Every great Thai red curry recipe starts with a luxurious paste made with red chillies, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, coriander roots, kaffir lime leaves and zest, fish sauce and shrimp or crab paste. Most grocery stores now carry both red and green curry paste, but if you want to make something fragrant and spectacular click on the link here to make your own. If you have a fish allergy, omit the fish sauce and shrimp/crab paste in your recipe and substitute it for light soya sauce and soya bean paste for that ‘umami’ flavour.

What fascinates me about the way the Thai people prepare their curry is that they cook the chicken by reducing some coconut milk down till the oil partially separates from the milk. Coconut oil is very trendy and healthy to use and you could use a bit of that in your recipe as well.

Thai Red Curry Chicken

Ingredients
  

Red Curry Paste

  • 20 dried red chillies soaked overnight in water
  • 3 tsps of fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup garlic roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp fish shrimp or crab paste
  • 3 shallots
  • 1 tsp white peppercorns
  • 2 tbsps corriander roots chopped
  • 1/4 cup lemon grass stalks cleaned and chopped
  • 2 tbsps shredded Lime leaves
  • 1/4 cup Galangal finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 400 ml can of Coconut Milk
  • 1/4 cup of sliced Shallots
  • 1 lb of boneless Chicken thigh
  • 3 tbsps Red Curry paste
  • 1 tbsp sliced red Chillies
  • 8 Lime leaves
  • 1 tbsp Palm Sugar
  • 3 tbsps Fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup of Bamboo shoots
  • 1/2 cup fried Tofu
  • Coriander for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Soak the chillies in water overnight
In a food processor start with the liquid ingredients – fish sauce and lime juice and add the rest of the ingredients
Process adding some chilli water to grind it smooth and save this in the fridge
  • Heat up a wok and add about 2 tbsps of the Coconut milk and allow this to separate
  • Add the shallots and allow it to sweat
  • Add the chicken and allow it to sear on both sides
  • Add the red curry paste and mix it well to coat the chicken
  • Add the coconut milk
  • Add the lime leaves
  • Add the fish sauce and the palm sugar
  • Bring the curry to the boil
  • Finally add the bamboo shoots and the tofu
  • Garnish with coriander and serve