Description
A vibrant and flavorful Veggie Thai Red Curry featuring marinated tofu, fresh vegetables, and a homemade Thai red curry paste. This dish combines creamy reduced-fat coconut milk with aromatic spices and herbs, served alongside fragrant jasmine rice for a satisfying and wholesome vegetarian meal.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Thai Red Curry Paste
- 3 red chillies
- 1 lemongrass, roughly chopped
- 3 shallots, roughly chopped
- ½ red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
- Zest of 1 lime
- Stalks from 20g pack coriander
- Thumb-size piece ginger, grated
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp ground coriander
Main Ingredients
- 200g firm tofu, cubed
- 4–5 tbsp soy sauce (divided)
- Juice of 3 limes (divided)
- 2 red chillies – 1 finely chopped, 1 sliced into rounds
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (divided)
- 400ml can reduced-fat coconut milk
- 100ml water
- 1 courgette, chopped into chunks
- 1 small aubergine, chopped into chunks
- 1 red pepper (half chopped into chunks and half for the paste)
- 140g mushrooms, halved
- 140g sugar snap peas
- 20g pack basil, leaves picked (divided)
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- Jasmine rice, to serve
Instructions
- Make the curry paste: Combine the red chillies, lemongrass, shallots, half red pepper, lime zest, coriander stalks, grated ginger, garlic cloves, ground pepper, and ground coriander in a food processor. Whizz everything together until you form a smooth, aromatic paste.
- Marinate the tofu: In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, juice of 1 lime, and the finely chopped red chilli. Add the cubed tofu and let it marinate to absorb the flavors.
- Cook the curry base: Heat half of the vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the freshly made curry paste and fry for 2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the reduced-fat coconut milk along with 100ml of water. Add the chopped courgette, aubergine, and red pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are almost tender.
- Prepare the tofu: Drain and pat the marinated tofu dry with paper towels. In a small pan, heat the remaining vegetable oil and fry the tofu cubes until they turn golden brown on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add remaining vegetables: To the curry, add the halved mushrooms, sugar snap peas, and most of the basil leaves. Season the curry with the brown sugar, juice of the remaining 2 limes, and the remaining soy sauce. Cook for another 4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and all vegetables are cooked through.
- Combine and serve: Gently stir the golden tofu into the curry and heat through for a minute. Garnish the curry with the sliced red chillies and the remaining basil leaves. Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.
Notes
- You can save time by using store-bought Thai red curry paste; just check that it is vegetarian-friendly.
- Tofu should be drained and patted dry before frying to achieve a crispy texture.
- Adjust the number of chillies according to your spice preference.
- Serve the curry immediately to enjoy the fresh flavors and texture of the vegetables.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Thai
Keywords: Thai red curry, vegetarian curry, tofu curry, coconut milk curry, homemade curry paste, healthy Thai recipe, jasmine rice, veggie curry
