Thai Red Curry With Chicken

Thai Red Curry is a flavoursome, bold, aromatic curry – packed with fresh herbs, vegetables, chicken, and a robust red curry paste. It is one of the must-try curry recipes from Thailand.

• My Favourite Thai Red Curry
• Red Curry Paste – Homemade vs Readymade
• Ingredients For Red Curry Paste
• How To Make Red Curry Paste
• Ingredients For Thai Red Curry
• How To Make Thai Red Curry
• Serving Suggestion
• Key Ingredients Substitution
• FAQs Related To Thai Red Curry
• More Thai Recipes
• Thai Red Curry Recipe With Chicken

In recent years, Thai Cuisine has become quite popular among food lovers. Thai food ain’t about simplicity. It’s about the juggling of disparate flavours to create umami.

It is a deadly combination of delicious aroma, brilliant colours, fresh herbs, local spices and a lot of coconut milk, especially – spicy, slurpy Thai Curries.

My Favourite Thai Red Curry

As the name suggests, Thai Red Curry is a bright red curry from Thai Cuisine. It is one of the most popular curries across Asia.

The fresh flavours, lingering aroma, creamy texture, and uniquely bold taste – all make me obsessed with this Thai Curry recipe.

I am sharing a Thai Red Curry Recipe with chicken made from homemade red curry paste that you can store for a month.

Red Curry Paste – Homemade vs Readymade

I always stick to Homemade Red Curry Paste to make an authentic Thai curry. The colour, texture, and taste of the curry prepared from freshly ground paste are mind-blowing. Plus, the homemade paste is:

• vegan
• gluten-free
• freezer friendly
• preservative free
• no artificial colour
• easy to store for 30 days

You can store homemade curry paste for about 30 days in the refrigerator and even longer if frozen.

But for making red curry on short notice, I rely on some of the best readymade curry paste available in the supermarket. Real Thai Red Curry Paste, Blue Elephant, Mesri and Ayam are a few of my favourite brands.

Zest up the readymade curry paste by frying in oil for 3 – 5 minutes with chopped garlic before adding chicken or vegetables.

Ingredients For Red Curry Paste

• Red Chillies: This curry paste requires broad, dried red chillies. I use Kashmiri red chillies. Do not use fresh red chillies. They will not give you the same taste and make the curry paste too spicy.
• Spices: Coriander Seeds, Cumin, Black Peppercorns
• Onion: Use tiny shallots. If not available, add red onion.
• Galangal is a Thai variety of ginger with a sharp aroma and taste.
• Lemongrass: Use the stalk of lemongrass and not leaves.
• Other Ingredients: Garlic, Lemon, Salt, Water

How To Make Red Curry Paste

• Step 1) Discard the crown of dried red chillies. Roughly chop them. Discard the seeds if you do not want spicy curry.
• Step 2) Soak red chillies in hot water. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
• Step 3) Clean the stalk of lemongrass. Wash to remove dirt. Thinly slice it.
• Step 4) Scrape the skin of the galangal. Wash it. Either grate or chop it.
• Step 5) Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin, and peppercorns for 1 minute only to release their aroma.

• Step 6) To make the paste, add soaked chillies, lemongrass, galangal, roasted spices, salt, garlic, shallots, and lemon zest, to a mixer. Blend the ingredients to a smooth paste using the soaked chilli hot water.
• You must scrap the ingredients a few times and add water in small batches to make a smooth paste.
• Transfer it to a bowl or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ingredients For Thai Red Curry

• Curry Paste: Use homemade or readymade curry paste.
• Chicken: Boneless chicken, preferably thigh or breast, cut into bite-size pieces.
• Vegetables: I add yellow pumpkin, french beans, baby corn, red bell pepper
• Coconut Milk: Use thin coconut milk to give the Thai red curry a creamy and saucy consistency.
• Fresh Herbs: Thai Basil, Kaffir Lime Leaves, Cilantro, Thai Bird’s Eye Chilli
• Other Ingredients: Cooking Oil, Dark Brown Sugar, Salt, Fish Sauce

How To Make Thai Red Curry

• Step 1) Clean, wash, and cut the chicken thigh or breast into bite-size pieces.
• Step 2) Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium flame.
• Step 3 ) Stir in the curry paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the oil separates from the paste.
• Step 4) Add chicken pieces. Stir-fry till chicken pieces turn pale white. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut milk if the curry paste sticks to the wok or burns.

• Step 5) Add sugar, fish sauce, vegetables, and salt. Combine and cook for 1 minute.
• Step 6) Add the remaining coconut milk along with kaffir lime leaves, red chillies, and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt accordingly.
• Step 7) Add chicken stock or water if the curry seems too thick. Bring slowly to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 6 – 8 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are cooked.
• Before serving, add Thai basil and chopped cilantro.

