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Home » Recipes » Main Dishes

Thai Red Curry Pork

Published: Jul 20, 2016 | Updated: May 16, 2025 | Author: Neena Panicker

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Bowl of Thai red curry with vegetables, chicken and Thai basil.
Bowl of Thai red curry with vegetables, chicken and Thai basil.

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We were having one of those crazy busy days and I needed to get dinner on the table fast.  This Thai Red Curry did the trick and I was able to prepare it in less than 30 minutes.  

Thai cuisine is one of my favorites.  I have tried to cook Thai food at home for years, but it just didn’t compare to the dishes I loved at my favorite restaurants.  

Finally, I tried to make Thai curry pastes from scratch, with authentic Thai recipes and these were much better; terrific, in fact. However, making the curry pastes was an all-day affair requiring too much work and too many special ingredients.

After a lot of trial and error, I was  finally able to come up with some great recipes that are quick, easy and delicious. Looking back on it, I realize that I made a few mistakes in my earlier attempts at cooking Thai curries.  

Firstly, I was thinning the coconut milk with broth or using lite coconut milk, in order to avoid fat. Secondly, I was using the wrong brand of Thai curry paste and finally, I was serving the curries with Basmati rice or long grain white rice instead of Jasmine rice.

These days, we still love to go out for Thai because my kids like some noodle dishes that I haven’t tried to make at home (like Pad See Ew or Pad Kee Mow) but more often than not, we eat Thai dishes right in our home and they’re delicious!  

And the best part is that they can be made in no time at all.  If you like your curries on the sweet side, add an extra teaspoon of sugar.  And you’ll just have to trust me on this – use Maesri brand curry paste because it makes all the difference.  

It’s spicier than other brands like Thai Kitchen, so reduce the quantity of paste if necessary.  I find this recipe, as written, makes a curry that’s not too spicy as far as Thai food goes.  Let me know how you fare with this recipe for Thai red curry pork!

Another recipe you may want to try out is Thai fish curry. It’s so quick and easy, and perfect for a busy weeknight. I keep frozen cod in my freezer and can make the recipe in a jiffy!

Bowl of Thai red curry with vegetables, chicken and Thai basil.

Thai Red Curry with Pork

A coconut milk-based Thai red curry that is quick, easy, and delicious. Serve with Jasmine rice to make a satisfying meal.
4.67 from 6 votes
PRINT RATE
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Paint the Kitchen Red
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz. Maesri brand red curry paste ½ can
  • 14 oz. (1 can) regular coconut milk not Lite
  • 1 lb pork tenderloin sliced into thin bite-size pieces
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar or to taste
  • 2 Kaffir lime leaves or 2 teaspoon lime juice
  • 1 cup red bell pepper sliced
  • 1 cup green bell pepper sliced
  • ½ cup sliced canned bamboo shoots
  • 2 tablespoon Thai basil julienned

Instructions
 

  • Heat red curry paste and ½ can of coconut milk in a medium saucepan until boiling. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Add pork and remaining coconut milk and cook for 5 minutes, until tender.
  • Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar and kaffir lime leaves or lime juice.
  • Add bell peppers and bamboo shoots and cook for another 3 minutes until crisp tender.
  • Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar or lime juice.
  • Sprinkle with basil and serve with Jasmine rice.

Notes

Try and get Maesri brand of curry paste, which is just better than the other brands! It’s available online or at an Asian foods stores.
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine Asian, Thai
Main Ingredient pork
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Comments

  1. Tamara says

    October 22, 2024 at 4:22 pm

    5 stars
    This is a great recipe! I cook Thai food quite a bit and took cooking classes in Thailand. Thank you for posting!

    Reply
    • Neena Panicker says

      October 23, 2024 at 12:16 pm

      Hi Tamara, thank you for your comment – I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoy the pork Thai red curry recipe!

      Reply
  2. Pam Lehman says

    January 02, 2022 at 12:19 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious and so easy to make! I’m making a second batch today using your recommended name brands. 🙂

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      January 04, 2022 at 3:33 pm

      Pam, I’m thrilled that you tried the recipe out – hope it turned out even better the second time!

