Red Thai Curry with Chicken — with Paste from a Jar, in 25 Minutes
Fry 2 tbsp red curry paste in the thick part of the coconut milk for 2 minutes until the oil separates and it smells fragrant. Add the chicken, remaining coconut milk, vegetables, simmer 10 minutes. Season with 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar and lime juice — salty, sweet and sour must all be there. Thai basil at the end.
Thai curry at home rarely fails on the recipe but on two things: the paste is not fried, and the balance is missing at the end. Fry the paste in coconut fat until fragrant, and finish with fish sauce, sugar and lime — then it tastes like the Thai restaurant and not like coconut soup. Paste from a jar is perfectly fine; nobody in Bangkok pounds it daily either.
Ingredients
- 500 g Chicken breast (in strips)
- 2 tbsp Red curry paste
- 2 tins Coconut milk (400 ml each)
- 1 piece Bell pepper (red)
- 1 piece Courgette
- 150 g Bamboo shoots (tinned) (optional)
- 1 tbsp Fish sauce
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 piece Lime
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 300 g Jasmine rice
Method
- 1
Cook the rice
Rinse the jasmine rice and bring to the boil with 1.5 times its volume of water, lid on, lowest heat, 12 minutes, then 5 minutes off the heat.
- 2
Fry the paste
Do not shake the coconut milk tins. Melt the thick cream from the top — about 4 tbsp — in a wok or pot over medium heat until the oil separates. Add the curry paste and stir 2 minutes until fragrant and the oil turns red.
- 3
Chicken
Add the chicken and turn 2 minutes in the paste until coated. Pour in the remaining coconut milk, bring to the boil.
- 4
Vegetables
Add the pepper in strips, the courgette in half-moons, the drained bamboo shoots. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables still have bite.
- 5
Balance
Stir in the fish sauce, sugar and juice of half a lime. Taste: it should be salty, slightly sweet and sour all at once — if one is missing, add more. Stir in the Thai basil, serve with rice.
Tips
- The heat depends on the paste: Thai Kitchen and Migros paste are mild, Mae Ploy and Maesri from Asian shops noticeably hotter — then 1 tbsp instead of 2. Green paste is hotter than red, yellow the mildest.
- Full-fat coconut milk, not 'light' — the fat carries the flavour and makes the sauce creamy. Light coconut milk gives thin soup.
- Vegetables by season and fridge: broccoli, beans, pumpkin, spinach, mushrooms, baby corn. About 500 g in total. Pumpkin needs 15 minutes, spinach 1.
What can I substitute?
Fry the tofu first in 1 tbsp oil until crisp and add with the vegetables — with soy sauce instead of fish sauce it is vegan. Prawns for the last 3 minutes.
Vegetarian. Fish sauce gives a depth soy sauce does not quite match — but close enough.
Thai basil tastes of aniseed and is at Asian shops and Coop. Coriander is the simpler alternative.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
How hot is red Thai curry?
With 2 tbsp mild paste to 800 ml coconut milk, pleasantly spiced and edible for most school-age children. With 1 tbsp, mild. With Asian-shop paste, 1 tbsp is already clearly hot. Coconut milk and sugar soften it; lime makes it fresher, not hotter.
Why does my Thai curry taste bland?
The paste was not fried, or the balance is missing at the end. Fry the paste 2 minutes in the coconut fat — that wakes the spices. And always finish with fish sauce (salty), sugar (sweet) and lime (sour) — all three, until it tastes rounded.
What is the difference between red, green and yellow curry paste?
Red from dried red chillies — medium hot, robust. Green from fresh green chillies — hotter, fresher. Yellow with turmeric and curry — the mildest, sweetish, closest to Indian curries. All three are cooked the same way.
Can I reheat Thai curry?
Yes, it keeps three days and is better on day two. Warm slowly, do not boil — coconut milk splits at high heat. The vegetables soften; add the basil fresh.
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