Serving Suggestion

Thai Curry is best enjoyed with warm jasmine rice or any other short grain, aromatic, starchy rice. You can serve it with rice noodles or my signature pineapple fried rice .

I like my Thai red curry with a bowl of plain rice topped with toasted peanuts, shrimp crackers, a spoonful of spicy sambal, and a bowl of smashed cucumber salad on the side.

Key Ingredients Substitution

If you live in a place where Thai ingredients aren’t easily available, try these substitutes:

• Lemongrass – use dry lemongrass or lemon juice and zest
• Kafir Lime Leaves – regular lime leaves or lemon zest
• Galangal (Thai Ginger) – regular ginger
• Coconut milk – cashew or almond milk
• Thai Basil Leaves – Italian Basil
• Brown Sugar – jaggery or white sugar
• Fish Sauce – soy sauce or skip it
• Birds Eye Chilli – any other variety of spicy red chilli

Apart from these herbs and spices, a medley of seasonal vegetables, meat, or seafood is added to the Thai red curry. From local mushrooms, green beans, bell peppers, squash, and Turkey Berry, eggplant to baby corn, feel free to add vegetables of your choice to the curry.

The first thought that comes to mind when seeing a bright red curry with sliced chillies is that it will blow one’s brains out with the heat. On the contrary, Thai red curry has a good balance of – spiciness, sweetness, and sourness, with an outburst of fresh flavours from herbs. The right word to define Thai red curry is – umami. But if you are not accustomed to tolerating even low – medium spicy food, it’s highly recommended to taste the red curry cautiously.

Add tofu instead of animal protein, skip the fish sauce, and have the perfect vegan Thai red curry.

The taste of Thai Red Curry is unique. It is a bit sweet, spicy, and sour, and you can taste the fresh flavour of herbs in each bite. It also has a creamy mouthfeel. But this is not the right curry if you are not accustomed to aromatic food.

Yes, you can. It is a fantastic meal prep-friendly curry that reheats well and remains good for consumption even after a few days.

More Thai Recipes

• Chicken Satay
• Chicken Pad Thai
• Pineapple Fried Rice
• Green Papaya Salad
• Thai Green Curry Soup
• Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
• Thai Pineapple Chicken Curry

Ingredients

Ingredients For Red Curry Paste

• ▢ 6 dried red chillies (preferably Kashmiri Red Chilli)
• ▢ ½ Cup water
• ▢ ½ Cup shallots (sambar onion)
• ▢ 2 tabespoon garlic cloves
• ▢ 1 tablespoon grated galangal or ginger
• ▢ 2 tablespoon chopped lemongrass
• ▢ 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (sabut dhaniya)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black peppercorns (sabut kali mirch)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon lemon zest

Ingredients For Curry

• ▢ 4 tablespoon groundnut oil
• ▢ 250 gram boneless chicken pieces
• ▢ ¼ Cup french beans, cut into one-inch pieces
• ▢ ½ Cup yellow pumpkin, diced
• ▢ 2 Cup thin coconut milk
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ ¼ Cup water
• ▢ 2 Thai birds eye chili
• ▢ 4 kaffir lime leaves
• ▢ ¼ Cup Thai basil leaves
• ▢ 2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Prepare Red Curry Paste

• Discard the crown of dried red chillies. Roughly chop them. Discard the seeds if you do not want spicy curry.
• Soak red chillies in hot water. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
• Clean the stalk of lemongrass. Wash to remove dirt. Thinly slice the stalk/stem and not the leaves.
• Scrape the skin of the galangal. Wash it. Either grate or chop it
• Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin, and peppercorns for 1 minute only to release their aroma.
• To make the paste, add soaked chillies, lemongrass, galangal, roasted spices, salt, garlic, shallots, and lemon zest, to a mixer. Blend the ingredients to a smooth paste using the soaked chilli hot water.
• You must scrap the ingredients a few times and add water in small batches to make a smooth paste.
• Transfer it to a bowl to make curry or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Prepare Thai Red Curry With Chicken

• Clean, wash, and pat dry the chicken pieces. Set them aside.
• Heat oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium flame. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or till the oil starts separating from the paste.
• Add chicken pieces. Stir-fry till chicken pieces turn pale white. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut milk if the curry paste sticks to the wok or burns.
• Add sugar, fish sauce, vegetables, and salt. Combine and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the remaining coconut milk along with kaffir lime leaves, water, red chillies, and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt accordingly.
• Bring slowly to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 6 – 8 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are cooked.
• Before serving, add Thai basil and chopped cilantro.
• Serve Thai Red Curry warm with jasmine rice.

