Thai Red Curry – everything we know and love about Thai food! Big, bold Thai flavours, beautifully fragrant, the creamy red curry sauce is so good you can put anything in it and it will be amazing!
Make the easy 30 minute red curry recipe using my trick to pimp up store bought curry paste. Or go all out and make a Thai Red Curry Paste from scratch! Complete your Thai banquet with Thai Satay Skewers or Thai Fish Cakes to start.
Thai Red Curry recipe
We’d all love to be able to have a Thai Red Curry any night of the week made with homemade red curry paste. Freshly made, like the best Thai restaurants do every day. But it’s simply not viable.
So today, I’m sharing a recipe for how to make Thai Red Curry two ways:
30 Minute quick version using curry paste in a jar – sharing my secret for how to make an AMAZING curry using curry paste in a jar!
From scratch, using a homemade red curry paste
The BEST Thai Red Curry Paste – Maesri
The best Thai Red Curry Paste by a long shot is a brand called Maesri. This is also the brand I use for Thai Green Curry. Other brands tend to have less authentic flavour and are (usually) too sweet.
Sold in small cans for around $1.30 (it’s the cheapest!), it’s available in large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies, Harris), Asian grocery stores and here is the cheapest one on Amazon US.
Don’t worry if you can’t find it. This recipe is still great even with mainstream curry pastes.
How to make jar curry paste better
Store bought curry paste in a jar lacks the freshness of freshly made curry paste. So if you just dump it into coconut milk, you’re going to be sorely disappointing.
So here is how to make curry paste in a jar taste way (way, way!) better:
Sauté the paste in oil with garlic, ginger and fresh lemongrass or lemongrass paste
Adding the fresh aromatics does wonders for improving the flavour!
What does a Thai Red Curry Taste like??
Thai Red Curry, like most Asian curries, has a great depth of flavour. The sauce flavour is complex, it has many layers from all the ingredients in the paste that is then simmered with broth and coconut milk. It’s sweet and savoury, and it is quite rich.
The use of shrimp paste and fish sauce in the curry paste (jar or homemade) provides the saltiness as well as the umami *. However, this red curry recipe does not have a strong fishy or fermented shrimp flavour like some “hardcore” Thai restaurants. Most non-Thai nationals find those versions too fishy for their palette.
While one may assume Thai Red Curry is fiery hot, if from the colour alone, in actual fact it is not! It is actually quite mild, and generally most restaurants tend to stick with the mild level of spiciness though you will find some restaurants that dial up the heat considerably.
* Food-nerd word for savouriness, now officially considered to be the 5th taste in food along with sweet, salt, bitter and sour.
We love Thai Red Curry for the flavour, the creamy sauce, and how can one not love the colour!!
Complete your Thai meal with a starter of Thai Fish Cakes or Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce, and a fresh Asian Slaw on the side. And while you can totally serve the red curry with plain steamed Jasmine rice, you could take it to the next level with Thai Fried Rice or Coconut Rice! – Nagi x
PS If you’re wondering if the sauce is supposed to look sort of split – yes it is. The oil is actually supposed to separate. I’ve included some general commentary in the recipe notes, for those that are interested. 🙂
Thai red curry
Watch how to make it
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Thai Red Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
Red Curry Paste – choose ONE:
- 5 – 6 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste (store bought, Maesri best) (Note 1)
- 1 quantity homemade Thai Red Curry Paste
Extras – only for jar curry paste (Note 2)
- 2 large garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger , finely grated
- 1 tbsp lemongrass paste or finely chopped fresh (Note 3)
Thai Red Curry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola or peanut)
- 1 cup (250 ml) chicken broth/stock , low sodium
- 400 ml / 14 oz coconut milk (full fat!)
- 6 kaffir lime leaves (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp sugar (white, brown or palm)
- 2 tsp fish sauce , plus more to taste
- 350g / 12 oz chicken thighs (boneless and skinless), cut into 0.75 / 1/3″ thick slices (Note 5)
- 150g / 5 oz pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into 1.5cm / 3/5" cubes (~1 heaped cup)
- 120g / 4oz green beans , trimmed and cut into 5cm/2″ pieces
- 12 Thai basil leaves (Note 6)
Garnishes (optional) & serving:
- Fresh red chilli slices (small chilli – spicy, large = less spicy)
- Fresh coriander / cilantro leaves
- Steamed jasmine rice
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large heavy based skillet over medium high heat.
- Add curry paste and Extras (if using jar paste) and cook for about 2 minutes so it “dries out” (See video)
- Add chicken broth and stir to dissolve paste. Simmer rapidly for 3 minutes or until liquid reduces by half.
- Add coconut milk, lime leaves, sugar and fish sauce. Stir, then add chicken.
- Spread chicken out, bring to simmer, then turn heat down to medium. Simmer for about 8- 10 minutes or until Sauce reduces, the chicken is cooked and the sauce is almost at the thickness you want.
- Do a taste test. Add more fish sauce (or even shrimp paste) to add more saltiness, sugar for sweetness.
- Add pumpkin and beans, stir. Cook for 3 minutes or until pumpkin is just cooked through and Sauce is thickened – see video for Sauce thickness.
- Remove from heat. Stir through a handful of Thai basil leaves.
- Serve over jasmine rice, garnished with fresh red chilli slices and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Spiciness: Thai Red Curry is not supposed to be crazy spicy but it has a nice tingle to it.
Sauce thickness varies drastically between restaurants – at some it is almost watery, at others it is really thick and seems to be made with coconut cream. I like mine in between – a sauce that is pourable but with a gravy like consistency. I am not a fan of very sweet Red Curry, but if you are, just add more sugar.
