Generally, for people, comfort food is something which they grew up eating - something which was cooked for them by their parents or grandparents and reminds them of their soothing affection. Like most Indians, my comfort food is home-cooked dal chawal. However, in my list of comfort food, there is something else too that I didn’t even taste as a child- Thai curry, be it red, green, yellow, panang, massaman, or any other type. The refreshing flavors of Thai curry are quite similar to the flavors of some Indian dishes and that could be one reason why I love it so much. Today I am sharing the recipe for Veg Thai red curry loaded with tofu and vegetables. The curry is coconut-based and it gets its color from the dried red chilies used in the curry paste. I have learned to make Thai recipes at home mostly by watching the videos of Pailin from Hot Thai kitchen. She makes everything look so easy and generally shares a lot of tips for vegans and vegetarians in her videos. If you have not watched her video and want to learn Thai cooking, I would highly recommend her channel.
Ingredients required
I make my Thai curries from scratch as it’s not very easy to find vegan or vegetarian readymade Thai curry paste, especially if you don’t live in India. You are free to use readymade curry paste in this recipe if you want. However, making Thai curry paste at home is also very easy if you could find all the ingredients. In fact, now I prefer using homemade curry paste even when I have store-bought vegan curry paste in my fridge.
Ingredients required to make vegan Thai red curry paste
To make vegan Thai red curry paste from scratch the following ingredients will be needed:
Veggies that go well in vegetable Thai curry
I have used French beans, snow peas, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Other than vegetables I have also added baked tofu. You can use any vegetable of your choice. Some other common vegetables that taste good in Thai curry are carrots, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, etc.
Ingredients required for baked tofu
Other ingredients needed
The other ingredients required for this recipe are:
Is Thai red curry hot?
In Thai red curry a lot of red chilies are used which give the curry its red color. However, their seeds are removed to make the curry less spicy. Also, the coconut milk and sugar added to it, balance the heat. Therefore, Thai red curry has mild spiciness.
How to make vegetable Thai red curry?
Making vegetable Thai red curry involves just three main steps: Making curry paste: To make vegan Thai red curry paste, deseed dried red chilies and soak in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Put all the curry paste ingredients in a grinder to make a smooth paste. Baking tofu: Marinate tofu cubes with some vegetable oil and salt. Spread on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C ( 400°F) for 12-15 minutes. Making curry: Heat a cooking pot. Add full cream coconut milk to it and cook until it milk starts thickening and leaving coconut oil on the sides. To fasten this step, you can skip coconut milk at this step and add coconut oil. If the taste of coconut oil is too strong for you, use refined coconut oil as it has a very mild taste in comparison to unrefined/ virgin coconut oil. Add curry paste and saute for around 5 minutes or until the shallots and garlic stop smelling raw. Add tomato paste, dried Thai basil (if using), and coconut sugar. Cook for about a minute. If using fresh Thai basil add it later with kaffir lime leaves. Next, add all the vegetables and cook for around 5 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked but remain crunchy. Once the vegetables are almost cooked, add coconut milk, vegetable stock, soy sauce, and crushed kaffir lime leaves. Mix well and let the curry simmer for 10-12 minutes. Finally, add baked tofu cubes and cook for another 2 minutes. Switch off the stove, add lime juice and garnish with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Step-by-step photo instructions
Curry storing and freezing tips
To store, put the curry in an airtight container, it will be fine for 2-3 days in the fridge. In the freezer, it will be fine for around 3 months. However, it’s better to store the curry paste instead of storing the curry as freshly cooked food is always a better option. If you are making Thai curry paste for storing purposes, add around 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil instead of water while grinding the curry paste. Store in a clean airtight jar and keep in the fridge for around 15 days. If the curry paste is ready, making curry will hardly take 15-20 minutes.
What to serve with it?
I believe Thai curries taste the best with some plain steamed jasmine rice or sticky rice. If you want you can also enjoy it with some refreshing coconut rice, lemon rice, or any fried rice.
Recipe tips and tricks
Instead of using coconut milk to saute curry paste in the first step, you can also use coconut oil as a cooking medium.If you don’t like the taste of coconut oil, use refined coconut oil.Don’t overcook the vegetables they should remain crunchy.Though Kashmiri red chili is not a part of Thai cuisine if your heat tolerance is low but you don’t want to compromise with the red color of your curry, use dried Kashmiri chilies. They are used in Indian cooking to add color but are very mild.
Frequently asked questions
More easy vegan Thai recipes
If you also love Thai food and looking for some easy vegan or vegetarian Thai recipes then don’t miss to check out the following links:
Thai cabbage saladStir fried Thai mushroomsThai peanut sauceVegan Thai curry noodlesVegan Pad ThaiThai Mango sticky riceVegan Thai green curryThai vermicelli noodle salad with mushrooms
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