Recipe Notes:

• If you live where Thai ingredients aren’t available, try the substitutes I have shared in the article above.
• You can use the homemade red curry paste or the readymade paste. Real Thai Red Curry Paste, Blue Elephant, Mesri and Ayam are a few of my favourite brands.
• This red curry paste recipe yields 150 grams and is medium spicy. We like our curry spicy, so I add it all to make curry for one time.
• The consistency of the curry can be adjusted to your liking. Some like it thick and saucy, while others may prefer soupy. Add the stock or water accordingly.
• Skip adding red chilli to the curry if you do not want to make it spicy, as the curry paste also has a certain amount of spiciness.
• Always taste the curry and then add salt accordingly. Because fish sauce and curry paste has some amount of salt; otherwise, you might end up with over-salted curry.

Nutrition

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Thai Red Curry Recipe With Chicken

Equipment

• Chinese Wok
• Blender

Ingredients

Ingredients For Red Curry Paste

• 6 dried red chillies (preferably Kashmiri Red Chilli)
• ½ Cup water
• ½ Cup shallots (sambar onion)
• 2 tabespoon garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon grated galangal or ginger
• 2 tablespoon chopped lemongrass
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (sabut dhaniya)
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• ½ teaspoon black peppercorns (sabut kali mirch)
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest

Ingredients For Curry

• 4 tablespoon groundnut oil
• 250 gram boneless chicken pieces
• ¼ Cup french beans, cut into one-inch pieces
• ½ Cup yellow pumpkin, diced
• 2 Cup thin coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• Salt to taste
• ¼ Cup water
• 2 Thai birds eye chili
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• ¼ Cup Thai basil leaves
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Prepare Red Curry Paste

• Discard the crown of dried red chillies. Roughly chop them. Discard the seeds if you do not want spicy curry.
• Soak red chillies in hot water. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
• Clean the stalk of lemongrass. Wash to remove dirt. Thinly slice the stalk/stem and not the leaves.
• Scrape the skin of the galangal. Wash it. Either grate or chop it
• Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin, and peppercorns for 1 minute only to release their aroma.
• To make the paste, add soaked chillies, lemongrass, galangal, roasted spices, salt, garlic, shallots, and lemon zest, to a mixer. Blend the ingredients to a smooth paste using the soaked chilli hot water.
• You must scrap the ingredients a few times and add water in small batches to make a smooth paste.
• Transfer it to a bowl to make curry or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Prepare Thai Red Curry With Chicken

• Clean, wash, and pat dry the chicken pieces. Set them aside.
• Heat oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium flame. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or till the oil starts separating from the paste.
• Add chicken pieces. Stir-fry till chicken pieces turn pale white. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut milk if the curry paste sticks to the wok or burns.
• Add sugar, fish sauce, vegetables, and salt. Combine and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the remaining coconut milk along with kaffir lime leaves, water, red chillies, and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt accordingly.
• Bring slowly to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 6 – 8 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are cooked.
• Before serving, add Thai basil and chopped cilantro.
• Serve Thai Red Curry warm with jasmine rice.

Notes

• If you live where Thai ingredients aren’t available, try the substitutes I have shared in the article above.
• You can use the homemade red curry paste or the readymade paste. Real Thai Red Curry Paste, Blue Elephant, Mesri and Ayam are a few of my favourite brands.
• This red curry paste recipe yields 150 grams and is medium spicy. We like our curry spicy, so I add it all to make curry for one time.
• The consistency of the curry can be adjusted to your liking. Some like it thick and saucy, while others may prefer soupy. Add the stock or water accordingly.
• Skip adding red chilli to the curry if you do not want to make it spicy, as the curry paste also has a certain amount of spiciness.
• Always taste the curry and then add salt accordingly. Because fish sauce and curry paste has some amount of salt; otherwise, you might end up with over-salted curry.

Nutrition

This is a one-pot, vegetarian pearl barley soup recipe. It is a healthy, low-calorie soup packed with vegetables. Be sure to watch the video!

• About Barley
• Pearl Barley Soup Recipe
• Ingredients You’ll Need
• Watch Barley Soup Video
• Vegetable Barley Soup Recipe

About Barley

Barley is one of the oldest-grown grains worldwide. It is a plant-based ingredient used in various cuisines to make bread, flour, soup, salad, and stew or as a source of malt to make beer or alcoholic beverages.

It has a nutty taste and a chewy texture.

Barley has become so popular worldwide because of its health benefits.

