Nearing the end of the week, many of us begin to run out of groceries and more importantly, our patience. When this happens in my house, the dish I make is Thai red curry. It’s a simple curry dish that is comforting, effortless and most importantly, a great way to get rid of leftovers. Today, I want to share my recipe for Thai red curry with all of you!
Note: this recipe is in no way authentic, simply one that my family and I have been using for several years
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
- pinch of salt for taste
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger (about 1 in. of ginger)
- 3 cloves of finely minced garlic
- 1 stick of lemongrass, cut into 1 inch pieces and pounded to release flavor
- 1 bell pepper, julienned*
- 2 carrots, julienned*
- 4 – 5 medium sized mushrooms*
- 1/2 head of broccoli*
- 1 block of tofu or other protein of your choosing
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste*
- 1 can of full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water or stock (for more flavor)
- 1 1/2 cup of roughly chopped baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
Optional:
1 1/4 cup jasmine rice
*Vegetables: all vegetables provided in this recipe can be replaced or switched out according to preferences
*Thai red curry: this can be found in local grocery stores or your Asian grocery stores. If unavailable, there are recipes for how to make this at home.
Preparation:
- Rinse your rice and then pour in enough water to cook the rice (I use the line closest to my nail on my middle finger as a gauge for this). Place the pot of rice on high heat until the water reaches a boil. Cover the pot, then reduce the gas to low for about 12 minutes, periodically checking on the rice. Once cooked, remove from stove and set aside.
- Begin by placing a pot on medium-high heat.
- Once hot, pour the oil inside. Once heated, add the thinly sliced onion with a pinch of salt. Saute this together for about 5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the ginger, garlic and lemongrass into the pot, cooking until fragrant (this should take about 30 seconds).
- Now, add the bell pepper, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots and any other vegetables of your choosing. Stirring occasionally, cook until the carrots and bell pepper have softened, becoming fork tender. Once cooked, create a well in the center of the vegetables and add the Thai red curry paste inside the well. Allow it to cook and get fragrant before adding a few teaspoons of water to the paste, allowing it to thin out. Now, mix with vegetables and allow it to cook for about 2 minutes, making sure to stir once in a while.
- Add coconut milk and water, stirring to incorporate everything. Once this mixture has reached a soft boil, add in the spinach and tofu, making sure to keep the stove on medium heat which will allow it to simmer.
- Keeping it at a simmer, wait until the spinach, carrots, bell pepper and protein have been cooked through. Once done, remove the pot from the stove and add in the soy sauce and lime juice. Add in salt for taste, according to your preferences. If needed, an additional 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce or lime juice can be added for flavor at this time.
- Serve this over a warm bed of rice and enjoy!
That’s it! This is my recipe for Thai red curry. I truly hope that you try this recipe out and like it as much as I do. There really is nothing better than a bowl of this on a cold or rainy day.
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