One of the many things I love about curry is that it can consist of such a furious variety of components, yet the announcement of curry for dinner never fails to get me salivating. Aw yeah, curry! Could be anything, but it already sounds great!
Contrary to Western color designations, red Thai curry is notably less spicy than its green cousin.
This red Thai curry is inundated with all variety of vegetables, plus cumin-spiked tofu that I tried out but was totally not worth the effort (if you want tofu in this, you should just cut it up and fry it, then toss it in). The recipe uses pre-made red curry paste, and so should you if you don’t have access to every single fresh ingredient needed to make it – most home cooks in Thailand buy their pre-made from a market too. The complexity of the flavors may not be quite as thoroughly pronounced as with the freshly ground goodness, but the convenience more than makes up for it, and frying the paste in oil along with the onions coaxes an impressive depth from something out of a jar.
My personal tastebuds prefer sweet basil (the same kind used in Italian cooking) in my red curry, but if you like the touch of anise inherent in the holy basil variety, you should go for it. I won’t be vengeful.
I love the combination of stock and coconut milk as a base; it’s a perfect way to access the silky richness of coconut milk without going overboard with calories. Feel free to modify the selection of veggies as you please, although I’d definitely stick with the bamboo shoots as they add a marvelous crunchy contrast in texture.
You could also, clearly, add chunks of meat – chicken or beef would be my preferences here. See what I mean about customizable curries?
Sticky rice makes an excellent accompaniment, although spooning it over a heap of fresh jasmine rice is lovely as well.
Kaeng Phet Phak – Thai Red Curry with Vegetables
Adapted from Food & Wine.
makes: 6 servings
time: 30 minutes
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
15 oz (1 2/3 cups) lite coconut milk
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup drained canned bamboo shoots
1/2 head broccoli, cut into small florets
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 package extra-firm tofu, sliced and fried
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
1/3 cup thin-sliced basil leaves
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over moderate heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and fry, stirring, for 1 minute.
2. Add the coconut milk and broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the soy sauce, brown sugar, salt. Add bamboo shoots, broccoli, bell pepper, and tofu. Reduce the heat and simmer, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato and heat through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice and basil.
Try it also with any combination of vegetables, such as carrots, thai eggplant, cauliflower, snow peas, cabbage, green beans, and baby corn. Meat is also more than acceptable; cook it before adding it to the pot.
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