Red, Hot and Thai Curry (2024)

Thai red curry with vegetables is a delicious and nutritious dish, which you and your family and/or guests can have for lunch or dinner. However, Thai red curry can be made with non-vegetarian items too. A conventional Thai curry dish comprises curry paste,herbs, coconut milkor water, vegetables, meat, and seafood. There is no prize for guessing that Thai curries were originated in Thailand and they are an integral part of the Thai cuisine, which has found its appeal across the globe. Thai peoplerefer to Thai curries as kaeng.

Now you might be wondering how to make Thai red curry. The question how to make Thai red curry can find its effective answer in a nice Thai red curry recipe.

For an authentic Thai red curry recipe it is always better to use ingredients which are used in conventional Thai red curries from Thailand but sometimes such authentic ingredients are not easily accessible in other parts of the world. For example galangal is more preferable as an ingredient over ginger; kaffir lime leaves are preferable over lemon zest in Thai red curry recipe.

In keeping with the demand of the times, we should prefer to have a simple Thai red curry recipe, which doesn’t take too much time from our busy schedules, and an easy Thai red curry recipe, for which we don’t have to run from pillar to post to get the required ingredients. More than mulling over whether your recipe is a traditional Thai red curry recipe or not you just need to see that the Thai red curry recipe that you are using is the best Thai red curry recipe for you.

Here a culinary artist from Hotel Jaksons Inn Phaltan (comprising 70 rooms, it is a Leed Platinum certified green hotel) has presented a Thai red curry recipe, which I am sure you would like to replicate in your kitchen. Here it deserves a mention that Phaltan is a scenic town in the prosperous sugarcane belt of Maharashtra state of India, with many less explored fascinating tourism options. It is located just 110 km from Pune – the second biggest city of the industrial state of India.

So now let us explore the original Thai red curry recipe from Mukesh Suri, Commis I, Hotel Jaksons Inn Phaltan.

Delicious Thai Red Curry Recipe

Ingredients

I For the red curry paste

• 2 to 3 bird’s eye chilies – red colored
• 2 Kashmiri red chilies or low to medium hot variety of dry red chilies
• 1 inch galangal
• 4 to 5 small garlic cloves or 2 to 3 medium garlic cloves
• 1 to 2 shallots or pearl onions
• 3 to 4 kaffir lime leaves – medium sized
• 2 lemon grass stalks
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp black peppercorn
• 1 tsp soy sauce – naturally fermented or brewed
• ½ tsp lemon zest -optional
• 2 tablespoons of water or coconut milk, add as required
• ½ tsp salt or sea salt, add as required

II For the Thai red curry

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil or coconut oil
• ⅓ or ½ cup chopped carrots
• ⅓ cup chopped baby corn
• 1 cup chopped white button mushrooms
• ¼ or ⅓ cup chopped bell pepper of any color
• ¼ cup French beans
• 1 cup chopped cauliflower
• 8 to 10 Thai pea eggplant – optional
• 1.5 cups water or add as required
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• ¼ teaspoon palm sugar or unrefined cane sugar – optional
• Salt as required – optional
• 1 tablespoon Thai basil chiffonade or whole; chopped or torn

Method

I Making Thai red curry paste

• Take the spices – bird’s eye chilies, dry red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and black peppercorn and set them aside.
• Also rinse, peel and roughly chop the following herbs – galangal, garlic cloves, shallots (chopped), kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass stalks.
• Take the spices, herbs, shallots in a grinder jar.
• Add soy sauce, lemon zest (optional), and 2 tablespoon water or coconut milk. Also add salt.
• While grinding, scrape the sides and continue to grind. Grind to a fine or semi-fine paste.

II Cooking Veggies

• In a pot or pan, heat the toasted sesame oil or coconut oil. Keep heat to a low. Add the prepared Thai red curry paste.
• Sauté for a minute on a low flame; stirring often.
• Add the chopped veggies including white button mushrooms. You can add your choice of vegetables. Stir and mix everything.
• Now add ½ cup thick coconut milk. Mix again. Keep heat to a low.
• Next add water. Mix again. Since salt was added in the Thai red curry paste, it need not be added again. But do check the taste of the curry later and if required you can add more salt.
• For a thicker consistency in the curry, add less water.
• Cover the pan with its lid. Increase the heat to medium or a medium-low. Simmer the curry till the vegetables are cooked and tender. Keep them slightly al dente if you prefer.
• In between do check when the veggies are cooking. If water dries up, you can add more water.

III Making Thai Red Curry

• When the vegetables are cooked and tender, then reduce the heat to a low and add ½ cup thick coconut milk. At this step you can also add ¼ teaspoon palm sugar or raw sugar. Addition of sugar is optional and can be skipped. For a bit more sweet taste, you can increase the amount of sugar.
• Mix very well and let the entire curry come to a gentle boil on a low or medium-low heat. Lastly, add 1 tablespoon chopped or torn Thai basil leaves. Mix and switch off the heat. Check the taste of curry and if required, you can add some more salt.
• Serve the Thai red curry hot with lemongrass rice or plain steamed basmati rice or jasmine rice. You can garnish it with basil leaves while serving.
• So by following the above-mentioned detailed process you can translate this Thai red curry recipe to a wonderful dish of Thai red curry.

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