One-pot Vegan Thai Red Curry with Tofu and vegetables is an easy weeknight dinner. This nutritious and comforting dinner comes together in less than 30 minutes and tastes amazing!
Thai cuisine is delicious. Its curries (red or green) are a culinary delight – bursting with flavor, delicious spices and has a fantastic scent always wafting around it. Vegan Thai Red Curry With Tofu And Vegetables
My family and I enjoy Thai food, and our nearby Thai restaurant offers an extensive choice of options, but I stick to my favorite one: Thai Red Curry with Tofu and Vegetables. It is utterly scrumptious, and the best part is – it’s vegetarian made without fish sauce and eggs.
Its rich curry is very smooth and creamy. The veggies in the curry are cooked to near perfection, and the tofu cubes are entirely soaked in the curry, making it even tastier.
WHY IS HOMEMADE THAI CURRY THE BEST?
The answer is simple. The original and authentic Thai curry uses fish sauce and is very fiery and spicy.
I cannot handle spicy food, and that’s the reason I came up with my version of Thai curry that is less spicy, but it still delivers the same color, flavor, and texture. If you have never tried making Thai curry at home, then you need to try this one.
You will be amazed at the simplicity of this dish. This quick and easy Thai curry takes 20 minutes and a handful of ingredients.
WHAT MAKES UP THIS RECIPE?
The base ingredient for this recipe is-
- Red curry paste and
- Coconut milk.
Together these two make an outstanding combination. For this recipe, you can either use homemade red curry paste (recipe given in comments) or a store-bought vegan red curry paste.
I have used the ‘Thai Kitchen Gluten-free Red Curry Paste.” It’s vegan and tastes great. Vegan red curry paste is readily available at your nearby Whole food stores.
How to Make Vegan Thai Curry With Tofu And Vegetables?
The prep-work is what takes up most of your time. Once you have all your veggies sliced, from thereon, the recipe comes together pretty fast.
I started by making a coconut-based curry with onion-ginger-garlic and red curry paste. Then, I added a large assortment of vegetables such as bamboo shoots, red and yellow bell pepper, onions, zucchini, and basil. I prefer to keep my veggies tender-crisp and not soft. So, I cooked them for only a few seconds.
Next, comes the central part of the dish – tofu! Squeeze water out of tofu and cut tofu into small cube-shaped pieces, giving it an appealing look. Then, I dumped them all into the curry and waited for the tofu to be drenched completely.
Finally, allow it to simmer for 1-2 minutes letting the appetizing smell spread through the entirety of my house. The result? It was DELICIOUS!
YOU WILL LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS THAI RED CURRY. IT’S
- wholesome,
- hearty,
- comforting,
- intensely flavorful,
- nutrient-packed, and
- makes yummy leftovers. It freezes well too!
I encourage you to give this Red Thai curry a try and amaze your family with your delightful cooking. Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. I would love to hear from you. 🙂
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Vegan Thai Red Curry With Tofu And Vegetables
Ingredients
VEGETABLES
- 14 oz Firm Tofu rinsed, patted dry, and cut into cubes
- 1 small Red onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoon Ginger paste
- 2 teaspoon Garlic paste
- 1 medium Yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 medium Red Bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 small Zucchini, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoon Bamboo shoots, drained and washed
- 1.5 tablespoon Olive oil
THAI RED CURRY SAUCE INGREDIENTS
- 14 oz Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste (prefer a deeper color - add a tablespoon more)
- 2 tablespoons Red Curry Paste
- 1/2 tablespoon Chili sauce (adjust according to taste)
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Brown sugar or Maple syrup
- 1.5 tablespoons Soy sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (adjust according to taste)
- 1 teaspoon Lime zest or Chopped Kaffir lime leaves or
- 1 teaspoon Red Chili flakes (adjust according to taste)
- - - Salt and pepper to taste
- - - Handful of Chopped Fresh Basil leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Cut tofu into small cubes. Set it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add onion-ginger and garlic to this pan.
- Let it saute for 2 minutes on a medium-low flame.
- Meanwhile, assemble ingredients for Thai red curry sauce.
- Adjust the flame to the 'Medium' setting and pour in the coconut milk along with all the ingredients listed under 'Thai red curry sauce' except basil leaves. Prefer a deeper red color - add a tablespoon more of tomato paste.
- Add spices (salt, chili flakes, and black pepper) and mix to combine. Allow it to simmer on a medium flame.
