Easy Thai Red Curry with Vegetables and Tofu

Recipe for Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

This is a simple easy recipe for the vegetarians who love to eat Thai Red Curry with Vegetables. Curry is mostly eaten by itself or  sticky rice with a salad or vegetable dish.

Why not give Thai a try?

I am a big fan of  Thai red curry. I used to always order  for takeout once in a month. But now  when I started making this at home I feel ,it’s much tastier than takeout and healthier, too. You can  change up the vegetables as per your liking and make your own favorite Thai Red curry with vegetables.

4 Essential Ingredients of Thai red curry 

 1) The base gravy for Thai red curry is prepared using Coconut milk. It makes the curry rich and creamy. I used premium coconut milk .

2) Thai Red curry paste adds characteristic Thai flavor .

3) For Tofu, I like using firm or extra firm. You can also sauté them in a pan before adding to the curry. This is  protein rich alternative to meat. Apart from providing high contents of protein, this substitute of meat is low in calories and is an excellent source for calcium and iron.

4) One more key ingredient in this recipe is the rainbow of vegetables. you can add vegetables of your liking. The more vegetables the merrier the curry. Needless to say that vegetables have abundance of nutrients. Apart from being low on fats and calories, mostly all the vegetables are high in dietary fibers and are loaded with minerals and vitamins. You could experiment with different vegetables each time you make this delicious warm curry! 

What Flavor is Thai red curry?

 For people who are trying Thai curry for first time ,I would describe Thai red curry as spicy and a bit sweet at the same time. Its exotic flavor lights up your taste buds. It has strong vibrant flavors.

What kind of rice goes with Thai food?

The two main kinds of used in Thai cooking, are a long-grain rice called Jasmine rice and a short-grained rice called sticky rice or sweet rice. They pair well with Thai red curry with vegetables.

Tips for making Thai Red Curry 

1.  For making amazing Thai curry  use plenty of aromatics, like onion, ginger and garlic.
2. Thai red curry paste adds characteristic Thai flavor and, bonus, the Thai Kitchen brand is vegetarian. 
3. Feel free to change up the vegetables, as long as you slice them so they’re all pretty small and about the same size. 
4. If using Tofu, I like using firm or extra firm. You can also saute them in a pan before adding to the curry.
5. You can use dry basil if fresh sweet basil is not available.
6. If you are making it gluten free  be sure to use gluten-free tamari instead of regular soy sauce.

How to make easy Thai red curry with vegetables and Tofu

Ingredients  for Thai red curry

• 1/2 Green bell pepper 
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 red bell pepper 
• 1/2 orange bell pepper 
• 1 /2 Carrot     
• 3-4  Mushrooms 
• 3-4 asparagus 
• 1/2 zucchini (courgette) 
• 1/2 onion
• 1-2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tsp ginger minced
• 1/2 eggplant (brinjal)
• Dry basil powder 
• 1 Can Coconut milk (Preferably full fat/premium)
• 1/2 Block Tofu (Preferably firm or extra firm)
• 2 Tbsp Thai red  curry paste 
• 1 1/2 Tbsp  coconut Oil/olive  oil
• 2 Tsp Soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Lemon juice/ 1 Tsp Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Honey/ Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1 Tsp Sriracha (optional)
• Salt to taste

Instructions for making Thai red curry

Evenly slice all the vegetables as shown  below. This is important to ensure veggies are cooked evenly. 

Heat up oil in a wok or a pan, add ginger ,garlic  and onions sauté for a minute then add carrots and zucchini. Sauté them for a minute. Next add in asparagus  and sauté them .

Finally add the rest of vegetables and the red Thai curry paste .Sauté the veggies for about a minute or until the veggies are slightly cooked. We want the veggies to remain crunchy and not become soft or overcooked.

Now add salt, soy sauce, and honey/sugar to the vegetables. Mix them  well without breaking the sliced vegetables. Add coconut milk and water to the veggies. Keep the heat on low and let the curry simmer for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles start forming and oil begins to separate.

Add lemon juice or vinegar to the curry. Add Sriracha for the punch (optional).Cover the pan and let the vegetables soak all the flavors for about a minute. Simmer on a medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the desired consistency of the curry is achieved and the vegetables have softened to your liking. Finally, add sliced tofu .Gently mix the tofu in the curry. Simmer for one more minute.

Turn off the heat, and garnish with basil leaves. Serve this warm comforting curry in a plate  with rice.

Servings - 4
Total  time - 30 minutes