Thai Red Curry

One of the things I love most about Thai food is the explosion of flavors and flavor bomb in your mouth with every bite.  Thai red curry is a great example of it.  I love the spiciness, lusciousness, creaminess of red curry and love the magical pairing of red curry paste and coconut milk. AND I love drowning my hot steamed Jasmine rice in a pool of delicious red curry sauce and eating all the soaked up the goodness! Oh man, as I am typing this, I want me some red curry right now!

I love all Thai curries, but Red Curry is my favorite.  I love the intense chili flavor taste and the eye-pleasing red color makes me enjoy it even more.

Like other Thai dishes, I love how you can make the dish with any protein or veggies you like.  The ingredient combinations are endless and this would be a good recipe to make when you are looking to clear out the ingredients from the fridge.

Ingredients:

12 ounces boneless chicken thighs, cubed
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
4 Kaffir lime leaves
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 ounces canned straw mushrooms
1 ounce green bell pepper, cubed
1 ounce red bell pepper, cubed
1 ounce yellow onion, cubed
a small handful of Thai basil

Steps:

Prepare Ingredients – Prepare and organize all the protein and veggies in separate bowls and/or plates and set them aside.

Make Curry – Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add vegetable oil and red curry paste and cook the curry paste until fragrant for about 1 minute.  Add 1/2 cup of coconut milk to the saucepan.  Mix coconut milk and curry paste until fully combined.  Add the chicken and Kaffir lime leaves. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, water, fish sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil.  Add veggies and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes until the curry thickens and veggies soften.  Turn off the heat.  Add Thai basil and give the curry one last mix.

Tips:

• Substitute beef, shrimp, pork, or any other protein for chicken.
• Add your favorite veggies or remove the veggies you do not like.  Some other good veggie options are broccoli, zucchini, carrots, bok choy.
• Depending on the brand of curry paste you are using, I found that the spiciness for curry paste is very inconsistent, so adjust as needed.  I use Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste, and one tablespoon is a little bit more than medium spiciness.