Coconut Curry Braised Greens

Bae Rating: 3/5. It's not a sexy dish, but it shows bae that you care about their #NewYearNewMe fitness goals. 

Vibes: All of your friends just went to Thailand for the New Year but you're ballin' on a budget.

Ingredients

• 7 Cups of collard greens, thoroughly washed and chopped, stems removed
• 1 13.5 oz can of full fat coconut milk
• 1.5 tbsp of red curry paste
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of  grated lemongrass
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger
• 1 large shallot, sliced (about 2/3 cup)
• 3/4 tbsp of fish sauce 
• 1/4  cup of soy sauce
• 2 tbsp of sesame oil
• 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup of mirin (Rice Wine) 
• 1 can Vegetable stock (optional) 
• 1 tbsp of crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp of sriracha, or more to taste  
• kosher salt to taste 

1. In a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and red curry paste to the pot. Sauté until the shallots begin to soften, and all of the ingredients are fragrant. This should take about 3 minutes. Make sure you keep the ingredients moving so they don’t burn!
3. Add the mirin to deglaze the pot, and make sure you scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. 
4. Turn the heat down to low and add the collard greens. Toss them to coat them in the mixture and let them sauté for another 2 minutes.
5. Add the  coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce and rice wine vinegar. Stir to combine, and make sure that the greens are coated in the coconut milk mixture. I know it looks like a lot of liquid, but this will cook down as the greens simmer!
6. Turn the heat down to a low simmer and add the sriracha and crushed red pepper. Simmer the greens for about an hour, or until the greens are tender. I usually check about halfway through to make sure there’s enough liquid. If it looks low, add a little water, or vegetable stock to maintain the flavor. 
7. When the greens are done, add kosher salt to taste and serve hot!

Tips: 

• Rice Wine Vinegar, Mirin (Rice Wine), Red Curry Paste, Fish Sauce and Coconut Milk can all be found in the International foods aisle of your favorite local grocery store, Target or Walmart. 
• Make sure you cook the curry paste for about 3 minutes to cook some of the “raw” flavor out of it. This helps develop the flavor. 
• This is a dish you can customize! Add a little more heat, a little more sweet, or whatever your little heart desires. 
• This dish can be made vegan! Leave out the fish sauce, and you’re good to go!