Thai Coconut Red Curry

[JustJoel]

I have some shrimp, a little jar of red curry paste, a can of coconut milk, and fish sauce. I don’t have lemongrass, but I do have lemons. And limes. And I have some jasmine rice. Onions, garlic, cilantro, all yes. Will this come together for a passable coconut curry dish? Or am I missing some essential ingredient?

 

[CraigC]

What are the ingredients in the curry paste?

This is the red curry paste I make.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/red-curry-paste-79954.html

 

[Steve Kroll]

My recipe for red Thai curry. It's very simple to make, and tastes very much like what you would get in a restaurant...
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/quick-and-easy-beef-panang-curry-95302.html

 

[JustJoel]

What are the ingredients in the curry paste?

This is the red curry paste I make.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/red-curry-paste-79954.html

The curry paste is commercial, the little jar that you can get in the Asian section of any grocery store that has an Asian section. To be honest, since it’s the only thing available to me, short of making my own, I didn’t bother to look at the ingredients.

 

[JustJoel]

My recipe for red Thai curry. It's very simple to make, and tastes very much like what you would get in a restaurant...
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/quick-and-easy-beef-panang-curry-95302.html

Whew! I’m glad you listed those Thai bird chiles as “optional!” Just one of those things could kill a person!

 

[jennyema]

The curry paste probably has lemongrass in it. Youre good to go. But next time you buy lemongrass, buy extra and freeze it.

Or grow it!

 

[Steve Kroll]

The curry paste is commercial, the little jar that you can get in the Asian section of any grocery store that has an Asian section. To be honest, since it’s the only thing available to me, short of making my own, I didn’t bother to look at the ingredients.

Commercial Thai curry paste is perfectly fine. In fact, I find brands like Maesri to be pretty good, and it saves a ton of time.

A few years ago, I took a community ed Thai cooking class that was taught by a local restaurateur. She said they mix their own pastes in the restaurant, but also said almost everyone she knows uses canned commercial paste at home.

 

[blissful]

I buy the Chef's Choice Green (and Red), and keep it in the freezer. When I need a tablespoon or so of it, I zap it slightly in the microwave to soften it up, and then spoon it out. I've been making some curries now for about 2 or 3 years. I usually grind up the coriander seeds fresh each time.

I've never seen lemon grass at the grocers.....and I remember trying to get fresh horseradish and that was almost impossible too. I live in the midwest, so make some meat and potatoes and shut up about that curry crap. ha ha

 

[JustJoel]

Follow up question

Thanks for all the input! Here’s a second question: how do green yellow and red chili pastes differ, and which is the mildest? As I age, I’m afraid I’m less able to tolerate the spicy foods I used to love.

 

[Andy M.]

I have some shrimp, a little jar of red curry paste, a can of coconut milk, and fish sauce. I don’t have lemongrass, but I do have lemons. And limes. And I have some jasmine rice. Onions, garlic, cilantro, all yes. Will this come together for a passable coconut curry dish? Or am I missing some essential ingredient?

To get back to the actual question asked, you're probably OK with the ingredients listed.

 

[jennyema]

Thanks for all the input! Here’s a second question: how do green yellow and red chili pastes differ, and which is the mildest? As I age, I’m afraid I’m less able to tolerate the spicy foods I used to love.

That's where you HAVE to look at the ingredients. There are at least a dozen types of commercial canned/jarred southeast Asian curry pastes and they all differ in their ingredients, which make them taste different and have different heat levels. I usually use Maesri or Mae Ploy brand.


Usually yellow curry paste is pretty mild.

 

[dragnlaw]

same brand, different strengths

Not only will different brands have various ingredients, I read an article about how the strength will vary within the same brand. This is due to the season growing the chili. I have found one day my jalapeno's very strong - the next batch very mild.

Can't find the article right now but it wasn't that long ago - I'm sure I'll come across it again, then I'll post it.

I have not researched it but I have found that "Yellow Curry Paste" is often used with vegies, think it is the turmeric. "Red Curry Paste" & "Green Curry Paste" used with anything but the Red is hotter/spicier than the Green.

 

[CraigC]

What are the ingredients in the curry paste?

This is the red curry paste I make.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/red-curry-paste-79954.html

My post was to allow comparison of ingredients and not a suggestion to make homemade.

 

[blissful]

Not only will different brands have various ingredients, I read an article about how the strength will vary within the same brand. This is due to the season growing the chili. I have found one day my jalapeno's very strong - the next batch very mild.

I've found the same here. Sometimes during a drier season, the chilies are hotter, other times, milder.

 

[pepperhead212]

I made a batch of Thai curry tonight - one of my absolute favorite dishes! I have never made a Thai curry I didn't like - anything can go in it, as long as you have the essentials: a good curry paste, lime leaves and lime juice, and Thai basil.

This was a red chicken curry, with some boc choy stems (not traditional, but anything goes in it, as I said) and chunks of onions, for the veggies in it. I always like onions cut into chunks in Thai curries.

Amazing how fast this is to make, once all the ingredients are lined up.

Here is the basic Thai recipe I use.

