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!
Hey Nagi, this is delicious. Do you have any recipe for thai red curry chicken grilled?
Whilst I recognise I’m not adding much to the conversation here, I just have to say that this recipe is the best red curry I’ve eaten in ages. Added some bamboo shoots and a bit of chopped carrot…couldn’t find any Thai basil but was faithful to the rest of the recipe. Used Ayam curry paste and honestly this just rocked!
Made this last night. Usually we would make your Green chicken curry, but swapped it up with this red one. Amazing!! Everyone loved it, it was a total HIT! I’ve made red curry before, but not this recipe, and this will now be my go to! So so good!!! Rave reviews from hubbie and all the kids!
I made this tonight. I also thought that 3 min too short for squash. I’d cut it in small pieces as recommended and put it in earlier, for 5 min. I thought it was a bit overcooked. next time – 3 min. oh, and I forgot the lemongrass. We loved this recipe, will make it again!
So I actually used Maesri with the added garlic lemongrass and ginger and i prefer it that way
Thank you for all the excellent explanations and recommendations. I made this using Maesri brand no extras. Will try the extras when I can find the lemon grass paste. My husband and son loved it. 🙂
Thai red curry with chicken recipe is sensational with an authentic taste. Just one question, is this recipe suitable for freezing?
The recipe is confusing to me because it sounds like the squash is only being cooked for 3 minutes? My experience is pumpkin/ butternut takes longer to become tender. It would make sense to cook it along with the thighs or at least cook it longer? Thanks!
I also made it without the lemongrass and it was very tasty. Re. squash – I used leftover swede and had to take it out and microwave it so I guess as a harder vegetable you need to give it the same as the chicken or precook it so it goes soft.
Nagi!! You are the bomb!! I made this without the lemongrass and ginger and it was good but tonight I made it with the lemongrass and ginger and it was amazing!!! It was better than a Thai restaurant. I did put 6 chillies in it because we love it a bit spicy but whenever I’m looking for a recipe I go straight to your page!!!
Have made soooo many of your recipes and thought the ‘pimped up’ Massaman curry was the best until I made the Thai Red Curry using Maesri paste and extras. Not sure I would order a Red Curry at a restaurant ever again!!!!
I made this recipe tonight and it was really good. I didn’t have lemongrass or kaffir lime leaves, and I subbed water with a little soy sauce for the chicken broth. I also used a combo of leftover cooked chicken and whatever vegetables were in the fridge and it still tasted delicious. Also, everyone liked it, young kids included. Not spicy. Will make again!
This was amazing!! Thai red curry is my favorite takeout meal, but I’ve always been so disappointed when I’ve tried to make it at home. Not this time!! Thank you for such a tasty and foolproof recipe!
Tastes amazing (thanks for the brand tip for the paste) but OMG that blew my poor western head clean off!
I then doubled the coconut milk, added a tin of pineapple juice and a mass of yoghurt and it was OK for me but the kids couldn’t cope.
Next time I’ll try with just 1 tbsp of the paste.
Loved this. Family commented it was restaurant quality. I added bamboo shoots instead of pumpkin which was delicious. Can’t wait to try making my own curry paste! Another great recipe Nagi, thank you.
Love this recipe! Maesri is the best store bought paste in my opinion, but ayam works just as well but just add less sugar. I use chicken thigh cutlets. I remove the skin and poach the cutlets in the broth and then pull the chicken from the bones when cooked through and add back into the liquid. Cooking with the bone in adds more flavour. I also put the chicken skin in the air fryer for about 20 mins to make chicken crackle to place on the top of the curry. Sometimes I make extra broth to make it more of a soup and add egg noodles. Delicious!
Hi Nagi, think I have made about 20 of your receipes and this brilliant Thai red curry several times. Can I substitute frozen prawns for the chicken? … And if so, how? Thanks for all the inspiration!
Yes, you can. I do this regularly. If they are uncooked frozen prawns, just defrost them (overnight in the fridge or same day in cold water) and add them at the end and let them cook through (approx. 5 min)
Bruce, I literally just did this with frozen shrimp! I had time so I defrosted the shrimp in cold water and then cooked them for about 5 minutes in the simmering curry, and added the shrimp at the same time as the last veggies. Turned out great!
Made this recipe for my family and it was amazing! Used the Maesri paste, added Chinese eggplant, bamboo shoots and Thai chili peppers and WOW it tasted sooo delicious. Thank you for the recipe, I will definitely be using it again in the future!
Made your red Thai curry today (made my own red curry sauce as per your recipe ) all really outstanding.. smashing.
Love this curry! Make it all the time and my partner is the biggest fan! So simple but tastes incredible. How would I go about doubling the recipe, is it okay to double everything or best to scale back on the store bought curry paste?
You never mention about ginger and garlic – when to add
Nagi you’re a legend! I have a collection of jars of red curry paste in my pantry goodness knows why as I’ve never really liked it. Loathe to throw anything out I used your recipe with the extra ingredients to give jar paste a lift. It is genius! The curry was delicious. I threw in carrots runner beans and cauliflower (I didn’t have pumpkin) with kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass from my garden… sadly I didn’t have any basil or coriander but it was still delicious!!
WOW!! Sooooo good. I’ve never been bothered with kefir lime leaves in the past but decided to follow the recipe exactly and oh. My. God. Now I get it. Adds that extra bit of deliciousness! Another amazing recipe Nagi!