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Southern Thai Red Curry
This is a basic and very simple recipe for Southern Thai curry, which is often referred to as “dry” curry since it is served without a sauce or liquid-y base (as in no coconut milk). Maesri and Mae Ploy (both very spicy) seem to be two of the most often recommended brands of red curry paste. Look for Maesri, if you’re vegetarian because Mae Ploy has shrimp paste. Two cloves of minced garlic and 2 tsp of grated ginger, added after browning the chicken, are a nice addition. Recipe adapted from Ali Slagle and the NYTimes.
- 2 T peanut or canola oil
- 1-3 T Thai red curry paste (I recommend starting with about 1 T of this and then adding more to taste, since it’s spicy
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 Thai or serrano chiles, thinly sliced (omit to cut back on the spice)
- 1 lb ground chicken (or ground turkey or ground pork – or chopped mushrooms for vegetarian)
- 1 tsp dark brown sugar
- 1 T fish sauce (or soy sauce to make it vegetarian)
- 1/4 tsp grated lime zest, or 10 makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, thinly sliced
- Rice, sliced cabbage, chopped cucumber, slices of lime, chopped herbs such as thai basil, for serving
In a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, warm the oil and toast the curry paste, turmeric and chiles (if using) until extremely fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir and lower heat as needed to prevent sticking.
Add the chicken and cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon. Stir to coat the meat in the curry paste and to prevent sticking, and cook until the chicken is opaque, 7 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the brown sugar, fish sauce and lime zest, and cook just until the liquid’s been absorbed, about 1 minute. Season to taste with more brown sugar and fish sauce. Serve with rice and toppings.
Recipe brought to you by BigLittleMeals.com and Andy and Ann.