      Reply
  3. Lauren says

    July 22, 2020 at 10:38 am

    3 stars
    The spice level and taste was great but if you follow this recipe the way it is written it will be entirely too thick. I looked at other recipes and they use 1 cup of broth to thin the sauce a little bit.

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      July 23, 2020 at 11:01 am

      Lauren, I’m sorry you weren’t happy with the thickness of the recipe. It’s a good idea to thin it out if that’s what you prefer.

      Reply
  4. D says

    April 10, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    5 stars
    Nice, and spicy! I added snap peas from my garden and sweet peppers that were in the frig with red onion. Nummy!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      April 11, 2020 at 4:37 pm

      I’m so glad you like the recipe! I don’t get a lot of people visiting my non-Instant Pot recipes so I’m always excited to get a comment on those 🙂

      Reply
  5. Erlene says

    January 31, 2020 at 8:32 pm

    I bought really fresh curry. This recipe is too spicy. When I make it again , I I will use way less than 2oz of red curry paste. I would also increase the amount of coconut milk and sugar. So this recipe for me is not that good , if it requires this much of an adjustment!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      February 01, 2020 at 4:43 pm

      Sorry the spice level was too much for you, Erlene. That’s the thing about spiciness, it’s so individualized 🙂

      Reply
    • La says

      February 14, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      I’m a heat wimp, but once I added the rice, the seasoning heat was fine.
      Everyone is able to bump up whatever seasoning one wants. I added more lime juice because I like that taste.
      Shhhh, I’ve eaten this dish 3 days straight because I liked it so much. Great recipe!

      Reply
      • Paint the Kitchen Red says

        February 15, 2020 at 1:51 pm

        Thanks for commenting and rating – I’m really happy you liked the recipe!

        Reply
  6. Eric Glaze says

    June 04, 2019 at 10:54 am

    I love Maesri and Mae-ploy. I like my curry very spicy so I usually use the whole can when using Maesri. This was a very nice repipe with the bamboo and kaffir leaves.

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      June 10, 2019 at 11:41 am

      Eric – thanks for the rating and comment. I’m glad you liked the recipe.

      Reply
      • Terri W says

        November 23, 2020 at 5:38 pm

        Thank you for giving me the courage to cook Thai food. I used this curry recipe, the ingredients from the Instant Pot version, and your foolproof Instant Pot jasmine rice. I did add some peanut butter. The sauce is so creamy and the peanut butter lets me make it spicy, but something my son loves too.

        Reply
        • Paint the Kitchen Red says

          November 27, 2020 at 5:31 pm

          Terri, that’s awesome! Thank you for your comment. I’m thrilled that you liked the recipe.

          Reply
  7. Marianne says

    March 30, 2019 at 9:36 pm

    I need to try this. I love this dish but I bought a huge pouch of paste that it is too vinegary and hot as heck! I just finished it tonight so I’ll buy the brand you recommend. I also usually thin with a cup or two of broth like you recommended against. Third, I’m on keto so no sugar or rice :(. So Splenda and I get cauliflower rice. Really puts a damper on my red curry craving!! Thank you again

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      March 31, 2019 at 6:56 pm

      Marianne, please let me know how it goes! Thanks for your comment.

      Reply
  8. romain | glebekitchen says

    February 10, 2017 at 11:03 am

    I like the Maesri too. And the fish sauce, kaffir lime leaf and thai basil make this the real deal. Cheers for a super tasty weeknight meal!`

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red says

      February 13, 2017 at 7:23 pm

      Thank you! I also like Mae-Ploy brand of Thai curry pastes. Do you use that too?

      Reply
  9. Alyssa @ A Bite of Inspiration says

    December 15, 2016 at 10:30 pm

    Love this quick, easy, and flavorful meal! Maesri brand red curry paste is absolutely delicious. Definitely agree that it’s better than a lot of others! Fabulous recipe! I’ll definitely be trying this soon!

    Reply
  10. Lindsay says

    July 20, 2016 at 4:36 am

    Thanks for the great tips! I look forward to trying this dish. Sounds super yummy.

    Reply
4.67 from 6 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Hi, I'm Neena Panicker, and welcome! I am the creator, photographer, and author of recipes and tips at Paint the Kitchen Red. I live in the glorious west in Salt Lake City, Utah with my family.

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