Consistency: Thai red curry sauce doesn’t look completely smooth, it looks a bit split because of the oil and that’s the way it is supposed to be.
Stuff in it: There are no hard and fast rules about what goes into a Thai Red Curry. You’ll find Thai eggplant in curries at very authentic Thai restaurants but to be honest, I am not a huge fan of them – they are like tiny eggplants and kind of hard (also not easy to find in shops). I’d say that the two most common vegetables I’ve noticed are pumpkin and green beans or snake beans. While pumpkin may not sound “Thai”, don’t dismiss it, it is spectacular in red curry for both the texture, the sweetness and also because it soaks up the sauce. 8. Nutrition per serving, curry only.
Nutrition Information:
I adore Thai curries
See?
Life of Dozer
It’s lucky he’s so cute because he isn’t going to win any prizes in the spelling bee…. When he bonks his head on the door frame, it sounds hollow. I swear!
I made this recipe for dinner today, and the whole family enjoyed it! We don’t have all of the ingredients available nearby us, so i used some substitutes like lime instead of kaffir lime leaves, and used different vegetables. It was easy to make milder (my dad is not a fan of spicy food), and such an easy recipe in general!! It tasted very similar to the curries we made in Thailand at a cooking course:) Thank you Nagi for this wonderful dinner <3
Wow!! My husband and I loved this, restaurant quality for sure. Will be on our weekly rotation. Thank you for this recipe.
I made this last night and it was fabulous! I doubled the recipe b/c I had more chicken. I used the whole can of Maesri red curry paste and added galic and ginger paste. For veggies, I added baby bok choy, mushrooms, green beans, and red peppers.
While I have not made this specific recipe i make red curry regularly (red or panang depending on what I have available in my area…. which is not alot closest asian grocery is 2hrs away 😪 ) a good rule of thumb for the paste she recommends (and my personal choic as well) is 1 can paste to 1 can coconut milk but if your finding that it is too spicy you can add a little more Coconut milk which will tamp down the spiciness a bit. When I make it for my sister I use 2 cans of milk to 1 and a 1/4 cans of paste.
If you want a extra nice way for making it DO NOT SHAKE YOUR COCNUT MILK cans open them at the beginning and there will be a semi-solid or thick white paste on top of the can this is the cream in the coconut milk if you add this to your pan it will work just like cooking oil for frying up your paste it helps for anyone that is looking to cut down on the amount of oils in dish plus it gives it a better flavor (my opinion) that frying your paste In canola oil… I haven’t tried frying my paste in peanut oil so can comment on that but I do use Peanut oil for my deep fryer.
I enjoyed this recipe – one thing I did differently was I added whole sugar snap peas instead of green beans because that was all I had, and it adds a really nice texture and sweetness to the dish.
Hi there
I tried this recipe and really enjoyed it.
I just thought I would let you know that the Thai Lime Leaves are called Makrut Lime Leaves because the K word is a slur not only in Thailand but all over the world and it dates back to colonisation. The origins of the word is similar to that of the N word, except it has not been reclaimed in the same way, and is rather avoided by everyone. (I am South african, one of the places where it was used as a slur until the Apartheid Regime was finally overthrown in 1994).
I have made this multiple times and have definitely learnt my lesson about using a quality coconut milk – it really does make a difference. I can’t believe I have gone my whole life without knowing about the extras that pimp up the jar paste. So good.
Just made this, it was unbelievable! Genuinely one of my favorite things I’ve made! Thank you!
Brilliant recipie, everything available here in Finland, just like sitting in a 1st class restaurant in Thailand, so full of flavours and spices, quick to make, looking forward to the next recipe, whatever that might be!
Made this last night, it was so so good! i used the curry paste you recommended and made using beef rump added bamboo shoots, snow peas, carrots and capsicum. Did all the extras you said for the using the store curry paste and seriously it was better than ive had from any Thai restaurant! Going to buy a heap of cans again tomorrow to have in the pantry because this is going to be on the regular for sure!
Nagi I love your website!! I made this curry tonight and it was the best curry I’ve ever made. So yummy!!!! Thank you…!
You worked your magic again! I have followed you and your amazing recipes for several years. Whenever I receive a complement (and they are many) I am quick to say – Oh this is one of Nagi’s and they are instantly a new fan. You have made my life so much easier as you are my “Go to” for inspiration – and my family and friends are very grateful. Love your work Girlfriend !!
Hi Nagi and everyone
I just want to ask im not aa fan of really spicy foods but really keen on making this. How spicy is this recipe? I can usually only tolerate level of spiciness from a recipe like roti canai. Thanks.
I cooked the red curry in the Asaym jar. I added the lime leaves and lemons grass. Loved it will be cooking it again for sure . It was good to k ow that I cooked the paste first ect. Thankyou
Without a doubt the best curry I have made and better than a Thai restaurant. Great flavour! I doubled the ingredients as the four of us are big eaters. Will back the paste off a tad next time as a bit hot for some (not me 😁) Also thickened a little with corn flour. Its a winner!
5 stars
Best red Thai curry chicken we’ve ever had. Better than a Thai restaurant. And we had fun making it. Thank you Nagi!
Lovely. I have a huge kafir lime tree in my yard. Will put it to good use.
Hands down the BEST curry I have ever made! I will never order this from a Thai restaurant, it really is delicious!!
Hey Nagi the recipe says 5 tbspns of the curry paste (i used the Maesri) but that was more than the whole 114gm can! I only used the can but way way too hot for me! Just wondering if maybe 5 teaspoons?
Yes I agree! his was way way too much curry paste and I was also wondering if it should have read teaspoons instead of tablespoons. Nagi, can you weigh in here?