Thai Tofu Veggie Curry

I guess this is a standard Thai vegetarian meal from what a cookbook said. Somehow I haven't seen curry and tofu in any local restaurants though.  It was really good!  Very comforting and still got my craving for Thai restaurant.

You can do this with yellow, green, red or other types of curry paste.

I gave up on making my own curry paste. At the asian store, I found a good brand that has no creepy ingredients-- Mae Ploy. It's packed in a container but appears to be shelf stable until you open the inner plastic pouch. This box was approx $2.50 and I think it will make 4-5 dinners.
 This is way cheaper than making it myself (at least in small quantities).

Method:
In hot pan, add 1 TB oil and 50 g curry paste, saute until fragrant (1-2 min?).

Add half a can of lite coconut milk, squish the curry paste until it is dissolved. Add the rest of the coconut milk and optional hot water as needed.

Squeeze one package extra firm tofu until no more water runs out of it (my favorite tip is to drain the package, freeze, then thaw. This makes the tofu happy to release its water. But you have to remember to freeze and thaw it first!) .  Cut tofu into cubes.

Add whatever veggies you want, stir, then simmer with cover on until soft (20 min?).  Here are some ideas- pick just a few or clean our your fridge:
baby corn or corn kernels
yellow onion, sliced
red bell pepper sliced
green beans or long green bean
mushrooms
broccoli
yukon gold potato, cubed
kabocha or butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
sweet potato, peeled and cubed
carrot, sliced into discs

Once soft, season with 1-3 TB sugar (or palm or coconut sugar) until the taste is just right. 

Serve on steamed basmati rice.