Thai Red Curry with Chicken and Squash
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. You can use store bought curry paste and it'll be a simple, weeknight-friendly meal, or go all out and make your own curry paste! Gluten free.
Ingredients
- 2 cups kabocha squash, bite-sized pieces
- 1 ½ cup coconut milk
- 4-6 tablespoon red curry paste, recipe below or store-bought (see note 1)
- 1 lb chicken thigh, boneless, skinless, 1.5-inch cubes (see note 2 if using chicken breast)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce, if using store-bought paste, you may need less
- 2-3 tablespoon palm sugar, chopped
- 1 cup Thai basil
- A handful Julienned red pepper for some colour, optional
Red Curry Paste
- 0.4 oz mild (large) dried chilies, see note 3
- 0.2 oz spicy (small) dried chilies, see note 3
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns
- ¼ cup chopped shallots
- 3 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 3 tablespoon chopped lemongrass
- 1 tablespoon chopped galangal
- 2 cilantro roots, or about 6 cilantro stems
- 1 teaspoon chopped kaffir lime zest, see note 4
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
Notes
- 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.
- If using chicken breast, cut into ½-inch strips and marinade in ½ tablespoon fish sauce for 15 mins.
- Mild dried chilies are added for colour and flavour, while the spicy ones are added to customize the paste's spice level. Mild chilies tend to be large, and I use guajillo or puya peppers for this. Spicy chilies tend to be small, such as chile de arbol. 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, 4-6 tablespoon red curry paste
- If using chicken thigh, add the chicken and toss to mix with the paste; if using breasts, hold off for now and just proceed with the next step.1 lb chicken thigh
- Add the remaining coconut milk and chicken stock. Season with 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce and 2 tablespoon of the palm sugar. Stir to mix and simmer for about 8 minutes.1 ½ cup coconut milk, 1 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoon fish sauce, 2-3 tablespoon palm sugar
- Stir in the kabocha squash and simmer for about 5 minutes. If using chicken breast, add the chicken now and cook for another 2 minutes until both the chicken and the squash are done. If using chicken thighs, just keep it going until the squash is fully cooked, 6-8 minutes.2 cups kabocha squash
- Remove from heat and adjust seasoning with the remaining fish sauce and palm sugar as needed. Stir in Thai basil and red pepper, if using. Serve immediately with jasmine rice.1 cup Thai basil, A handful Julienned red pepper for some colour
Red Curry Paste
- Cut chilies into chunks, remove the seeds, then grind in a coffee grinder until fine.0.4 oz mild (large) dried chilies, 0.2 oz spicy (small) 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 chopped lemongrass, 1 tablespoon chopped galangal, 1 teaspoon chopped kaffir lime zest, 2 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 shrimp paste
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