Thai curry is one of my favorite dishes to order at restaurants because of it’s aromatic fresh taste. I’ve made Thai red curry before, but I always used a ready-made paste from the grocery store and found that it never tasted quite the same as the curries made from fresh ingredients. I came back from Thailand with a recipe to make red and green curry from scratch and finally decided to re-create a version of it in my own kitchen. This dish is therefore based on a delicious home-made red curry paste recipe.
The result was very flavorful and tasted like it came from one of my favorite Thai restaurants! I usually always make a large batch of the Thai Red Curry Paste and freeze it so I have it on hand whenever I need. With this red curry recipe below, I can satisfy my craving for authentic Thai food at home.
Gluten-free note: Most soy sauces are NOT gluten-free. Use San-J Tamari sauce instead.
Red Thai Curry
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 bowl mixed vegetables , diced according to ingredient list below
- 1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste
- 7 oz firm tofu , cubed (plain or pan fried)
- 1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
- 7 tbsp coconut milk
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- fresh basil , chopped
- brown rice or quinoa , cooked
For the Mixed Vegetables (any combination of the following depending on availability):
- white onions , sliced
- potatoes , peeled & diced
- carrots , sliced and cut diagonally
- baby bok choy , chopped
- mushrooms , cut into 2 or 4 sections
- green bell pepper , sliced
- baby corn , sliced
- broccoli , cut into florets
INSTRUCTIONS
To Pan Fry the Tofu, do one of the following:
- Cut tofu block in half. Place each half in a clean paper towel one at a time and squeeze to remove excess storage liquid (without breaking up the tofu). Cut the tofu into 1 in. cubes and pan fry on medium heat with a small amount of oil, mixing frequently until lightly golden brown. While the tofu is cooking, continue on to prepare the vegetables.
- OR alternatively, you can just add the tofu into the curry straight without pan frying.
To Prepare Vegetables:
- Cut all the vegetables according to the instructions above.
To Make Curry:
- Fry red curry paste with the vegetables in hot oil. Cook on medium-high heat until vegetables are slightly tender (3-4 min). Mix in the tofu.
- Add 3 tbsp coconut milk and mix together with the vegetables.
- Add 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce, and 1/2 tbsp brown sugar. Continue to add the remaining 4 tbsp coconut milk and mix.
- Cook on low-medium heat (low simmer) covered until the potatoes and vegetables are soft.
- Add chopped basil and turn off the heat.
- Serve hot over cooked brown rice or quinoa.
Deepa
Thai is one of my favorite cuisines, so I had to try this recipe. I didn’t have all the ingredients to make the red curry paste from scratch, so I had to use a ready made one but everyone in my family still loved it!
Anonymous
MMMM made this the other day and it was bomb.com…used some homemade curry paste i had in the freezer. The only think i did different was I added more liquids to make more of the sauce part.
I made another batch for the next day and added a spoon of peanut butter instead of the sugar and it was really good as well.
Jessie Hinduja
Yummy! I used a ready made red curry paste but look forward to trying it with your curry paste recipe next time I make it!
anjali
You will love it. I’ve tried a fair share of store bought pastes in the form of cubes and have never been a huge fan especially when it comes to using them in thai curry, not to mention the high ingredient list. This recipe is super simple, and gives you all the basic flavors you really need to go into most Thai dishes. I typically make a bunch and freeze it for whenever I need. I’m actually making a batch of this tomorrow myself because I have a bunch of red jalapenos I need to use up growing in my backyard =)
I have a great vegetarian easy red thai curry recipe as well that uses this paste in case you want to try it. Looking forward to hearing how you used this paste! Thanks Jessie!
Amy Dalal
Could we use low fat coconut milk as when making a bigger serving size it may be a little healthier or would that alter the taste?
anjali
Hi there, yes I think it will be fine to use the lite version. I’ve used it before and it has still tasted great, of course a little less creamier because it’s the lite version. Let me know how you like it!
Amy Dalal
I just want to thank you as this was an amazing homemade Thai dish!! I think I used too much dark soy sauce as I was trying to make more servings however it’s still delicious. I used light and reg coconut milk as well but the key here was making the chili paste at home! Thank you Anjali!
anjali
I love the home-made paste…tastes so much better and fresh simple ingredients. And it’s great because you can easily make a bunch and freeze it for use when you need. So glad you enjoyed the dish! Thank you so much for visiting and the comment! Hope you get a chance to try out some of my other Thai dishes…it’s one of my favorite cuisines to develop recipes for!
Miche
Hello,
If there is Soya Sauce in this recipe it is not Gluten-Free. Which brand are you using to make it gluten-free?
anjali
I use San-J Tamari to make it gluten-free. Also, I believe La Choy makes a gluten-free soy sauce (although i’m not a huge fan of this one so I stick with the San-J tamari). I’m curious as to why you gave a rating of 2/5 if you haven’t tried this recipe before…