Authentic Thai Red Curry with Chicken
This classic recipe is a great one to start with if you've never made a Thai curry before. Easy, but totally delicious and fail-proof. The creamy squash goes wonderfully with red curry, but feel free to change up the veggies!
Ingredients
- 2 cups kabocha squash, bite-sized pieces (see note 1)
- 1 ½ cup coconut milk
- 3½-5 tablespoon red curry paste, store bougth, or recipe below (see note 2)
- 1 lb chicken thigh, boneless, skinless, 1.5-inch cubes
- 1 cup chicken stock, unsalted or low sodium
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2-3 tablespoon palm sugar, finely chopped
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves
- ¼ red bell pepper, julienned (optional for colour)
Red Curry Paste
- 0.4 oz mild dried chilies, such as guajillo or puya, see note 3
- 0.2 oz spicy dried chilies, such as arbol, see note 3
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns
- ¼ cup chopped shallots
- 3 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 3 tablespoon finely chopped lemongrass, from the bottom half
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped galangal
- 2 chopped cilantro roots, or sub 6 cilantro stems
- 1 teaspoon chopped makrut lime zest, see note 4
- 1 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste (gapi)
Notes
- To prep kabocha, halve the squash, scoop out the seeds, then cut the half into 1-inch thick wedges. Then cut each wedge down into ½ inch thick pieces. No need to peel the skin, but if there are woody blemishes you can shave those off.
- You can use more or less curry paste depending on your spice tolerance. If using a new curry paste brand, start with 4 tablespoons, unless you like things very spicy then you can add more.
- Mild dried chilies are added for colour and flavour, while the spicy ones are added to customize the paste's heat level. If you can only find the small ones, make sure you remove all the seeds and white pith to remove some heat.
- If you don't have kaffir lime zest, you can add 2-3 kaffir lime leaves to the curry, torn into chunks, about 3 minutes before the curry is done. Or substitute regular lime zest int he curry paste.
Instructions
- Wash the kabocha squash and slice off any part of the skin that has blemishes, otherwise the skin can be left on. Remove the seeds by scraping off with a spoon and cut into bite-sized cubes. If you have leftover squash, try using it in this stir-fry recipe!2 cups kabocha squash
- Bring ½ cup of coconut milk to a boil, add curry paste and stir to break up lumps. Continue cooking and reducing over medium high heat until it is very thick and the coconut oil starts separating from the curry paste (if the paste is very thick but no oil is separating, don't worry, just proceed with the recipe).1 ½ cup coconut milk, 3½-5 tablespoon red curry paste
- Add the chicken and toss to mix with the paste. Add the remaining coconut milk and the chicken stock. Season with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the fish sauce and the palm sugar, then simmer for about 8 minutes.1 lb chicken thigh, 1 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoon fish sauce, 2-3 tablespoon palm sugar
- Add the kabocha squash and simmer for about 6-8 minutes, or until the squash is fully cooked and can easily be pierced through with a fork. Be careful not to overcook the squash or it’ll turn to mush.2 cups kabocha squash
- Remove from heat and adjust seasoning with the remaining fish sauce as needed; different brands of curry pastes have different amounts of salt, so it is important to taste and adjust. Stir in Thai basil and red pepper, if using. Serve immediately with jasmine rice.1 cup Thai basil leaves, ¼ red bell pepper
Red Curry Paste
- Cut chilies into chunks, remove the seeds, then grind in a coffee grinder until fine.0.4 oz mild dried chilies, 0.2 oz spicy dried chilies
- In a heavy-duty mortar and pestle, add lemongrass, galangal, cilantro roots, kaffir lime zest, white peppercorns and salt. Pound until fine.1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns, 3 tablespoon finely chopped lemongrass, 1 tablespoon finely chopped galangal, 1 teaspoon chopped makrut lime zest, 2 chopped cilantro roots
- Add ground chilies and pound to mix.
- Add garlic and shallots, pound until fine.3 tablespoon chopped garlic, ¼ cup chopped shallots
- Add shrimp paste, pound to mix.1 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste (gapi)
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