Thai Red Curry with Tofu

If I were a real chef, I would give you a recipe with the actual spices and ingredients for each curry. But I’m learning just like most people. Since I’m new at this, I figured I’d start making curries with the cans of curry paste I found in the Asian market: 

Panang curry paste is my ultimate favorite, but I’m saving that for something special later. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe panang is the mildest curry, still packs tons of flavor though. Then the spicier ones are masaman, red, and green. That’s the extent of my Thai food knowledge.  But please use any Thai curry paste you prefer, the beauty of stir frying is you can put together any combination of flavors you want. I’m using red curry paste for this recipe, but be warned: IT IS SPICY! 

Stir fry is generally a pretty fast cooking method; it takes no more than 5 minutes for an entire stir fry. The time consuming part is food preparation. Washing vegetables, preparing meat, cutting vegetables, etc. That’s where the real process is. Once you have that all done, the actual cooking is very, very easy. 

I’m doing this recipe all vegetarian. Needed something healthy. With the cold weather I tend to stuff myself with  heavy, carb laden foods like I’m about to hibernate with the bears in the winter. A great alternative is cooking spicy for cold weather. 

Thai Red Curry with Tofu and Vegetables (serves 4) 

printable recipe 

Ingredients: 

• 1 can red curry paste (as shown above)
• 1 lb. extra firm tofu
• corn starch
• salt
• oil for frying
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 3 cups leafy green vegetable (I used gai lan)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups coconut milk
• steamed rice (read package instructions for how much to make per serving)

Directions: 

1) Wash vegetables thoroughly and set aside. Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes. Pat dry of excess moisture. Sprinkle salt into cornstarch, and roll tofu in mixture. In a small pan, pour enough oil to cover entire surface of tofu. Heat on medium high, fry tofu in small batches until golden brown, set aside on paper towel lined plate. Use additional salt if needed. 

2) In a wok on high heat, mix 2 tbsp. oil with 1 can of curry paste. Pour in coconut milk. You can add extra coconut milk if you would like the curry more mild. Mix coconut milk and curry, let rise to a boil then add tofu and vegetables. Cook until vegetables are cooked but still firm. Remove from heat, carefully ladle curry into a large serving bowl. Serve with steamed rice. 

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Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes. Pat dry of excess moisture. 

Sprinkle salt into corn starch, and roll tofu in mixture. 

In a small pan, pour enough oil to cover entire surface of tofu. Heat on medium high, fry tofu in small batches until golden brown, set aside on paper towel lined plate. Use additional salt if needed. 

I fried the tofu so I could give it some extra flavor since it is pretty bland to begin with. It seems to complement the curry better if it is fried. But that’s just me. 

Wash vegetables thoroughly and set aside. If you are lucky enough to find Thai Basil leaves, please, use that for your leafy green veggie instead. It gives the recipe that strong, authentic flavor. Or use Italian basil if you can’t find Thai basil. It’s slightly more mild, but will still give you great flavor. 

I used gai lan because that’s what I had in the fridge. I’m not ashamed. 

When you open a can of curry paste, smell it. It smells wonderful. There’s so much spice and flavor in this little can. I’m hoping I can duplicate it one day, or at least attempt to. 

In a wok on high heat, mix 2 tbsp. oil with 1 can of curry paste. Pour in coconut milk. 

You can add extra coconut milk if you would like the curry more mild. 

Mix coconut milk and curry, 

let rise to a boil 

then add tofu and vegetables. 

Cook until vegetables are tender but still firm. 

Remove from heat, carefully ladle curry into a large serving bowl. Serve with steamed rice. 

Have a great Friday everyone!