This easy Vegan Thai red curry has a base of coconut milk and is loaded with vegetables and tofu. It's made from scratch and even the red curry paste is homemade. This vegetable Thai curry is suitable to be consumed by vegans and vegetarians.
Generally, for people, comfort food is something which they grew up eating - something which was cooked for them by their parents or grandparents and reminds them of their soothing affection.
Like most Indians, my comfort food is home-cooked dal chawal. However, in my list of comfort food, there is something else too that I didn’t even taste as a child- Thai curry, be it red, green, yellow, panang, massaman, or any other type.
The refreshing flavors of Thai curry are quite similar to the flavors of some Indian dishes and that could be one reason why I love it so much.
Today I am sharing the recipe for Veg Thai red curry loaded with tofu and vegetables. The curry is coconut-based and it gets its color from the dried red chilies used in the curry paste.
I have learned to make Thai recipes at home mostly by watching the videos of Pailin from Hot Thai kitchen. She makes everything look so easy and generally shares a lot of tips for vegans and vegetarians in her videos. If you have not watched her video and want to learn Thai cooking, I would highly recommend her channel.
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Ingredients required
I make my Thai curries from scratch as it's not very easy to find vegan or vegetarian readymade Thai curry paste, especially if you don't live in India.
You are free to use readymade curry paste in this recipe if you want. However, making Thai curry paste at home is also very easy if you could find all the ingredients. In fact, now I prefer using homemade curry paste even when I have store-bought vegan curry paste in my fridge.
Ingredients required to make vegan Thai red curry paste
To make vegan Thai red curry paste from scratch the following ingredients will be needed:
- Galangal: Galangal is one of the most important ingredients used in Thai cooking and you can not substitute it with any other ingredient. Though I have seen some people suggesting ginger as a substitute, they taste quite different so I don't think it's a good idea. If you could not find fresh galangal, use dried one, it's easily available online too. I generally buy fresh galangal in bulk, clean it and cut in small pieces to freeze. I then use frozen galangal in my Thai recipes for atleast a year.
- Cilantro root/ stems: Cilantro roots are very flavorful and used in a lot of recipes. Just clean them properly to get rid of the soil before using. Else, you can also use just the stems like I have done.
- Thai red chili peppers (optional): They are very hot, so if your heat tolerance is low, either skip this ingredient or remove the seeds.
- Dried red chilies: The red chilies give red color to this curry but they can also add more heat to it. So, if you prefer less spicy food, remove the seeds.
- Salt
- Lime zest: In Thai recipes, you need Kaffir lime zest, but if you could not find Kaffir lime use regular lime.
- Garlic
- Shallots: Small onions can be used too.
- Lemon grass: Remove the hard woody part
- White peppercorns
Veggies that go well in vegetable Thai curry
I have used French beans, snow peas, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Other than vegetables I have also added baked tofu. You can use any vegetable of your choice. Some other common vegetables that taste good in Thai curry are carrots, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, etc.
Ingredients required for baked tofu
- Medium firm tofu: Medium firm tofu is the best choice for curries. It will retain its shape in curry, unlike silken or soft tofu. And, it will also absorb the flavors of curry better than firm or extra firm tofu.
- Vegetable/ any other neutral flavored oil (optional). You can bake without oil too.
- Salt/ soy sauce
Other ingredients needed
The other ingredients required for this recipe are:
- Kaffir lime leaves: This is another very important ingredient of Thai food that cannot be substituted. The closest is lime zest but that too will be very mild in comparison to the strong citrusy flavor of kaffir lime leaves. I won't recommend skipping it. It's also easily available online. If you ever find fresh kaffir lime leaves in the market buy in bulk and freeze They can easily be used for a year.
- Lime juice
- Thai basil leaves: fresh/ dried
- Soy sauce
- Tomato paste: This is optional but I have learned this tip from Pailin of Hot Thai kitchen. I have blindly followed all her Thai cooking tips and never regretted them. I would suggest trying this ingredient in the red curry once, you will not taste any tomato flavor in the curry. It will just brighten up the red color of Thai red curry.
- Coconut/ brown sugar- Adding some sugar will balance all the flavors.
- Coconut milk
- Vegetable stock/ water: Use vegetable stock for a more flavorful curry.
- Fresh cilantro: For garnishing
Is Thai red curry hot?
In Thai red curry a lot of red chilies are used which give the curry its red color. However, their seeds are removed to make the curry less spicy. Also, the coconut milk and sugar added to it, balance the heat.
Therefore, Thai red curry has mild spiciness.
How to make vegetable Thai red curry?
Making vegetable Thai red curry involves just three main steps:
Making curry paste: To make vegan Thai red curry paste, deseed dried red chilies and soak in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Put all the curry paste ingredients in a grinder to make a smooth paste.
Baking tofu: Marinate tofu cubes with some vegetable oil and salt. Spread on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C ( 400°F) for 12-15 minutes.
Making curry: Heat a cooking pot. Add full cream coconut milk to it and cook until it milk starts thickening and leaving coconut oil on the sides. To fasten this step, you can skip coconut milk at this step and add coconut oil. If the taste of coconut oil is too strong for you, use refined coconut oil as it has a very mild taste in comparison to unrefined/ virgin coconut oil.
Add curry paste and saute for around 5 minutes or until the shallots and garlic stop smelling raw.
Add tomato paste, dried Thai basil (if using), and coconut sugar. Cook for about a minute. If using fresh Thai basil add it later with kaffir lime leaves.
