How to make Curry Vegetables, in the style of Cai Png, Cai Fan or Economy Rice hawker stalls in Singapore.
Today we’re making Vegetable Curry in the style of Hainanese ‘curry png’, or “Economy Rice” hawker stalls in Singapore. Otherwise also known as cai png, chye png or cai fan stalls. This is another uniquely Singaporean/Malaysian dish.
One of the staple dishes is the vegetable curry, and every stall has their recipe and concoction. Compared to traditional Indian curries, this version is more watery, because its purpose is to DRENCH the rice. You can actually drink it as soup. Not for my curry though – I tend to bump up spice levels. Heh.
You can also typically find this at vegetarian stalls in hawker centres, which was where I fell in love with this dish. I had a phase where I went vegan for a while. Like fully vegan. Vegetarian stalls at food courts were one of the cheapest ways I could get my lunches. While I’m not a fully committed vegan anymore, I try to have one day in a week where I go vegan. This is a vegan and gluten free recipe, and with this, trust me – you won’t even miss meat. Check out my recipes with Vegetables here.
My recipe is simplified, but to add a boost of flavour, I would sometimes add light soy sauce and stock.
Ingredients
- Blend together:
- 80grams or about 5 stalks of Fresh Chillies
- 80 grams Onion or Shallots
- 30 grams or 5 stalks Garlic
- 30 grams Ginger
- 1 stalk Lemongrass (inner white part)
- 2 tbsps of Curry Powder (any store-bought curry powder mix of choice)
- 1 litre Water or Stock
- 200 ml Coconut Milk
- Vegetables
- 1/2 Cabbage
- 3 stalks Okra
- 1/2 Cauliflower
- 1/2 Eggplant
- 1/2 Carrot
- 1 block of Firm Tofu
- 1 tbsp Sugar or to taste
- 1 tbsp Salt or to taste
Directions
- Blend together ingredients for the curry base paste.
- To a pot, add some oil. Stir in the curry paste base once hot.
- Stir-fry on low heat until it’s fragrant, and dries a little.
- Add in vegetables and stir through. Add vegetables that need more cooking time first.
- Next, add in water and give it a stir. Turn up heat to a medium to high, and let it come to a boil.
- Add the rest of the vegetables including cabbage.
- Turn down the heat and let the curry simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until cabbage becomes soft.
- Once cabbage is soft, lower down heat to a simmer, and gently stir in coconut milk.
- Season with salt and sugar.
‘Cai Png’ Curry Vegetables
Course: Uncategorized4
servings20
minutes20
minutesIngredients
- Curry Base Paste
80grams or about 5 stalks of Fresh Chillies
80 grams Onion or Shallots
30 grams or 5 stalks Garlic
30 grams Ginger
1 stalk Lemongrass (inner white part)
2 tbsps of Curry Powder (any store-bought curry powder mix of choice)
2 tbsps water, for easier blending
- Vegetables
1/2 Cabbage
3 stalks Okra
1/2 Cauliflower
1/2 Eggplant
1/2 Carrot
1 block of Firm Tofu
- Others
1 litre Water or Stock
200 ml Coconut Milk
1 tbsp Sugar or to taste
1 tbsp Salt or to taste
Directions
- Blend together ingredients for the curry base paste.
- To a pot, add some oil. Stir in the curry paste base once hot. Stir fry over low heat until it’s fragrant, and dries a little.
- Add in vegetables and stir through. Add vegetables that need more cooking time first.
- Next, add in water and give it a stir. Turn up heat to a medium to high, and let it come to a boil.
- Add the rest of the vegetables including cabbage.
- Turn down the heat and let the curry simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until cabbage becomes soft.
- Once cabbage is soft, lower down heat to a simmer, and gently stir in coconut milk.
- Season with salt and sugar.
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