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Thai curry is extremely flavorful and delicious, and surprisingly inexpensive to make! All you need is a few tablespoons of Thai curry paste, a can of coconut milk, and your favorite veggies and meat.

When I lived in Las Vegas I had access to some of the best Asian cuisine in the country and a wide variety of Asian markets. I stopped eating at Thai restaurants after making Thai curry at home just one time, mainly because my family and I felt that our meals tasted exactly like those served at the restaurant!

Here’s more about what Thai curry is, along with tips that can help you make this incredibly healthy and tasty meal at home for just a fraction of the cost of eating out.

What Exactly IS Thai Curry?

For the longest time, I associated “curry” with British and Indian curries, and yellow curry powder. I avoided those dishes like the plague, as my only experiences with curry involved eating stale and canned curry-flavored sauces served over rice and chicken (like that served at many Chinese take-out restaurants).

However, Thai curry is NOTHING like Indian curry. (It’s far, far better, IMO!)

By definition, “curry” can be sauce, or a combination of various spices. There are dozens of types of curry and Thai is just one of them.

Thai curry is a dish made with a Thai curry paste; coconut milk; veggies and/or fruit; herbs; and meat, poultry, or seafood. But most of the flavor in Thai curries come from the paste itself.

Red, green, and yellow Thai curry pastes are the most commonly used types, though you can also get Panang and Massaman varieties. Each paste tastes slightly different from the next, but basic ingredients you can find in all Thai curry pastes are:

• Dried or fresh chili peppers
• Garlic
• Lemongrass
• Shallots or onions
• Shrimp paste
• Coriander
• Ginger
• Coriander

My personal favorite is red Thai paste, which is always bursting with flavor and seems to complement nearly any veggie I include in a particular night’s meal.

Which Thai Curry Paste Should You Buy?

The type of paste you should buy comes down to your personal preference, of course. 

I have a strict policy of no preservatives or chemicals when it comes to buying foods and ingredients, so I stock up on the Mae Ploy brand. Mae Ploy curries contain no harmful additives such as MSG (or any of its many variants) and has never let me down in terms of quality or flavor. It also offers vegan varieties for those who cannot eat shellfish.

You can find Mae Ploy Thai curry paste at many Asian markets, or buy it conveniently online at Amazon.com, like I do. This paste goes a looooong way and you can easily get several meals out of a 14-ounce bucket, even if you like it spicy and use more than the suggested serving size. I usually buy the red curry paste in the larger 2-pound size, since it’s my favorite. I also keep smaller sizes of the green, yellow, and Panang pastes on hand.

Other popular brands of Thai curry paste are Thai Kitchen, Maesri, and Aroy-D, but I’ve never tried these brands and cannot attest to how they taste. Feel free to drop comments below if you’ve tried these brands!

Other Ingredients You May Need

A cool thing about making Thai curry is that it’s so versatile! I can’t say I’ve ever made the same exact dish twice. Here are other ingredients you will need to prepare Thai curry.

Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is a must for this recipe. You can’t make Thai curry without it!

You usually need only one can of coconut milk for a batch of Thai curry, unless you plan on serving a large group of people. I usually stick to Trader Joe’s coconut milk because it lacks preservatives of course, but there have been times I’ve had to resort to other brands that contain guar gum.

Veggies and/or Fruit

Here’s where you can get really creative! Nearly every vegetable tastes great in Thai curry—you can mix and match to your heart’s desire. The only fruit I’ve ever used is pineapple, which is a real treat! 

This meal can be viewed as a type of “veggie dump,” in the event you need to use leftover veggies, older veggies that are about to turn, or veggies that don’t seem to go with anything else you have pulled out at the moment.

Here are some of the veggies I’ve put in Thai curry:

• Onions
• Sweet potatoes
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Bell peppers
• Asparagus
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Collard greens
• Brussels sprouts
• Chickpeas
• Butternut squash
• Mushrooms
• Italian and yellow squash
• Green beans
• Green cabbage
• Parsnips
• Fresh ginger
• Leeks

Poultry, Meat, or Seafood

I usually add one chicken breast or a few boneless chicken thighs to my Thai curries, depending on what’s on sale or what I have on hand. Boneless chicken thighs are a real treat because they’re juicier and more tender than chicken breasts. I used shrimp one time, and that was delicious, too!

Again, nearly anything goes with Thai curry. I’m sure certain cuts of beef would work well, though I haven’t tried it.

Herbs

Basil and cilantro are the go-to herbs for Thai curry. They can be used as garnishes or add-ons to your plate after you’ve prepared this dish.

Use one herb or the other. I tend to use cilantro more often than basil, but only because it’s usually cheaper and more easily accessible than basil. I have a basil plant, but it doesn’t produce leaves quickly enough to keep up with the number of times I make Thai! 

Lime or Fish Sauce

Lime zest and lime juice OR fish sauce lend a bit of acidity to Thai curry that makes its flavor pop. I think lime zest and lime juice taste far more flavorful than fish sauce, though I do resort to fish sauce when I’m out of limes. 

Fish sauce can be purchased from nearly any Asian market, where you can find a large variety of different types and brands. I usually buy inexpensive brands with anchovy as the primary ingredient.

Rice or Noodles

Thai curry goes fantastic over rice! I use jasmine rice, which is pretty much the only rice I ever buy. The rice soaks up the curry juice wonderfully.

Every once in a while I’ll use thin rice or wheat noodles, but they don’t capture the flavor of the curry as well as rice. You’ll end up drinking the remainder of the juice from your bowl if you use noodles, but they’re a decent substitute if you don’t have rice on hand.

You can omit the rice or noodles and eat this dish as a soup. But rice makes this meal more filling and stretches it out if your goal is to save money on meals and groceries.

Steps and Tips For Making Thai Curry

This isn’t exactly a recipe or cooking website, so I won’t flesh out all the step-by-step details on how to prepare this recipe. But I can definitely give you some basic pointers! I can say with confidence that it is truly easy to make, even if you don’t spend much time in the kitchen.

Here we go:

1. Heat up a few tablespoons of coconut oil or avocado oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and fresh minced garlic, if using either of those ingredients.
3. Add your chicken or beef and saute it. Sometimes I sprinkle coriander and ginger powder on the meat for extra flavor, but this isn’t necessary.
4. Transfer the chicken or beef to a plate when it’s done cooking.
5. Add a few tablespoons (or the amount you want) of Thai curry paste to the skillet or Dutch oven, and saute it for a few minutes. Keep in mind that the more paste you add, the spicier (and higher in sodium) this dish will be.
6. Pour in the can of coconut milk. If you plan on adding lots of veggies or want to “stretch out” this dish to make lots of leftovers, add around an extra cup of water. I don’t feel that adding extra water dilutes the flavor too much.
7. Allow the coconut milk and paste to simmer and thicken for a few minutes.
8. Add seafood (if using), along with veggies that require a longer cooking time. Examples of veggies that may require a longer cooking time to soften include sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash.
9. Add the remainder of your veggies after the harder veggies have softened.
10. Add the chicken or beef back into the skillet or Dutch oven.
11. Remove the Thai curry from heat after it has thickened and your veggies are done.
12. Add the lime zest and lime juice from one lime OR a few teaspoons of fish sauce.
13. Serve a few scoops of Thai curry over rice, and garnish with basil or cilantro.

Enjoy! It may take you a few times to really nail this recipe, but once you do, I bet you’ll never order Thai curry from a restaurant ever again!

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