Chinese Vegetable Curry

Name: Chinese Vegetable Curry
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 medium yellow onion (diced); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 2 teaspoons minced ginger; 1-2 tablespoons Malaysian curry powder (or Indian/Thai curry powder); 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder ((optional)); 1 stalk curry leaves (destemmed (optional)); 3 small Chinese eggplant (quartered, then cut into 2 inches pieces (about 1/2 pound/230g)*); 1/2 can coconut milk (full-fat or light (about 200ml or 3/4 cup) ); 1 1/2 cup water; 1 medium tomato (diced); 1 cup Chinese long beans (roughly sliced (about 5oz/150g)); 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari/shoyu); salt (to taste); 4-5 leaves cabbage (roughly chopped)

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This Malaysian-inspired Chinese vegetable curry is creamy, comforting, and incredibly flavorful. An amazing one-pot dish that is simple to prepare and ready in 30 minutes. It is also naturally vegan and gluten-free!

Stirring a bowl of curry with a ceramic spoon with spoonful of curry powder, glass of water and bowl of rice beside.

This Chinese curry is one of my favorite Malaysian dishes! It is incredibly delicious and highly customizable, where you can add any vegetables or other add-ins like yuba and tofu puffs. Although commonly served with rice, I love pairing it with noodle dishes (like my vegetable mei fun and mee Siam).

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💚Why you will love this recipe
🧅What you will need
📃Ingredients notes and substitutions
🔪How to make
✔Helpful tips and variations
🍚Serving suggestions
❔Commonly asked questions
🍽More vegan curry recipes
📖 Recipe

💚Why you will love this recipe

A quick and easy recipe that requires minimal ingredients
Use of curry powder instead of homemade curry paste that simplifies the cooking process
Wholesome, nourishing, and is a delicious way to enjoy vegetables
Easily adaptable - Feel free to use any veggies you have on hand! You can even add protein (like yuba and tofu puffs) or cooked noodles

🧅What you will need

Ingredients needed like cabbage, eggplant, onion, tomato, coconut milk, and green beans.

Ingredients needed like spices, soy sauce, curry powder, onion, and ginger.

📃Ingredients notes and substitutions

Eggplant - I highly recommend using Chinese or Japanese eggplants instead of regular ones, as they are less bitter.
- If using regular eggplants, soak them in salt water for 30 minutes or so to remove some of their bitterness. Check out this post on how to brine eggplants for more detailed instructions.
Canned coconut milk - Although full fat gives the best flavor, light coconut milk is a great choice to make a lower-fat and calorie curry.
Curry powder - Malaysian curry powder works best, but Thai or Indian curry powder will also work.
Curry leaves - An optional ingredient. You can usually find them in Asian markets.
Chinese five spice - Another optional ingredient, but I highly recommend adding it as it gives the curry tons of aroma!

🔪How to make

Cooked onion in a white Dutch oven on a black and white striped teacloth.

Heat some oil in a Dutch oven. Add onion and saute until translucent.

Cooked onion, curry leaves, garlic, and curry powder in a white Dutch oven.

Next, add garlic, curry leaves, curry powder, turmeric, and Chinese five spice. Fry until fragrant.

Uncooked eggplant, tomato slices, and long beans in curry broth in a white Dutch oven.

Pour in vegetable broth and coconut milk. Once the mixture starts boiling, add eggplant, Chinese green beans, and tomato. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Adding sliced cabbage into a pot of vegetable curry in a white Dutch oven.

Lastly, stir in cabbage and cook for 5 minutes until all veggies have softened. Give it a taste, adding more seasonings if needed. Your Chinese curry is ready to be served!

✔Helpful tips and variations

Use a large enough pot - Especially if you plan to double the recipe to make a larger batch. This prevents curry from boiling out and making a mess!
Reduce prep time by using frozen vegetables - By using frozen vegetables, you will save time from washing and chopping veggies.
Switch up the vegetables used - Feel free to use whatever you have. Mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, sweet potatoes, okra, and bell peppers are some amazing choices.
Add a protein source - Yuba, tofu puffs, and chunks of seitan chicken are my go-to, but you could also use tofu, chicken, fish, or beef.
Storing leftovers - Leftover Chinese vegetable curry can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave before serving.

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🍚Serving suggestions

Rice - Serve curry over some cooked Jasmine rice, brown rice, or other grains (like quinoa and buckwheat). I also like pairing curry with tofu fried rice or vegetable fried rice.

Noodles - You can serve curry over cooked noodles of choice or whip up some fried noodles. I highly recommend checking out my bami goreng or fried rice vermicelli!

Flatbreads - Another great option is to serve vegetable curry alongside store-bought or homemade roti, naan, or paratha.

Bowl containing vegetable curry and rice served with spoon with roti and glass of water beside.

❔Commonly asked questions

What vegetables are good in curry?

Almost any kind of vegetable works in curries, but some that are particularly great include potatoes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, eggplants, long beans, and greens (especially spinach).

Bear in mind that you should cook sturdier vegetables first, such as cauliflower, carrots, and potatoes, before adding tender vegetables and greens.

Should I cook my vegetables before adding them to curries?

It is not necessary to precook vegetables before adding them to curries. When diced into small, even pieces, they will cook by simmering in the curry sauce.

Is this curry spicy?

This Chinese vegetable curry is considered to be mildly spicy and contains much less heat when compared to Thai and Indian curries.

Can curry be frozen?

This vegetable curry freeze beautifully and can be frozen for 3 months. Allow to defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating. Do note that the vegetables will turn a bit softer, but the curry will still be delicious!