• it is high in fibre,
• it is a fantastic vegan ingredient
• a wholesome alternative to rice and pasta
• aids in weight loss and improves digestion
• helps in reducing cholesterol and blood sugar levels

However, whole-grain, hulled barley is more nutritious than refined, pearled barley. For this soup recipe, we use pearled barley because it absorbs the flavour nicely, cooks quickly, have a less nutty taste and has a soft texture.

Pearl Barley Soup Recipe

Pearl Barley Soup is a wholesome, comforting meal in itself. What makes it so delicious is the variety of vegetables and the stock.

The barley absorbs all the soup’s flavour and simultaneously increases its nutritional value and makes it fulfilling.

Barley Soup takes 30 minutes in an instant pot . But you can make it in a saucepan as well.

Recipe Highlights

• nut-free
• meal prep friendly
• easy one-pot meal
• ready in 30 minutes
• vegan and vegetarian
• healthy and wholesome

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Barley: Use pearl barley for this soup recipe, not whole barley grain or hulled barley, which takes a long time to cook. Pearl barley is without hull, and the bran, resulting in a pale white grain, cooks faster and is less chewy.
• Vegetables: Carrot, Green Peas , Mushroom, Onion, Zucchini
• Flavouring Agents: Garlic, Celery, Thyme, Coriander Stalks, Bay Leaf
• Stock: Either use vegetable stock , broth, or stock cube. Plain water would not give depth of flavour to the soup. If you use a stock cube, pick a quality one without MSG ( Monosodium glutamate ) and animal products. Most of the stock cubes come with a lot of preservatives and MSG. Hence, they are not fit for daily consumption.
• Other Ingredients: Extra Light Olive Oil, Oregano, Salt, Black Pepper, Coriander and Celery Leaves

Watch Barley Soup Video

Serving and Storage Suggestions

Vegetable Barley Soup is a wholesome, fulfilling meal in itself. You can serve it with a toasted bread slice. It’s full of nourishing vegetables with enough starch to give you energy and keep you full until your next meal.

Like pasta or noodles, barley absorbs liquid when left overnight or for a few hours. It will become softer than ideal and thicken the soup’s consistency.

So while storing the leftover barley soup, add extra stock or broth. So that while reheating, you have enough liquid in the soup.

More Soup Recipes

• Green Peas Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• Creamy Corn Soup
• Mulligatawny Soup
• Almond Broccoli Soup
• Thai Green Curry Soup
• Roasted Pumpkin Soup
• Tomato Couscous Soup

Ingredients

• ▢ ⅓ Cup Pearl Barley
• ▢ 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• ▢ ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• ▢ 1 inch celery stalk, finely chopped
• ▢ 5 – 6 coriander stalks, finely chopped
• ▢ 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• ▢ 1 small size onion, finely chopped
• ▢ 4 – 5 button mushrooms, chopped
• ▢ ¼ Cup chopped carrot
• ▢ ¼ Cup chopped zucchini
• ▢ ¼ Cup green peas (fresh or frozen )
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ Salt and black pepper to taste
• ▢ 4 Cup vegetable stock ( get recipe )
• ▢ 1 Cup baby spinach leaves

Instructions

• Rinse the barley in a colander under tap water, then leave it for a few minutes to drain before using.
• Set the SAUTE mode of your instant pot for 6 minutes. Or heat oil in a stovetop pressure cooker.
• Add olive oil to the inner pot. Add garlic, celery, coriander stalks, thyme, bay leaf, and onion. Saute them for 20 – 30 seconds to release the aroma of herbs and infuse their flavour into the oil.
• Add carrot, zucchini, mushroom, green peas, and pearl barley. Saute for 1 minute.
• Add oregano, salt, pepper, stock cube, and water. Stir to combine. Cancel the SAUTE mode. Close the lid of the instant pot.
• PRESSURE COOK barley soup for 20 minutes. Allow the steam to release naturally, or you can do a Quick Release manually. In a stovetop pressure cooker, it requires two whistles over low heat.
• Add fresh greens like cilantro, basil, or celery leaves. Stir to combine. Taste and, if required add more seasoning.
• Serve vegetable barley soup warm.

Recipe Notes:

• You can make barley soup on a stovetop saucepan. It takes 30 – 35 minutes over low heat. Use the stovetop pressure cooker.
• From a variety of mushrooms, green beans, potato, squash, cabbage, or spinach, you can add easy-to-cook vegetables in this soup.
• When it comes to fresh green herbs, you can add Italian basil, parsley, cilantro, celery, or any other aromatic herbs of choice.
• Barley absorbs liquid while cooking, hence add the stock accordingly.

Nutrition

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