Basic Thai Curry

1/2-3/4 cup(s) curry paste
2 14 oz. can(s) coconut milk
3 tb palm sugar
3 tb fish sauce
1-1 1/2 lbs meat, poultry, fish, or shellfish; sliced or left whole
3-5 cup(s) vegetables; sliced or cubed
4-5 pairs kaffir lime leaves
1 tb lime juice (fresh)
4-6 medium chile peppers; halved (option)
1 cup(s) basil (fresh); loosely packed

A. Skim the coconut cream (about 1/2 c each can) off the tops of the cans and place in a heavy saucepan or wok (I use a cast iron wok for curries). Cook over medium heat until oil separates, scraping occasionally with a heatproof spatula. When oily add the curry paste (if using concentrated green, use only 6 tb) and cook 2 or 3 min., stirring and scraping constantly. Add remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, lime leaves, and vegetables/meat which need longest cooking. Bring to a boil and cook at a slow boil, adding remaining ingredients at appropriate times, depending on cooking times.

B. When all ingredients are tender, test for seasoning and add more fish sauce or sugar as needed. If too thin stir in a starch/water mixture, being careful not to overdo. Stir in herbs, and serve, with jasmine rice.

Notes: This is a very flexible recipe. All meats may be used - boneless chicken thighs being one of my favorites - and many vegetables. I usually cut a large onion into large pieces, then add winter or summer squash, eggplant, sweet potato, bell or poblano peppers, frozen and thawed tofu in cubes, okra, and many other vegetables. Or it may be all vegetable, with 6-8 cups of vegetables. The basil may be Thai basil (my favorite), Italian, or half basil and half mint, or some cilantro mixed in. Again, anything goes, if you like it.


Here is was dish, start to finish. None of the optional chiles in it tonight, as somebody else was eating it with me!

Ingredients, mise en place:
IMG_20190109_190138332 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Coconut cream, cooked down to release oil:
IMG_20190109_191025521 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Curry paste, frying in the coconut oil - sort of like frying Mexican salsas, to intensify the flavor:
IMG_20190109_191310976 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Coconut milk, palm sugar, lime leaves, and fish sauce added:
IMG_20190109_191623771 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chicken added, ready to simmer 12 min, before adding boc choy to simmer 4 more min:
IMG_20190109_191732133 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished curry, with basil added:
IMG_20190109_193631211 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Curry served with a millet/jasmine rice mix:
IMG_20190109_194211523 by pepperhead212, on Flickr


I have tried several things to reduce the white rice I eat - I simply love jasmine rice, as well as all that Thai food I eat it with! The millet is the best thing I've found to mix it with 2:1 millet to rice, or 1:1. The water millet absorbs is almost exactly the same as jasmine rice, and they cook up well in a rice cooker, and here it is made in my IP:
IMG_20190109_193506141 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[pepperhead212]

I made another red Thai curry the other night, this time with okra, eggplant, onion, and bottle gourd - almost vegetarian, except the fish sauce and shrimp paste, which are always in my curries.

Here's the first photo of the dish getting ready, then the link to the rest of them.
Ingredients for Thai curry recipe. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Preparation of dish, start to finish.

 

[larry_stewart]

I made another red Thai curry the other night, this time with okra, eggplant, onion, and bottle gourd - almost vegetarian, except the fish sauce and shrimp paste, which are always in my curries.

Here's the first photo of the dish getting ready, then the link to the rest of them.
Ingredients for Thai curry recipe. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Preparation of dish, start to finish.

Are those Kaffir lime leaves? If so, do you grow your own ? I used to have a kaffir lime tree f in a pot ( inside/ outside). I finally killed it (after about 5 years).

 

[CraigC]

Are those Kaffir lime leaves? If so, do you grow your own ? I used to have a kaffir lime tree f in a pot ( inside/ outside). I finally killed it (after about 5 years).

Yup, those are Kaffir lime leaves. I have a tree outside and the galangal grows like a weed.

 

[pepperhead212]

I also grow my own lime leaves. I have one tree that is going on 16 years old, but I do have to bring it in every year. I actually have another tree, about 10 years old, not because I need 2 of them (one is too many), but because I wanted to try to air layer the first one, and it worked! I have to try to sell it, maybe on Craigslist. The person I used to cook Thai with moved too far away, to give it to him.

Those things need re-potted about every 3-4 years. I just did them this year, doing a severe root pruning, as well as above. I knew that they needed it when I put them out in the spring, and there was no new growth.
I wish that I could grow galangal, CC! I tried, and it grew above, but not the root - just not a long enough season here, and even in the pot, it just didn't work.

 

[larry_stewart]

I had my Kaffir lime tree for a number of years, but it finally croaked. I also have 2 Meyer lemon trees ( all potted and come in and out depending on the season). The Meyers lemons had a number of lemons when I bought it. Haven't had any lemons since, although they flower quite a bit, but usually during the winter when they are inside, and no bees to pollinate. I. tried, with no luck. I dont have the greatest windows for overwintering plants. They survive, but dont thrive. The kaffir lime is the only citrus that I consistently got fruit from. Ironically, I used that tree only for the leaves. ( I did make lemonade from the Meyer lemons, and it was really good).

Ive don ginger a few times , with ok success. More above ground than below. The leaves were usable for flavor. Not as intense, but plentiful.

I think I tried galangal once too, with no luck.

Ive also done turmeric for several years, with actually pretty good success.

Ive tried vanilla beans and peppercorn plants ( knowing it was a long shot) and killed them within weeks.

I need a greenhouse!!.