Vegan Thai Red Curry

Red curry is by far the most popular Thai dish and easily the most ordered one at any Thai restaurant. I always hesitate a bit to order it outside because most of the red curry recipe will have shrimp paste and fish sauce in them. So to satisfy my craving I learnt to make it at home. This recipe used a store bought red curry paste and hence can be made in matter of minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 small 4 oz can Thai red curry paste (MAESRI brand)
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup Yellow onion diced
  • 1/2 cup red and green bell pepper diced
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 pkg firm tofu
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Kafir lime leaves
  • Lemon grass
  • Cilantro

Directions

  1. Press the tofu to remove all the excess water. I usually place it in between 2 plates and keep a heavy object on top of it. Leave for 1 hour and then blot it with a paper towel. Pan fry them with a few tsp of oil and brown them on both sides.
  2. Heat up a wok or a pan. pour a few tsp of oil and fry all the vegetables in high heat for a few min. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Remove the vegetables from the pan and keep it aside.
  3. heat up 1 tsp of oil and fry the red curry paste for a few seconds
  4. Then add in the coconut milk and 1/2 cup water. Let it boil for a few min.
  5. Now add the sautéd vegetables and the tofu.
  6. Finish it with Kaffir lime and lemon grass. ( If you do not have them, squeeze a tsp of lime juice)
  7. Garnish with cilantro
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You can choose to add chicken instead of the vegetables. After you fry the red curry paste, add chicken cut into small cubes. Fry for a few min and then add 1/4 cup of coconut milk or water, close the lid and simmer it until the chicken is done. Now add the rest of the coconut milk. Proceed with steps 6 and 7.
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If you are using chicken and you like your curry on the spicer side, I strongly recommend to try the Green Curry Paste.
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Here is the Amazon link for the Red Curry Paste.