Being a dedicated prawn lover as well as a Thai food addict, I must admit that this Thai prawn red curry is one of the most soul-satisfying recipes that I ever have had!
Thai curry and prawns (or shrimps as you may call it) – doesn’t the combination sounds magical? It is indeed quite magical in today’s recipe of Thai prawn red curry which will transport you to a wonderland full of amazing flavors!
You may already know about my love for Thai food which is very evident from the high number of Thai recipes in our blog; but this Thai prawn red curry is the real gem of all!
I may be biased because of my everlasting love towards prawns/shrimps; but nonetheless this homemade Thai prawn red curry is simply to die for!
I had recently made Thai red curry with chicken (recipe coming soon) which turned out really tasty; it was then that I realized that this amazing Thai red curry should be very promising using prawns too.
That’s how Thai prawn red curry materialized and thank God it did! My prawn-loving soul couldn’t be happier! Cooking Thai food at home is real fun. In most of the Thai recipes, you need to strike the right balance of flavors.
The perfect balance of sweetness, tartness, saltiness and heat hits the right chord of Thai food and arriving at that perfect concoction is the actual fun of making Thai food at home.
Since I not only love good food, but also love to cook, I believe in enjoying the entire cooking process from end to end.
I do love all the steps of my recipes and love to do everything on my own; I do sometimes delegate some of the tasks to my better half who is also equally interested in cooking but I could rarely bring myself to do that. Yeah, I am quite a control freak!
I have already talked about Thai food in many of my previous Thai recipes and my undying love for this cuisine.
This Thai prawn red curry is no exception in terms of deliciousness. The heat of the Thai red curry is perfectly complemented by the sweetness of coconut milk and makes a delicious sauce to spoon over white rice.
Any Thai curry is best served with rice and same goes for Thai prawn red curry. It is a perfect meal with protein as well as fibers from the veggies.
You are free to use any veggie you love; pumpkin is a popular choice of veggies particularly for this Thai prawn red curry.
I didn’t have pumpkin handy which is why I used carrots & green beans and they worked perfectly well. The crunch that these veggies add to the Thai curry proves to be very pleasant to our taste buds.
While making any prawn or shrimp recipe, I apply a very simple technique to enhance the flavor of the dish and this Thai prawn red curry also received the same.
Before anything else, I sauté the raw shrimps or prawns in vegetable oil with some minced garlic.
This sautéing gives to 2 advantages – firstly, the shrimps become half-cooked and hence will need to be in liquid for shorter time later for getting fully cooked which will prevent them from being too chewy & overcooked.
Secondly, sautéing prawns releases their flavors and beautifully infuses the oil with it which in turns add extra oomph factor to your final dish which is Thai prawn red curry in this case.
To take your Thai prawn red curry to next level, try adding some fresh Thai basil leaves and you will be amazed to see their effect on this already delicious dish! Try this soon at home and don’t forget to thank me later! Enjoy!
More delicious Thai prawn recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Thai Prawn Massaman Curry
- Thai Prawn Dumplings with Green Nam Jim Sauce
- Best Ever High Protein Prawn Fried Rice
- Tiger prawn/shrimp – 500 gms
- Thai red curry paste – 50 gms
- Coconut milk – 200 ml
- Garlic – 10 cloves, minced
- Fish sauce – 1 tsp
- Sugar – 2 tbsp (preferably brown sugar)
- White vinegar – 1 tsp
- Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
- Dry kaffir lime leave – 2 (use fresh kaffir lime leaves if you have it handy)
- Green beans – 10, cut into 2-inch long pieces
- Carrot – 1, medium, peeled and cut into 2-cm half-circles
- Fresh Thai basil leaves – ½ cup
- Peel & devein the prawns keeping the tail intact. Wash and drain the water out. Set aside.
- Blanch the carrots & beans in salted boiling water until half-cooked. Take them out and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet preferably with high sides. Once the oil is moderately hot, add minced garlic and sauté it for 30 seconds.
- Then tip in the shrimps and sauté them for 1 minutes each side on medium heat. Do not cook the prawns completely at this stage. Take them out and set aside on a plate.
- Add remaining oil to the same skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the red curry paste. If the red curry paste seems too thick, splash couple of tablespoons of water to loosen it a bit.
- Sauté the red curry paste in oil for couple of minutes until oil starts to ooze out and all the clumps are broken. Now add blanched veggies and sauté them for a minute or two.
- Next pour in the coconut milk and give a good mix using a spatula. Coconut milk and red curry paste must amalgamate thoroughly to develop the best flavor of red curry sauce.
- When the sauce starts to simmer, reduce the heat and add sautéed prawns along with all the juices accumulated on the plate, sugar, vinegar & lime leaves. Mix well. At this point, check the seasoning and add salt only if needed. Fish sauce will add saltiness, so add extra salt sparingly.
- Finally add Thai basil leaves and give a good stir. Check the consistency of the sauce; if it’s too thick, add little water; if it’s too watery boil off some excess water by keeping it on high heat for couple of minutes.
- Your Thai prawn red curry is ready to serve! Garnish with few more Thai basil leaves and serve it warm with white rice. Enjoy!
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