Made this yesterday.. It was my parents' wedding anniversary yesterday and they both love Thai food (though they don't stay with me and are thousands of miles away - in India - this did make me feel so connected) I never knew I could cook it myself (and yes from scratch).. And I was amazed at how simple it was to cook..
Here is my inspiration for this wonderful DIY experience (This is a little longer than on my other recipes; you may skip to after the picture to see the recipe) -
Most of my friends and family know that I love Thai food SOOO much.. When asked where I'd want to dine out - my answer would always be Thai (to an extent that they stopped asking me ).. But lately I've had mixed experiences while dining at different Thai restaurants.. At times the food has been heavenly but more often than not - it has been a complete disaster.. Even after eating the whole plate I would still remain hungry and dissatisfied... That's when I decided to try to make Thai curries - that I so dearly adore and love - at the comfort of my home.. I started my analysis and checked multiple videos and blogs... The best I found was Pai's hot-thai-kitchen... Although all her recipes include meat, her explanation is so easy to understand and besides it gives me a sense of satisfaction from learning the authentic cuisine (unlike the Indian fusion taste that most people tend to like - I'm a sucker for authenticity)..
Having said all this, I'd like to add that during my journey of finding Thai recipes, I never ever knew that I could do it and that too with the end result which will be oh-so-amazingly mesmerizing.. Oh and by-the-way - I made the curry paste from scratch too.. The recipes are inspired from Pai's hot-thai-kitchen... I've adapted it to make it vegetarian..
The last time I felt this way was when I tried my hands at baking THE dulce de leche cheesecake
Ingredients
- For the curry paste:
- Approx. 15 large red chillies - deseeded (I used fresh but if you are using the dried ones, soak overnight or at least for 2-3 hours until you see the chillies bloat. Also, if you are using the smaller variety of chillies, you might want to consider reducing the quantity as those are much more hotter compared to their larger counterparts)
- 1/4 cup lemongrass - minced
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 3 tbsp garlic - grated
- 1 tbsp galangal - grated
- 7-8 black peppercorns (traditionally the recipe requires white peppercorns but I didn't have them on hand so used black peppercorns instead)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1.5 tbsp cilantro stem - finely chopped (traditionally, most of the recipes I've researched mentioned the use of roots but I couldn't get my hands on any at my local grocery store so I used the stem instead. However, if you are using the roots, reduce the quantity to half as the roots are packed in flavor compared to the stems)
- Salt - to taste
- For the curry:
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup vegetable stock (or water)
- Assorted veggies; I used the below:
- Red bell peppers - diced large
- Green bell peppers - diced large
- Tomatoes - diced large
- Snow peas - veins from both the ends removed
- Bamboo shoots
- Baby corns - cut to 1" pieces
- Cayenne pepper (optional) - to taste (This is optional; in case, yes just-in-case, after you taste your curry and you find it to be not hot enough!)
- Salt - to taste
- 10-12 Basil leaves
- 3-4 Mint leaves
Method
- For making the curry paste:
- Crush the peppercorns using a mortar & pestle (this is because if you add these to the food processor together with the other ingredients, because those ingredients are so-to-say - mushy, chances of these getting crushed well are fairly thin)
- Now add all the ingredients listed for making the curry paste into a food processor and process until you get a smooth paste.
- For making the curry:
- Take 1 cup of coconut milk in a wok and heat it on high heat until it thickens.
- Stir in 1/4 cup of curry paste (you can adjust to your taste - this is just the amount of heat I prefer in my food...) and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Now add the red & green bell peppers, snow peas, bamboo shoots and baby corns; simmer covered for 20 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- At this point, taste for your seasoning. Adjust the salt and the heat according to your likings. If you do add either of these, simmer covered for another 5 minutes.
- As a last step - stir in the basil and mint leaves and simmer for a minute and take it off the flame. Your Vegetarian Thai Red Curry is ready to be served and yes, you made it from scratch (yayyy!).
Serving Suggestion
Serve this curry piping hot with a side of brown rice (this is what I prefer) or jasmine rice (choice is yours!)
Enjoy!
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