This Thai Red Curry recipe is created quickly and easily from scratch. A twist on the usual red curries you may have tried in the past, this Thai fusion dish features the unique taste of roasted red peppers, which adds richness and a gourmet touch to the dish. Note that there are two ways of cooking up this curry, depending on how much time and energy you have - but no matter what, it turns out delicious. The recipe came about as a result of a request from Mark Fulton, on the Colorado River, California, who fell in love a Thai roasted red pepper dish he had tried and wanted to reproduce at home. Thanks Mark, for a great new Thai dish!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: SERVES 4
Ingredients:
- 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
- 1 can thick (not 'lite') coconut milk
- 1 to 1+1/2 cups spinach, left whole or roughly chopped
- 1 medium-size tomato, sliced into bite-size pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- handful fresh coriander
- handful fresh basil
- ROASTED RED CURRY SAUCE:
- 1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and compressed to make 1/2 cup
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 3 Tbsp. ketchup
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot OR 1 green onion, sliced
- 1/2 to 1 fresh red chili, sliced, OR 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. dried crushed chili (from the spice aisle of your local supermarket), depending on desired spiciness
- 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 3/4 tsp. shrimp paste/sauce (available by the jar at Asian stores)
- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, or more to taste
Preparation:
- Place all ingredients for the 'Roasted Red Curry Sauce' in a food processor, chopper, or blender. Add 1/4 of the can of coconut milk, reserving the rest for later. Blitz well to create a delicious red curry sauce.
- Transfer sauce to a wok or large frying pan. Add another 1/4 can of the coconut milk, reserving the rest for later. Also add the bay leaf. Stir and bring sauce to a light boil over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken and tomato, stirring well to incorporate. Bring sauce back up to a light boil, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer 6-8 minutes, or until chicken pieces are cooked. Stir occasionally.
- Add the spinach, stirring it into the sauce. Simmer 30 seconds to 1 minutes (the spinach will cook down quickly), then reduce heat to minimum (low). Stir remaining coconut milk into the sauce.
- Taste-test the dish, adding more sugar if you find it too bitter (this will depend on the sweetness of your roasted peppers), or more fish sauce if not salty enough. If too salty, add 1 more Tbsp. lime juice (lemon will work too). Add more coconut milk if you find the dish too spicy or the flavors too intense. Note: if you run out of coconut milk, plain yogurt, cream, or sour cream can be added as well.
- Top the dish with fresh coriander and basil, and serve with plain steamed rice or my Easy Thai Coconut Rice. ENJOY!
Alternative Cooking Method(s): The original dish, on which this recipe is based, featured grilled chicken simmered in roasted red pepper sauce. If you like the sound of this, here is another cooking method for this dish (it takes 10-15 minutes longer to prepare):
- Make sauce as instructed above. Set aside.
- Dissolve 1 tsp. cornstarch in 3-4 Tbsp. soy sauce. Pour this marinade over the sliced chicken and toss well. Set aside to marinate which you prepare your other ingredients.
- Grill the chicken, seasoning it with a little fresh-ground pepper. OR, for indoor cooking: Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbsp. coconut oil OR vegetable oil and swirl around. Add the chicken plus 3 minced cloves garlic and stir-fry until chicken is cooked and lightly browned. While stir-frying, season with some freshly ground black pepper. If your pan becomes very dry, add 1 more Tbsp. oil OR a slash of sherry or sweet red or white wine.
- Once chicken is cooked, pour over the sauce. Add the tomato, bay leaf, plus 1/4 can more of coconut milk. Bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to medium. Add the spinach and simmer until tomato is soft and spinach has reduced to half its size (5-6 minutes). Reduce heat to low and add remaining coconut milk. Stir, taste-test, and serve as instructed above. ENJOY!
