many restaurants in my neck of the woods where one can get a satisfying vegan meal (you know, one with actual protein in it). Sometimes when I go out with friends, I'm reduced to eating french fries (which doesn't do me any favors). My regular lunch date, Kate, has been extremely patient with me as I've begun to eat a vegan diet. I'm like Sally from "When Harry Met Sally," with everything prepared specially or "on the side." The other day, we ate at a chain restaurant called "Stir Crazy." It was a great meal, due in large part to a patient server and a very vegan-friendly menu. I had the coconut-curry vegetable dish and became obsessed with recreating it at home. Kate, who had also tried it, said she was going to stop taking my calls until I figured it out; I kept calling to ask if she tasted this or that in the sauce.

I've never cooked with curry in my life. In fact, before I tried this my jar of curry had never been cracked open (I bought it over a year and a half ago). I am so pleased with the results, though, because this tasted better than the inspiration in my opinion.

Creamy Coconut-Curry with Dry Fried Tofu

1 can light coconut milk
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon spicy curry powder (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ tablespoon fresh, minced ginger
½ tablespoon minced hot peppers (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon good-quality ketchup
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon tumeric
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
Stir-fry fixings (I used dry-fried tofu*, red bell pepper, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, coarsley-chopped peanuts, garlic and ginger)
Prepared vegan Japanese noodles (I used soba; I wanted to use udon like the dish I tried to recreate did, but the ones I purchased had egg whites in them. The soba noodles were good, but next time I'm making homemade udon noodles with this recipe!)



1. Pour half of coconut milk into a cup and stir in cornstarch; stir briskly until smooth and set aside.
2. Pour the rest of the coconut milk and all remaining ingredients into a pot over medium heat. Whisk constantly to keep milk from scorching.
3. When it begins to bubble, add milk-cornstarch mixture and whisk well. Stir sauce until it's hot, bubbly and creamy.
4. Prepare stir-fry fixings and noodles. Add well-drained noodles to stir-fry. Add curry sauce and toss everything to coat well. Top with some more minced hot peppers if desired.

*To dry-fry tofu: cut well-pressed, extra-firm tofu into cubes. In a DRY, hot skillet, brown the tofu on both sides, gently pressing out any remaining water as you do so.