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    Home » International » Thai » Vegetarian Thai Red Curry With Tofu

    Vegetarian Thai Red Curry With Tofu

    Posted on February 9, 2016 · Last Updated on March 24, 2021 · By Srividhya G · 20 Comments

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    vegan thai red curry with text overlay for pinterest

    The vegetarian version of the Thai red curry with homemade Thai red curry paste without any shrimp paste or fish sauce but loaded with veggies and Tofu. Check out how to make delicious Thai red curry with detailed step-wise pictures.

    VeggieThaiCurry

    I love Thai food. Period. I love Thai food to such an extent that when my friends asked me where to cater/what food I want for my baby shower (mine was not a surprise one), I immediately answered Thai food from one of our favorite restaurants. So we had the party at home and went to the restaurant to enjoy the Thai food. Now you know why I was behind the authentic Thai ingredients.

    My vegetarian version of the Thai red curry

    Earlier I posted about the main Thai Ingredients used for the curries, and now it’s time for posting the curry recipes with those ingredients. So here I am today with a red curry recipe. Pretty much all the Thai curry pastes use shrimp paste called Gapi or fish sauce. So obviously, I am skipping them in my recipe and making it vegetarian. I am replacing the protein part (meat) with Tofu. But if you don’t have tofu go with vegetables or with paneer.

    ThaiRedCurry

    Yellow curry is my favorite, but as red curry paste (Nam Prik Gaeng Ped) forms the main base for all the curries, I start with this one.

    This is a spicy curry, and the Thai red chilies I had added more spice to the curry. Basically, I referred to two sites and one book for the curry and the paste. One was Thai Table and this book – Thailand: The Beautiful Cookbook and the last website is veg recipes for India.

    The main reason for referring to three sites was to understand the ingredient proportions. Here is what I tried, and please see the notes section for additional information.

    PS – I am not claiming this curry as authentic or traditional. This is my vegetarian/vegan take on the Thai red curry. 

    Ingredients:

    For the Red Curry Paste: 

    • Thai Red Chillies – 2
    • Dried Thai Red Chillies – 2
    • Peppercorns – ½ tsp
    • Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp
    • Garlic Cloves – 2
    • Shallots – 2
    • Lemongrass – 1 tbsp 
    • Coriander Seeds – 1 tsp
    • Cilantro Stems – 1 tbsp
    • Galangal – 1-inch piece

    Other Ingredients:

    • Tofu cubes – ¼ cup
    • Potato – 1
    • Eggplants – 2
    • Green Beans – 4 to 5
    • Thai Basil – few leaves
    • Kaffir Lime Leaves -2
    • Oil – 1 tbsp
    • Thin coconut milk – 1 cup
    • Thick coconut milk – 1 cup
    • Paprika – ¾ tsp
    • Salt – 1 tsp to 1.5 tsps. (Adjust according to your taste)
    • Water – 2 to 3 tbsps

    Vegetarian Thai red curry recipe with homemade red curry paste 

    • Chop the galangal and lemongrass.

    RedCurryIngredients

    • Grind all the ingredients given under “For Red Curry Paste” coarsely by adding 2 to 3 tbsps of water.

    RedCurryPaste

    • Chop the tofu into cubes and chop the veggies. I used my curvy knife for these shapes. (Beans is missing here in the picture, I missed it .)

    Veggies

    • Now heat the pan/kadai and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the veggies alone and saute for a minute. Now add the thin coconut milk and salt.

    VeggiesCookies

    • Let it simmer till the veggies are tender. Now add the red curry paste and kaffir lime leaves and mix well.

    AddingRedCurryPaste

    • Cook till the raw taste goes. Add the paprika and tofu.

    AddingRedChilly

    • Now add the thick coconut milk and chopped Thai basil.

    RedCurryCooking

    • Let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, and that’s it. Serve hot with rice. 

    RedCurry

    Recipe Notes:

    • I used white shallots here as I didn’t have the purple ones. If you don’t have a shallot, use half of the regular purple onion.
    • Paprika powder is for the color. If you feel it’s too spicy, go with the food color, or you can skip that too. The color depends upon the thickness of coconut milk too.
    • You can grind the kaffir lime and the curry paste but make sure you remove the middle stem from the leaf. 
    • Add brown sugar to balance the spice. 
    • Before making the paste, you can dry roast cumin, pepper, and coriander seeds.
    • I have used cilantro stems but you can use fresh leaves as well. 
    • Galangal is pretty strong, and along with lemongrass, the flavor is unique and strong. Adjust the proportions according to your taste.