- Add veggies to Thai curry. I prefer to keep my vegetable tender-crisp and not soft. Therefore I cook the vegetables for 3-4 minutes on a medium flame.
- Finally, I added tofu into the curry and allowed it simmer for 2-3 minutes until tofu was drenched entirely in curry. TIP - If you prefer crunchy veggies, then I would suggest adding vegetables after tofu soaks in all the curry flavor. Add vegetables and allow it to simmer for a minute or two.
- Take it off the flame, adjust seasonings and add fresh basil leaves.
- Vegan Thai Red Curry With Tofu And Vegetables is ready.
- Pair with white rice or brown rice for a healthy dinner tonight. Leftovers make a perfect lunch the next day!
Nutrition Information
Recipe Notes
- water chestnut, Vegan Thai Red Curry With Tofu And Vegetables
- broccoli,
- whole baby corn,
- thinly sliced carrots,
- bok choy, and many more.
KC says
Great recipe! This is the first red curry I actually love! My only question is, how can I make it saucier? Thanks!
Ruchi says
Thank you, KC!
You can double up on the sauce ingredients to make it saucier.
MrsG says
Dear Ruchi,
I cook this once a week! I also always make it for friends who are thinking about becoming vegan too and it’s always a winner. To make it slightly healthier I use half the amount of coconut milk and add the same volume of water. Then I use cornflour to thicken. It still tastes divine. I use your recipe for the Thai paste. You may want to do a separate recipe page for that because my friends don’t realise that you’ve written it in the comments section. Thank you Ruchi!
Ruchi says
Thank you for your kind words, MrsG!
Will surely do a post on Red curry paste shortly.😊
M says
I cook a lot, but this recipe was pretty confusing. Since the spices are listed under the thai red curry sauce, it seems like they are added to the coconut milk while you are prepping, but then somehow they are supposed to be added later. Also with a total cook time of 10 minutes and everything being cooked in a pot of coconut milk which starts at room temperature, the ingredients end up being pretty much raw.
Ruchi says
M, would love to know what part of the recipe you found confusing.
The ingredient list is created in such a way that it describes all the vegetables and other ingredients first and then comes the Thai red curry sauce which is the key component of the recipe. The red curry paste and all other ingredients listed under Thai curry sauce are added to the coconut milk so that all the flavors blend together perfectly.
As you can see the veggies are very thinly sliced and if they are boiled for more than 3-4 minutes they will turn mushy. I prefer a little bite to my veggies, therefore, I prefer to cook for less time. But can be easily adjusted according to one’s taste.😊
JS says
I’ve made this recipe so many times, and it comes out a winner every single time!
Ruchi says
Thank you, JS!
Happy to hear that you are enjoying my recipes.
dmitri says
Thee says n the instructions to “add spices” but there are no spices listed in the ingredients?
Ruchi says
Dmitri, its mentioned in the ingredient list under ‘Thai Red curry ingredients’- Salt and pepper and red chili flakes.
JS says
Amazing red curry! I left out the chili sauce and Sriracha, but it was still delicious!
Ruchi says
Thanks for your Feedback, JS!
Glad you liked the recipe.
Gayatri says
Thank you so much for the detailed recipe. Really appreciate.
Ruchi says
Pleasure is all mine. 🙂
GAyatri says
How do you make red Curry paste?? Recipe sounds and looks great ! Can you please post some thsi veggie soups ( with those greens)….. my daughter loves Thai food as but as we are pure vegetarians hesitate to eat out.
Ruchi says
Thanks, Gayatri! Will definitely put your request on my calendar.
To make Thai red curry paste at home, take –
10-15 Large dried chilies
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed peppercorns
1/4 cup shallots
3 tablespoons chopped lemongrass
1 tablespoon chopped galangal (you can find this in any Oriental store – looks like ginger but has a more pronounced citrusy taste)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 teaspoon chopped kafir lime leaves
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
METHOD –
1. Remove seeds from chilies. Soak chilies in water until softened.
2. Drain and pat dry the chilies with a paper towel.
3. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse briefly to combine.
4. Pulse until it looks like a fine paste.
5. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.
6. Good for 2 months.
MrsG says
Dear Ruchi,
Is 1/4 teaspoon shallots correct? It seems like a very small amount. Do you mean 1/4 cup? Thank you 🙏🏼
Ruchi says
Yes, please use 1/4 cup. Thanks!
Sonal says
Absolutely loved how you prepped it! So flavorful and delicious. Love the curry color too!
Ruchi says
Thank you, Sonal.
I agree Thai Red curry is absolutely delicious!