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!
Wow, made this last night with sweet potato & red bell pepper and it was fantastic!! Love your blog & Instagram page. Thank you!!
I make this recipe ALL THE TIME. I’ve tried tons of other recipes for red curry and they’ve never been truly restaurant quality, but this one is! Be sure to follow her notes and try to cut as few corners as you can!
I’m just waiting for a yellow curry recipe from this blog, because then my life will be complete 🙂
This was the most delicious thai red curry I’ve ever eaten!
Thankyou for this wonderful recipe. Can’t wait to try the thai green next!
You are the greatest.
My husband basically has one of your recipes a day minimum!
My families favourite curry
Great recipe! But I’d love to know on what planet it takes 5 min to breakdown a butternut squash and trim green green beans. Not to mention all the other prep.
Hi Christina – my world! It’s only 150g of pumpkin here – not a whole pumpkin! 😆 N x
Very good. I followed the recipe exactly. Since I only had Thai Kitchen curry paste, I also followed the directions to jazz it up. I used 4 heaping Tbs of curry paste and the curry was still mild enough for the kids. A little added red chili flakes amped it up enough for the adults. This one will definitely be in the regular rotation. (BTW, I had the Kaffir lime leaves so that was a plus for me.)
I never follow recipes exactly, but this recipe was a perfect guide!! I used broccoli, potatoes, red and green bell pepper, and celery for my vegetables. I used lime zest because I couldn’t find the leaves, and was saddened that I couldn’t find lemongrass either because I know that flavor really enhances it. Also added some thai chili paste because it wasn’t spicy enough and I used the whole jar (*thai kitchen brand). But it still came out soooooooo good!! I’m going to find lemongrass and make this again!
Peas instead of beans and prawns (less cooking time) instead of chicken worked great! Super recipe thanks 🙏
Excellent flavour, super easy to make. Doubled recipe, (only didn’t double curry paste), perfect spiciness for kids, used peas instead of beans.
The best recipe, make your own red curry, its worth it! My husband and I are lovers of Thai, spicy and non spicy, we just love the flavors. I was browsing and found the recipe, made it with jarred curry first, it was great. Made it with homemade curry…my husband said “if I got this in a restaurant, it would be my favorite restaurant”! I add a lot of veggies, red bell pepper, mushrooms, even zucchini, and mango this last time. SO GOOD!
BTW, I made it with lamb, soooo delicious. Browned it first. Couldn’t find galangal. Used the extra ginger and lime zest suggestion. So bright. So flavorful.
Really Delicious, thankyou! And ideal that you dont need to brown chicken first.
Didn’t use lemongrass, lime leaves or basil as I didnt have, but was still very yum. Used half coconut cream and half coconut milk.
Roasted the pumpkin bits in the oven with S&P and cinnamon to give them a head start (I doubled the recipe, apart from the curry paste)
Will definitely be making this again
Totally agree with your brand preference. So many jar pastes seem to have sugar as one of the top ingredients. I have nothing against sweet flavours …. in sweets.
Hi Sonia, it’s because they have been Westernised – but yes, Maesri is by far my favourite! N x
Hi Nagi, the recipe looks great! I plan to try it. Quick questions: 1) What if I skip green beans? I’m not a big fan of that; 2) is it a look idea to add eggplants? I happen to have some on hands; 3) Can I skip Kaffir Lime Leaves and lemongrass paste? I do not find them in local markets; 4) What is the difference between that yellow curry and red curry? Pardon me for the many questions. I truly interested in. Thanks!
Hi Brin, you can easily sub in any vegetable you prefer here. Use some lime zest instead of the Kaffir Lime leaves, if you can’t get lemongrass paste, can you get fresh? Yellow and red are based on different ingredients, yellow has turmeric which gives it that golden colour 🙂 N x
This recipe is delicious! I loved having the pumpkin in the curry!
This recipe is fantastic. Frying the curry paste with ginger and garlic brought out the flavor in the paste incredibly. I’ve used cauliflower as vegetable and salmon or chicken as protein and both have turned out delicious.
I never follow a recipe exactly, and I never leave a star rating or review but tonight that’s changing. I followed your recipe exactly and it was SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD that I feel compelled to leave a review…sensational and so so delicious!
Love this recipe! I use sweet potatoes and red bell peppers. One of our favorites!
I was looking to make curry for the first time, and stumbled upon this recipe. It was amazing!! Will definitely be my go-to red curry recipe from now on.
Thank you for the recipes! Had precisely the same situation as well as same feelings after cooking & dining as Alyssa 🙂 To do this delicacy in the 30 mins mentioned here though is quite impossible without thorough preparation. Then again there shouldn´t be much hurry while making delicious meals.
Thank you for this, Nagi!!! I love that I finally know how to make some Thai dishes!