    VegetarianRedCurry

    More Thai Recipes from the archives:

    • Thai-style watermelon rind curry
    • Veg Thai yellow curry
    • Veg Thai green curry
    • Green papaya and mango salad

    If you’ve made this Thai red curry recipe, please share your photos with me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter – I will be delighted to see your results!

    thai red curry served in white bowl
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    4.50 from 2 votes

    Vegetarian Thai Red Curry With Tofu

    The vegetarian version of the Thai red curry with homemade Thai red curry paste without any shrimp paste or fish sauce but loaded with veggies and Tofu.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time45 mins
    Course: rice accompaniment
    Cuisine: Thai
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 310kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    Ingredients

    Ingredients

      For the Red Curry Paste

      • 2 Thai Red Chillies
      • 2 Dried Thai Red Chillies
      • ½ tsp Peppercorns
      • ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
      • 2 Garlic Cloves
      • 2 Shallots
      • 1 tbsp Lemon Grass
      • 1 tsp Coriander Seeds
      • 1 tbsp Cilantro Stems
      • 1 inch Galangal

      Other Ingredients

      • ¼ cup Tofu cubes
      • 1 Potato chopped
      • 2 Eggplant chopped
      • 5 Green Beans chopped
      • 5 Thai Basil
      • 2 Kaffir Lime Leaves
      • 1 tbsp Oil
      • 1 cup Thin coconut milk
      • 1 cup Thick coconut milk
      • ¾ tsp Paprika
      • 1.5 tsp Salt Adjust according to your taste
      • ¼ cup Water

      Instructions

      • Chop the galangal and lemongrass.
      • Grind all the ingredients given under "For Red Curry Paste" coarsely by adding 2 to 3 tbsps water.
      • Chop the tofu into cubes and chop the veggies. I used my curvy knife for these shapes.
      • Now heat the pan/kadai and add oil.
      • Once the oil is hot add the veggies alone and saute for a minute.
      • Now add the thin coconut milk and salt.
      • Let it simmer till the veggies are tender.
      • Now add the red curry paste and mix well.
      • Cook till the raw taste goes. Add the paprika and tofu.
      • Now add the thick coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and chopped Thai basil.
      • Let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes and that's it.

      Notes

      • I used white shallots here as I didn't have the purple ones. If you don't have a shallot, use half of the regular purple onion.
      • Paprika powder is for the color. If you feel it's too spicy, go with the food color, or you can skip that too. The color depends upon the thickness of coconut milk too.
      • You can grind the kaffir lime and the curry paste but make sure you remove the middle stem from the leaf. 
      • Add brown sugar to balance the spice. 
      • Before making the paste, you can dry roast cumin, pepper, and coriander seeds.
      • I have used cilantro stems but you can use fresh leaves as well. 
      • Galangal is pretty strong, and along with lemongrass, the flavor is unique and strong. Adjust the proportions according to your taste.

      Nutrition

      Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 906mg | Potassium: 535mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3094IU | Vitamin C: 69mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 5mg

      I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

      Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
      For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel
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      Filed Under: Thai Tagged With: How to make thai red curry paste, Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Traditionally Modern Food says

        February 10, 2016 at 4:27 pm

        I always go for store brought red curry..curry with homemade paste looks grt da

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 10, 2016 at 7:06 pm

          Thanks Vidya

          Reply
      2. Freda @ Aromatic essence says

        February 10, 2016 at 3:01 pm

        Looks delicious !

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 10, 2016 at 7:06 pm

          Thanks Freda.

          Reply
      3. Chitra Jagadish says

        February 10, 2016 at 2:10 pm

        Wow love thai curries and your recipe looks fabulous Sri..

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 10, 2016 at 7:07 pm

          Me too. Thanks

          Reply
      4. nithya says

        February 10, 2016 at 1:37 pm

        simply love this!

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 10, 2016 at 7:08 pm

          Niths.. will make this again for you da. :-)

          Reply
      5. Tanvi Rastogi (@Tanviidotcom) says

        February 10, 2016 at 7:32 am

        Thanks for sharing. I love Red Curry. Haven’t made it ever at home. Will definitely try your recipe :)

        ∞ © tanvii.com ∞

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 10, 2016 at 8:15 am

          Thanks a lot Tanvi.. :-) Hope you like it.

          Reply
          • Ravi says

            October 08, 2022 at 8:11 am

            4 stars
            Thanks Vidhya. Was curious if one could use the maesri Thai curry paste? Based on ingredient list it didn’t look like it used either fish sauce or shrimp. Will appreciate your reply.
            Ravi

            Reply
            • Srividhya G says

              October 09, 2022 at 6:28 pm

              Yes, you can definitely use it.

              Reply
      6. More than words says

        February 10, 2016 at 6:56 am

        I simply love Thai food… Will surely try this as my hubby loves Thai red curry.

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 10, 2016 at 8:14 am

          Thanks a lot and welcome here MTW.

          Reply
      7. CHCooks says

        February 09, 2016 at 10:40 pm

        Super yummm Sri :) Love the way you have cut the veggies – I am all for such fancy things in my kitchen :) Waiting for your other posts now – especially yellow curry. Never tried it before.

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 10, 2016 at 8:14 am

          Thanks GB.. Me too love these tiny fancy items..

          Reply
      8. kushigalu says

        February 09, 2016 at 8:28 pm

        Thai cuisine is one of my favorite. This recipe looks so flavorful and YUM!

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 09, 2016 at 8:54 pm

          Thanks a lot Kushi. Thai is my favorite too.

          Reply
      9. veenashankar says

        February 09, 2016 at 7:16 pm

        Love the red curry.. I can smell the aroma here! bookmarked this recipe

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          February 09, 2016 at 8:54 pm

          Thanks a lot Veena and glad you liked it.

          Reply

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