Vegetable Thai Red Curry Recipe | Vegan Thai Red Curry

Learn how to make Vegetable Thai Red Curry ~ Vegan Thai red curry with mixed vegetables and tofu

The season of a warm bowl of rice topped with a generous ladle full of fragrant curries is here. Frankly, who doesn’t like a bowl of fresh, aromatic and warm curries on a cold day?! Especially when it is deliciously fragrant and delicately flavoured curries like this Vegetable Thai Red Curry. One whiff of this steaming fragrance of spicy curry puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day and awakens the appetite.

Ingredients for Vegetable Thai Red Curry

The crunchy vegetables and soft tofu simmered in a highly fragrant coconut gravy flavoured with perfectly balanced homemade Thai red curry paste of fresh herbs and spices is what I am sharing with you all today. If you love the goodness of rainbow vegetables, creaminess of coconut milk and the heady aroma of fresh herbs and spices, then this is one of those recipes that you will love to cook every now and then.


You can use the store-bought Thai curry paste but I highly recommend making your own Thai curry pastes at home with fresh herbs and spices which can be sourced in any good ethnic stores. Once you start using homemade curry pastes there are very fewer chances of you buying bulk produced, factory-made, store-bought curry pastes ever! I always have a small bottle full of an array of Thai curry pastes all the time which helps me to whip Thai curries even on the busiest weekdays. The whole meal comes together within half an hour which is not just delicious but packed with nutrition to the brim. I like mine spicy and hence am a bit generous with Thai red curry paste as well as the sambal olek, but if you like mildly flavoured curry then feel free to reduce the amount of curry paste to suit your taste. A ladleful of hot curry with an array of colourful vegetables and crumbly tofu on top of steaming, fragrant Thai jasmine rice is what dreams are made of… It’s serious food heaven everyone needs on a cold and grey day!

Thai Red Curry Paste

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Vegan Thai Red Curry
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Medium to Hot
Serves: 3-4
Shelf Life: Best served fresh
Serving Suggestion: With steamed jasmine rice

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Ingredients:
1 cup firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
½ cup carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
½ cup potato, peeled and diced into 1 cm thick wedges
½ cup baby corn, sliced
½ cup mangetout or French beans, cut into 1 inch long pieces
½ cup green peas, fresh or frozen
½ cup bell pepper, cut into long, thin slices
1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
1 tbsp sambal olek/red chilli paste
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 fresh/frozen/dry kaffir lime leaf, cut into thin strips (optional)
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Ingredients for Thai Red Curry Paste

Method:
Preparation:

1. Prepare all the vegetables for the curry and keep them aside.
2. If using fresh coconut milk, prepare it and keep it aside until needed. For this curry, use the first thick coconut milk extract for maximum flavour.

Proceed to cook:

1. Heat oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Add the Thai red curry paste and sauté for a minute.
2. Next add all the vegetables and just enough water to cover the vegetables. Let the vegetables cook on a medium heat for about 5-6 minutes or until the vegetables are half cooked.
3. Pour in coconut milk and mix well. Add tofu, salt to taste, kaffir lime leaves, sambal olek and mix them all well. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked but still retain their crunchiness.
4. Turn off the heat and cover and let it rest for 10 minutes for all the flavours to blend well. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve it hot with aromatic jasmine rice. Enjoy!

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Sia’s Notes:

• Kaffir Lime Leaves are usually available in Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai stores as fresh or in frozen section. Dry Kaffir Leaves are available in any big supermarket in their dry herbs or oriental food aisle. When they are not available substitute them with lime zest and juice.
• If using fresh coconut milk, prepare it and keep it aside until needed. For this curry, use the first thick coconut milk extract for maximum flavour.