Emerald Curry

I love Thai food! I love the taste, the smell, the look, basically everything about it. I have to say that my favorite Thai dish is green curry. I have made green curry every way you can think of, I have made green curry paste from scratch, used all fresh spices and herbs, tried different vegetables, different faux meats. After all my trial and errors, I finally out did myself tonight. This curry tastes very similar to Thai take out...which has been my goal all along. Best Thai green curry I have ever made. There were a few ingredients that I wanted to use but was unable to find, so this recipe will have a few options, I was told that there is an Asian market around here but I have not been there yet, I am hoping that they have the items I could not locate at Hannaford/whole foods.

Ingridents:

2 table spoons organic coconut oil
1 1/2 cans organic coconut milk
2-3 table spoons pre-made green curry paste. (pre-made works best because a lot of the ingredients needed to make it are hard to find so using pre-made actually gives a more authentic taste)
2-3 Kaffir lime leaves (if you can't find use 1 tbs lime zest)
1 cup Thai eggplant or regular egg plant. (Thai eggplant is seasonal here)
1 cup zucchini chopped
1 cup green beans
1 can chick peas
1 can seitan (you can find this in the Thai section at whole foods)
2 tsp palm sugar (you want to use palm sugar because it gives it a richer flavor, also in the Thai section at whole foods)
4-5 fresh basil leaves
Rice vermicelli noodles, or cooked rice

Directions

In a wok or large skillet on medium heat the coconut oil, add the coconut milk stir and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about a minute and then add the green curry paste, mix well and let simmer for a few more minutes. If you were able to find Kaffir lime leaves add them after the curry paste. (If using lime zest you want to want till the end to add it. Use the small holes on your grater to skim the outside peel of your lime, you don't want to hit the white part because that will add a bitter taste to your curry) Add the eggplant, zucchini, and green beans. Let cook for 8-10 minutes. If it starts to splatter at any point reduce the heat. Add your chickpeas and seitan, palm sugar, zest, and basil. Let cook for a few more minutes. Serve over rice vermicelli, or rice. Enjoy!