This quick and easy Thai-style sweet potato curry is quite different from the usual sweet potato dishes. Cooking the spices and aromatics first flavors the oil, which then infuses the whole dish. Smashing and tying the lemongrass stalk bruises it, releasing its distinctive flavor into the curry.

4 servings

14 ingredients

20 min prep

Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 cloves
  • 4 dried chilies, whole (or to taste, see Chef Tips)
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
  • 4 sweet potatoes, (about 2 pounds) peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, smashed and tied into a tight bundle
  • 1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce (optional)
  • Salt, to taste (if not using fish sauce)
  • Juice of ½ a lime
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions
  1. Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan over a medium-high heat until it ripples. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves and chilies and cook until the cloves swell and pop and the chilies turn dark, about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and fresh ginger and fry, stirring gently until the garlic begins to turn a pale gold color.
  2. Add the sweet potatoes and onions and stir-fry until the onions have softened and begin to brown, about 5-8 minutes. Add the lemongrass, coconut milk, and fish sauce or salt.
  3. Cover, turn down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
  4. Discard the whole spices and lemongrass. Stir in the lime juice and taste for seasonings. Stir in the chopped cilantro. Turn off the heat and let the curry sit for 1 minute then serve with Easy Brown Rice or Easy White Rice.

Chef Tips

If you are worried that 4 chilies will make the dish too spicy, just add one the first time you make it and see how it goes. It is breaking these chilies that really adds the heat. If you use 1 chile, break it into large pieces and discard the seeds and as much of the white pith as possible. You can always add more heat next time you make the dish – it’s hard to take the spiciness out if you overdo it.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Calories: 313; Fat: 18g; Saturated Fat: 6g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 8g; Carbohydrates: 35g; Sugar: 9g; Fiber: 5g; Protein: 3g; Sodium: 449mg

Registered Dietitian Approved

Your recipes, articles, videos, and more content are reviewed by our Registered Dietitian Kate Ueland, MS, RD, CSO, a board-certified specialist in oncology nutrition, to ensure that each is backed with scientific evidence and follows the guidelines set by the Oncology Nutrition for Clinical Practice, 2nd Ed., published by the Oncology Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, a professional interest group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the American Institute for Cancer Researchand the American Cancer Society.

This recipe was originally published on Cook for Your Life. It is used by permission.

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