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:
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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!
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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
More Thai food favourites
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Pad See Ew (Thai stir fried noodles)
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Browse all Thai food recipes
And more great curries of the world
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Biryani (it’s amazing!)
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Dal (Indian lentil curry)
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Browse the Curry Collection
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:
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!
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!
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!!
I just made this recipe using the Maesri paste and it is totally amazing. I used palm sugar instead of white sugar, only because I had it plus I added a touch more shrimp paste and fish sauce and chilli just because I’m a flavour addict. Plus my dog loves the shrimp paste. Weird dog. Great recipes Nami. Every recipe you do works out brilliant.
I made the recipe and sauce from scratch. Best thing I’ve ever made! Thank you x
I’ve made many red curries over the years, and I believe this tops them all! Full of flavor, this is a definite keeper! Thanks, Nagi!
First time attempting red curry…amazing! I too used the Mersi store bought brand and used the suggested aromatics. Palm sugar I had so I substituted for the white in the recipe. Chicken thighs, chinese eggplant, red bell peeper, and snap beans rounded out my dish. Next time I will try the pumpkin as the recipe calls. Don’t hesitate – you wont be disappointed. Thank you, Nagi 🔥🥘🧑🍳
This is great! I made this recipe today for lunch and it helped me to finally figure out how to make the curry paste actually tasty! Thanks for the great recipe.
Delicious! Can’t believe how much difference the added flavours (ginger, lemon grass, garlic and kaffir lime leaves) make. I’ve used bought red curry paste so many times but these additions make it next level!
SO good I had to leave a comment. I have made red curry before but this was exceptional and so easy. I added the garlic, ginger and lemon grass to the store bought paste and BOOM! Delicious.
Made this with red dragon paste. This was the best curry ive ever made. Beautiful.
I replaced the butternut squash with potato
Hi.. I am really enjoying your website – especially the Thai recipes. I’m located in LA so I have access to lots of Thai ingredients but finding reliable home recipes that include product selection tips is not easy… Thanks for doing this work!! Joe
This is the most delicious red curry I have ever tasted! My family and friends are obsessed and always ask me to cook this.
I tend to find that cooking times for the paste and curry sauce are significantly longer than what the recipe states (this could also be due to the fact that I double quantities and freeze half for meal prep. I tend to cook off paste and then the sauce for much longer before adding chicken and vegetables and then I end up with the beautiful split sauce that is pictured in the recipe. The type of coconut milk/cream that you use is also very important. In my experience, Ayam is the best supermarket brand and makes all the difference for a delicious curry (I also use one can each of cream and milk when I double quantities) — delicious!! Thank you Nagi 🧡
Delicious! Used store bought paste as I had limited time (Ayam brand). Left out the sugar as I don’t like my curries sweet and increased the veggie quantities to get a couple more serves out of the recipe. Flavours were delicious and such an easy recipe! Will be making this one again.
Soo tasy! Used thigh cutlets and added the extras to the paste.
I used a canned curry paste. Using your recipe…was delicious
Hands down THE BEST homemade red curry! An absolute favourite in our household. I rarely get recipes other websites … Nagi is the BEST!
Such a beautiful recipe, thank you so much!!! Very delicious, most definitely on my favorites list!!! I did double the chicken and pumpkin but that is only because my partner prefers to eat these instead of the rice and juice….. even with doubling these there is still plenty of juices. Sooooo yummy!!! Highly recommend trying this recipe !!!!
Another winner Nagi, thank you. Just a couple of technique tweaks and the addition of lemongrass and lime leaves and it was SO much better than our usual. Next time I’ll track down the curry paste you recommended, Local Coles didn’t have it so I used Ayam brand.
Just wondered whether this recipe would freeze ok? Or do coconut sauces not like freezing? Thanks!!
Yum. I used a different paste, one chicken breast (halved quantity of everything), zucchini and beans, coconut cream, chicken stock and it was delicious. I also used a packet brown jasmine rice to reduce time – took approx 25 mins. Recommend the Thai basil.