One of my favourite dishes when I go to a Thai restaurant is the Thai coconut red curry. For those of you who are afraid to try making a recipe that you only order at a restaurant, don’t be!! This recipe is quick and easy and shouldn’t be intimidating at all! Less than 30 minutes to prepare and serve dinner? Yes, please! 🙂 Dinner has seriously never been so easy.
Because it is so quick to make this dish, I love cooking it on weeknights when I am crunched for time. The only prep that is involved is slicing up a few vegetables. I keep my tablespoon measure close by and measure my other ingredients as I go along. Once prep is done, you are ready to start cooking. From the second that red curry paste starts sizzling in your wok, the aromas are incredible! You know it is going to be a good meal when your mouth starts salivating as soon as you start.
Once you have added the bulk of your ingredients, the rest of the work is done by your cook top. You simply leave the wok at a simmer and let it be until it is ready for the next ingredients. You can catch up on some light reading while you wait. 🙂
Tips:
- Substitute the protein: This recipe is so delicious and full of flavour. I can’t wait for you to try it! But if you are not a big seafood fan, you can make this dish with chicken as well. The only adjustment that you need to make is to keep the curry at a longer simmer to ensure that the chicken is fully cooked.
- Make your sides: Once you have the first set of ingredients in your wok, simmering and covered, prepare a small pot of rice. This will maximize the use of your time and you can coordinate in this way to ensure that your entire meal is ready at the same time and nothing will go cold.
- Add some water if the sauce is too thick.
To perfectly compliment this dish, I made a batch of easy coconut rice to enhance the coconut flavour in this dinner.
Thai Coconut Red Curry with Prawns
Prep Time: 10 mins- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 3-4 servings
Category: Main
Cuisine: Thai
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Thai coconut red Curry with prawns is easy, quick, and full of flavour! On your table in less than 25 minutes, dinner has never been so easy!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons thai red curry paste
- 1 can of coconut milk (can use regular or lite)
- 1 tablespoon dried lemongrass
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
- 12-15 prawns, deveined
- 1-2 cups snap peas (or green beans)
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1-2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat sesame oil in pan over medium heat and cook prawns for about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan or wok on medium heat. Add the red curry paste and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in coconut milk, lemongrass and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cornstarch mixture and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the prawns, snap peas (or green beans), and bell peppers.
- Cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes until prawns are cooked.
- Take the wok off heat and add the fish sauce, lime juice and basil leaves. Let it rest for 5 minutes and serve with cooked rice.
I made this for my husband and he enjoyed it. It turned out spicy only because I over did it with the red curry paste and added more coconut milk to make it a little mild. All in all, he loves it and I am happy with this recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks, Karen! So glad he enjoyed the recipe 🙂
The basil seems wrong to me, but it doesn’t matter because as mentioned by the author, the flavour is incredible. The secret is the coconut and red curry paste. I recommend using cilantro instead of basil, and also top it with roasted peanuts, or even just crushed peanuts, OR even mix in a little peanut butter to the sauce. Taste it as you add until the ratio is perfect, you can add like 1tbsp at a time.
Trust me, it’s impossible to go wrong in terms of your ratios of any of these ingredients. Lemongrass is a key ingredient but I don’t usually have any. Feel free to omit that.
I keep cans of coconut milk on hand 24/7 for exactly this recipe and for coconut curry anything. The peanut butter trick was shown to me by a Red Seal Chef.
You could also do lime/cilantro jasmine rice with this. It’s an amazing ‘bed’ for it. I’m making it tonight using rice noodles. I was just Googling real quick to see what vegetables I could add along with my carrots. Red+green pepper it is 🙂
★★★★★
A big ole pot of this would be amazing today! Anything with basil is a winner in my book and these prawns look awesome!
Thanks, Jessica! 🙂
I don’t make a lot of curries at home however this one looks delicious! I think I may need to give it a try.
That’s awesome! Enjoy it 🙂
Yum! Prawn red curry is one of our favourites. The spicier the better. Love it and brilliant photography by the way. Looks so fresh!
★★★★★
Thanks! 🙂
I need to try Thai Curry, I keep seeing recipes for it everywhere!
You really should! You don’t know what you are missing!
This prawn curry looks absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks, Marsha!
Thanks – Enjoyed this post, can you make it so I receive an email whenever you write a fresh post?
Yes, Myrtie! You can sign up easily to get weekly updates containing all my new recipes. Simply sign up on the green toolbar on the top of my page or at the box at the top of the sidebar where there is a space for you to insert your name and email address. You will also get a FREE eCookbook containing 12 of my top recipes! 🙂
Nice blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere?
A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out.
Please let me know where you got your design. Cheers
Thanks BBQ Meat Lovers!
The theme that I use is FOODIE PRO. Click the link to get more info about it or purchase it. If that is out of your budget, there are also cheaper STUDIOPRESS themes. Check it out! 🙂