There are few things I love more than a good Thai curry, especially the red or Panang variety. I’ve probably tried more than 30 Thai Red Curries at various restaurants over the years. Over time, I evolved my own take on it. I love super savory things, so this gets bright with lime juice and fish sauce.
I shoot from the hip when I make this…as usual when trying to extract a recipe from my kitchen, the quantities of nearly everything on here should really read “to taste.” You have to taste this while you make it. Think it needs more salt? It probably does. Too acidic? Add more sugar. Not zippy enough? Let the spice flow through you.
I’ve been developing this for years and by this point I prefer my version over most restaurants. It does take a cook-by-feel approach though, so be prepared to adjust to your tastes. And be sure to make some Jasmine rice to go with it.
Thai Red Curry
Course: Main DishesCuisine: Thai8
servings30
minutes40
minutesIngredients
1 pound pork stew meat or boneless short rib, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 white onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 head cauliflower, chopped
2 carrots, skinned and chopped
2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry paste
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
1 12oz can coconut milk
2-4 cups water
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp (or to taste) fish sauce
2 bay leaves
3 cups coarsely chopped kale
1 lime’s worth of juice
Salt to taste
Directions
- Heat a large dutch oven or stew pot over medium to medium-high heat and add just enough oil (olive or vegetable) to lightly coat the bottom. When at temperature, add your pork chunks so that all pieces are in contact with the bottom. Brown them, turning once or twice until each side has a bit of golden brown on it, but the pork will most likely not be fully cooked (that’s OK, and in fact that’s what we want — don’t turn it into leather at this stage). Remove the pork and set aside. Do this in batches so all pieces in the pot can be fully in contact with the bottom at once. Adjust heat so it doesn’t burn.
- When the pork is done browning, there should be some pork fat and delicious fond in the bottom of your pot. Add your chopped onion and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the browned bits as the onion softens. After a couple minutes, add the crushed/minced garlic and stir, then after about a minute more add the carrots, bell peppers, and cauliflower.
- Give the vegetables a few minutes to begin to soften, then add the Thai red curry paste. You’ll want to add enough that after stirring, all the vegetables are reasonably well coated. 2-3 good spoonfuls is usually sufficient. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring periodically, as the vegetables soften a little more and the curry paste becomes aromatic. At this point, you want the vegetables to still be moderately crunchy, and only partway softened. Taste a carrot and see.
- Add the coconut milk. Then add just enough water to reach the top of your vegetables in the pot. Stir in the sugar and fish sauce, then add the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium or medium-low, just enough to maintain a gentle simmer. Add the meat back to the pot and stir to incorporate. Add the kale. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are nearly done (could be longer if you have a lot) — they should be soft without being limp; there still should be a bit of structure when you bite into them but no audible crunch.
- Just before taking off the heat, add the lime juice and fish out the bay leaves. Taste, then season with salt as needed. Add more lime juice if you want more brightness, or more fish sauce if you want more savory. Often the sweetness gets lost so you may need to tune up the sugar. Like I said, taste as you go.
- Serve over Jasmine rice and garnish with Cilantro if desired.