Next, add all the vegetables and cook for around 5 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked but remain crunchy.
Once the vegetables are almost cooked, add coconut milk, vegetable stock, soy sauce, and crushed kaffir lime leaves. Mix well and let the curry simmer for 10-12 minutes.
Finally, add baked tofu cubes and cook for another 2 minutes.
Switch off the stove, add lime juice and garnish with fresh cilantro.
Enjoy!
Step-by-step photo instructions
Curry storing and freezing tips
To store, put the curry in an airtight container, it will be fine for 2-3 days in the fridge.
In the freezer, it will be fine for around 3 months.
However, it's better to store the curry paste instead of storing the curry as freshly cooked food is always a better option.
If you are making Thai curry paste for storing purposes, add around 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil instead of water while grinding the curry paste. Store in a clean airtight jar and keep in the fridge for around 15 days.
If the curry paste is ready, making curry will hardly take 15-20 minutes.
What to serve with it?
I believe Thai curries taste the best with some plain steamed jasmine rice or sticky rice.
If you want you can also enjoy it with some refreshing coconut rice, lemon rice, or any fried rice.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Instead of using coconut milk to saute curry paste in the first step, you can also use coconut oil as a cooking medium.
- If you don't like the taste of coconut oil, use refined coconut oil.
- Don't overcook the vegetables they should remain crunchy.
- Though Kashmiri red chili is not a part of Thai cuisine if your heat tolerance is low but you don't want to compromise with the red color of your curry, use dried Kashmiri chilies. They are used in Indian cooking to add color but are very mild.
Frequently asked questions
That depends upon the brand. Generally, the authentic Thai curry pastes have shrimp which makes them unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians. However, now many brands are selling vegan and vegetarian options too.
To make this recipe gluten-free use Tamari instead of soy sauce.
More easy vegan Thai recipes
If you also love Thai food and looking for some easy vegan or vegetarian Thai recipes then don't miss to check out the following links:
- Thai cabbage salad
- Stir fried Thai mushrooms
- Thai peanut sauce
- Vegan Thai curry noodles
- Vegan Pad Thai
- Thai Mango sticky rice
- Vegan Thai green curry
- Thai vermicelli noodle salad with mushrooms
If you try any of my recipes, please rate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it on the recipe card and also leave your feedback in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and subscribe to my youtube channel.
Recipe
Vegan Thai red curry with tofu and vegetables
Equipment
- Oven
- Grinder
- Cooking pot
Ingredients
Ingredients for vegan Thai red curry paste
- 10-12 dried red chilies
- 1-2 fresh Thai red chilies optional
- ¼ cup roughly chopped shallots/ red onion
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic adjust to taste
- 3 stalks lemon grass roughly chopped
- 1 inch piece of galangal roughly chopped
- A handful of cilantro stems/ roots roughly chopped
- Zest of 1 kaffir lime/ regular lime-medium sized
- 1 teaspoon white peppercorns
- Salt as per taste soy sauce can also be used instead of salt
- 1 cup boiling water
Ingredients for baked tofu
- ½ cup medium firm tofu cubes
- ½ teaspoon vegetable oil/ any neutral flavored oil
- Salt to taste soy sauce can also be used instead of salt
Ingredients for curry
- 2 cups diced vegetables of choice I have used cauliflower, mushrooms, French beans and snow peas
- 4-5 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tablespoon lime juice adjust to taste
- 5-6 fresh Thai basil leaves/ ½ teaspoon dried Thai basil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste optional
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar/ brown sugar
- ¾ cup + 2 cups coconut milk
- 1.5 cups vegetable stock
- Fresh cilantro for garnishing
Instructions
- Remove the seeds and placenta of dried red chilies and soak them in hot water for 10-15 minutes.
- Wrap the tofu block in a clean kitchen towel/ tissue paper. Cover with a plate and put something heavy on top. Leave like this for 10-15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, cut the tofu block into bite-size pieces. Add oil and salt, toss. Spread the tofu cubes on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet. Bake at 200°C ( 400°F) for 12-15 minutes.
- In a grinder add the soaked red chilies and all the other ingredients of curry paste. Also, add 1-2 tablespoons of water in which the chilies were soaked. Grind to make a smooth curry paste.
- Heat a pot and add ¾ cup of coconut milk. Cook while stirring in between until the milk starts to thicken. It will take around 6-7 minutes.
- Add curry paste, mix, and sauté for around 5 minutes or until the raw smell of shallots and garlic goes away.
- Next, add tomato paste, dried Thai basil, and coconut sugar. Cook for another minute. If using fresh Thai basil add it later with kaffir lime leaves.
- Add all the vegetables and cook for around 5 minutes or until they are no longer raw but still crunchy.
- Add coconut milk, vegetable stock, soy sauce, and crushed kaffir lime leaves. Mix well and let the curry simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- Finally, add baked tofu and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add fresh lime juice and cilantro. Serve hot with jasmine rice or any other rice dish of your choice.
Notes
- Instead of using coconut milk to saute curry paste in the first step you can also use coconut oil as a cooking medium.
- If you don't like the taste of coconut oil, use refined coconut oil.
- Don't overcook the vegetables they should remain crunchy.
- Though Kashmiri red chili is not a part of Thai cuisine, if your heat tolerance is low but you don't want to compromise with the red color of your curry, use dried Kashmiri chilies. They are used in Indian cooking to add color but are very mild.
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