Main dish

Thai Red Curry with Tofu and Thai Basil recipe

Name: Thai Red Curry with Tofu and Thai Basil
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 banana shallot or small onion, sliced; 2 cloves of garlic, chopped; 60g Thai red curry paste (I use Thai Taste); 1 tin of coconut milk (400ml); 1 tbsp fish sauce; small handful of Thai basil, sliced (around ⅓ of a 25g pack); 200g button mushrooms; 1 bell pepper, sliced (any colour); 100g frozen mango chunks (optional); small handful of cherry tomatoes; 200g firm tofu; 1 lime

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An easy weeknight curry made with Thai red curry paste, coconut milk, frozen mango and Thai basil. The sauce goes well with all kinds of protein but tofu is my favourite.

Prep10m
Cook20m
Total30m

curry thai tofu vegan-adaptable vegetarian

I recently bought Thai basil and as soon as I opened the packet I smelt Thai restaurants and knew that this was the ingredient my Thai curries had been missing.

This is a quick weeknight dish and is great for using up vegetable odds and ends. I add frozen mango, which I picked up from Nigella’s Thai Red Curry with Prawns and Mango recipe but it’s completely optional. I’m still obsessed with Dragonfly’s Marinated Tofu and I think it adds an extra layer of depth to this curry but any tofu or protein will do.

My favourite Thai curry paste is by Thai Taste and I’ve been using it for years. The ingredients list is short and it comes in a resealable pouch, which lasts for up to three months in the fridge once opened. One Thai Taste pouch and one 25g packet of Thai basil will make around three curries (12 servings) and I freeze the basil so I don’t have to buy it when I want to make this curry.

Notes

The ingredients list contains the vegetables I used for the curry in the photo but you can use anything. In the past I’ve added fine beans, mange tout, broccoli, courgette… almost any vegetable will work. I wouldn’t have thought to add cherry tomatoes had I not had them in a restaurant but they’re a great addition. I add them at the end so they stay relatively whole.

I cook peppers and courgettes on my griddle pan before adding them to the curry but they’ll cook just fine in the curry itself.

Swap the fish sauce for soy sauce to make this curry vegan.

Recipe

Thai Red Curry with Tofu and Thai Basil

Prep10m
Cook20m
Total30m

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 banana shallot or small onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
60g Thai red curry paste (I use Thai Taste)
1 tin of coconut milk (400ml)
1 tbsp fish sauce
small handful of Thai basil, sliced (around ⅓ of a 25g pack)
200g button mushrooms
1 bell pepper, sliced (any colour)
100g frozen mango chunks (optional)
small handful of cherry tomatoes
200g firm tofu
1 lime

Method

Place a large saucepan or wok over a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Add 1 sliced banana shallot or onion and fry for a minute then add 2 chopped cloves of garlic. Fry for a few more minutes until the garlic just starts to colour.
Add 60g of Thai red curry paste to the pan, fry the paste for 1 minute then add 1 tin (400ml) of coconut milk, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and a small handful of sliced Thai basil. Stir well.
When the curry starts to bubble add 200g of button mushrooms and 1 sliced bell pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes then add 100g of frozen mango chunks (optional), a small handful of cherry tomatoes and 200g of cubed tofu.
Simmer for 5 minutes then squeeze in the juice from ½ a lime and taste the curry, adding more lime juice if needed. Cut the remaining lime into wedges. Turn off the heat and serve immediately with rice or noodles and the lime wedges. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.