One of my favourite dishes when I go to a Thai restaurant is the Thai coconut red curry. That was before I started to make my own at home. Homemade Thai coconut red curry with prawns is easy, quick and full of so much flavour! It is way better than take out, and takes just 15 minutes to cook, and 10 minutes of prep time. Weeknight dinners have never been so easy.
The flavour in homemade Thai curry is unmatched. From the second that red curry paste starts sizzling in your wok, the aromas are absolutely incredible. You know it is going to be a good meal when your mouth starts salivating as soon as you start... true story.
Ingredients in Thai Coconut Red Curry
- vegetable oil
- prawns - 12-15 prawns, peeled and deveined.
- Thai red curry paste - the base flavour in this dish.
- coconut milk - I used regular coconut milk, but you can use lite too.
- vegetables - snap peas (or green beans), red bell pepper, green bell pepper
- seasonings - brown sugar, Thai fish sauce, fresh lime juice
- herbs - dried lemongrass, fresh basil leaves
How to Make Thai Coconut Red Curry with Prawns
- Prepare the red curry base. 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.
- Add prawns and vegetables. Add prawns, snap peas, and bell peppers. Cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes until prawns are cooked.
- Add more flavour. Take the wok off heat and add the fish sauce, lime juice and basil leaves. Let it rest for 5 minutes and serve with rice or noodles.
Tips for Making Thai Red Curry
- Have your ingredients prepared. This dish takes just 15 minutes to cook, so things move quickly. It's nice that there isn't too much prep involved either. The only prep you will need to do is deveining the prawns and slicing up a few vegetables. For the seasoning, I just jeep my measuring spoons close by and measure as I go along.
- Substitute the protein: This recipe is so delicious and full of flavour. But if you are not a big seafood fan, you can easily substitute the shrimp for chicken or tofu. If cooking with chicken, simmer the chicken for 5 minutes before you add in the bell peppers and snap peas, and then simmer together for another 4-5 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Start preparing your side dishes. If you are serving this with some rice, prepare the rice first, since it will take more time. If serving with noodles, you can start preparing them while the curry is simmering so that it will be done around the same time. 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 goes cold.
- Get the consistency you want. If the sauce is too thick, easily thin it out with some water.
How to Serve Thai Coconut Red Curry with Prawns
Thai coconut red curry with prawns pairs so unbelievably well with coconut rice, and it really enhances the coconut flavours in this dish. It also goes really well served over noodles.
More Thai Dishes
- 10-Minute Chicken Pad Thai
- Thai Yam and Sweet Potato Yellow Curry
- Thai Red Curry Mussels
- Easy Coconut Rice
Recipe
Thai Coconut Red Curry with Prawns
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 servings
Description
Better than takeout, Thai coconut red curry with prawns is easy, quick, and full of so much flavour! Cook this perfect weeknight dinner in just 15 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 (400 ml) can of coconut milk, regular or lite
- 1 tablespoon dried lemongrass
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 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
- lime wedges (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- 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.
- 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 rice or noodles, and lime wedges on the side.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Curry
- Cuisine: Thai
Keywords: Thai red curry, prawn curry, red curry, curry, weeknight dinner
Deborah Troeller says
Elegant and delicious dish that's special enough for the weekend and easy enough for any day, I loved it and can't wait to make it again! I doubled all the red curry ingredients because I also made coconut jasmine rice and it seems there's never enough of this yummy sauce (my room mate would probably drink this straight in a cup if I let him!). Plus, I can always add more shrimp to the leftovers and make it stretch for another night when I can have all the sauce to myself!
★★★★★
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much for sharing Deborah! I am so happy you liked the recipe. I am totally with you on the sauce... more is always better!
Dr Julian Hubbard says
Excellent recipe! Only needs some pea aubergine (which we cannot source here in Bulgaria} to to be a perfect dish. Thanks!
★★★★★
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you! So glad you liked the recipe!
Corrine says
I don't need to get take out anymore because this was amazing. Thank you for the recipe!!!
★★★★★
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
So glad to hear that, Corrine. I am so glad you liked our recipe 🙂
Elizabeth Bal says
This is a really good, easy Thai curry. I'll definitely make this again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much!! So happy you liked the recipe!
Karen Flores-Perez says
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.
★★★★★
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks, Karen! So glad he enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Adam Mackintosh says
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 🙂
★★★★★
Jessica {Swanky Recipes} says
A big ole pot of this would be amazing today! Anything with basil is a winner in my book and these prawns look awesome!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks, Jessica! 🙂