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!
Thanks Nagi this recipe was DELICIOUS!! It was sooo good that I’m leaving a comment (I’m a first time commenter haha) I made this with the homemade curry paste that you linked at the start. I’ve never made a recipe from this blog that I didn’t love. Thanks again!! 😀
Thanks so much Amanda!
Wow what a fantastic red Thai curry with chicken- we chose the Maesri tinned paste we would normally put fresh Chili but it was not needed the only thing we added was shrimp paste extra- it was equally as good if not better than in a restaurant- thank you for another amazing recipe- I’m going to do this with beef next time
I’m so glad you loved it Jacqui – it would be amazing with beef too!
Thank you Nagi, very good .
You’re so welcome!
Hi Dozer….. loving your Recipes Nagi… your so on my wave length….
Thanks so much Tina!
Another delicious recipe Nagi! Made the version with the canned paste as we were in a bit of a rush, we only used 4 tablespoons of the curry paste and that was spicy enough for us. We used green prawns instead of chicken and added in loads of veggies – sweet potato, cauliflower, red capsicum, zucchini, snow peas, because that’s what was on hand and needed using up. A great recipe to have on hand, it came together quickly and all the ingredients I can get at our local IGA!
Sounds like you nailed it Carol!!!
Cooked this with my teenage
daughter just the other day. We can’t stop telling our friends how great this was! Had no lemongrass so used juice of half a lemon instead. Couldn’t get Thai basil so omitted that. And having no coriander at hand almost killed me as it would’ve finished the dish fantastic but I survived! Fab recipe and can’t wait to make it again (with fresh coriander on standby!). Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
I’m so happy you loved it Amanda!!
I nearly cried when I took my first bite! I was SO surprised that something I had cooked actually tasted BETTER than the ones served at restaurants! Never will order this out again!!
I was really tempted to use low fat coconut milk to save myself some calories, but decided to go along with the recipe and go full fat – no regrets while eating! Hahaha
But in all calorific seriousness – would it alter the dish a lot if I did choose to use low fat coconut milk? 🙂
Thank you again Nagi for this incredible recipe. I’m on a mission to try out every single one of your recipes heheehe!
Hi Esther, that’s the best compliment, I’m so happy you loved it!!!
Holy cow, this made me feel like I could actually cook! Lol I’m 44 and finally learning to cook properly through your blog. Thank you for using readily available ingredients and making it so easy to follow the recipe. You rock Nagi 🙂 and Dozer is awesome too!
I’m so glad you gave it a shot! It’s never too late to learn how to cook ☺️
Haven’t cooked this yet, but probably will tonight. I have some red curry paste to use up and it’s coincidentally the maesri brand, though I think it’s in a bigger tub than yours. I do find it super spicy though, so I’ll probably use less. But that might be because Im comparing it to the green curry which my daughter likes.
I’m excited to try this!
I hope you love it Becca, let me know how it goes – N x
I made this with the recommended little tin of paste. So delicious and tasted very authentic. My husband loved it. The paste packs quite a punch so no chance of the kids eating it, it’s really quite hot. But we enjoyed it all the more, a rare chance to enjoy some chilli flavor!
Another recipe tin winner.
Might try some of the others pastes in the range, it really was superior to the jar ones I’ve tried.
I’m so glad you loved it Claire!
Amazing. Used 3 Tbsp curry paste and it was enough for us. Used the extras and substituted baby zucchuni for the squash as we had none on hand. Thank you for our now go-to Thai chicken curry recipe.
Wahoo that’s great to hear Deborah!
This recipe is amazing, no more take out. Thank you Nagi as always your recipes and tweaks are amazing. Thank you 🙂 Marnie
Wahoo, I’m so glad you loved it Marnie ❤️
Just made your Thai Red Curry absolutely sensational, used coconut oil instead and added red capsicum and a dash of lime.Awsome meal👍
Very good. I made it almost exactly as suggested. Putting in more ginger and garlic for the tinned curry paste was a really good suggestion.
Wahoo, I’m so happy you liked it Jacque ❤️
Just made this and OMG the chicken came out so tender and the curry so flavorful! I swapped the butternut with shiitakes and mini zucchini and it came out great! Thanks for the inspiration will definitely make this again! Cheers from Belgium!
Wahoo! Sounds like you nailed it!
Delicious!! Thanks Nagi!!
Wahoo, I’m so happy you loved it Wanda!
Thanks for recommending the maesri curry paste, it was really the best paste compared to other brands. The curry turned out absolutely delicious . Thank you for all the details.
Yes, it’s by far the better one! I’m so glad you loved it Alisha!
I used the “pimp the bought jar” deal, which is not normally what I do — having been to Indonesia many times, I pride myself on home made all the way with curries.
A great option, Nagi, thank you. (Def too disappointing to just chuck coconut milk in store bought,)
You are a legend girl! 🙂 x
hi nagi can I use prawns in this recipe? I am having the chicken skewers for entree.Thankyou.
Yes definitely!!
Hi Nagi, I’m.planning on making this tomorrow but couldn’t source one ingredient the shrimp paste in oil. Our local Asian store only sells sauteed shrimp paste – the ingredients mention 50% shrimp and rest is oil, salt etc. Would this be okay to use?
Sounds ok – just taste the curry first before seasoning as that shrimp paste has salt in it. Love to know how it goes! – N x