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!
Thai Red Curry with Pork
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Maesri brand red curry paste - 1/2 can
- 14 oz. (1 can) regular coconut milk - not Lite
- 1 lb pork tenderloin - sliced into thin bite-size pieces
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce - more to taste
- 1 tsp brown sugar - or to taste
- 2 Kaffir lime leaves or 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 cup red bell pepper - sliced
- 1 cup green bell pepper - sliced
- 1/2 cup sliced canned bamboo shoots
- 2 Tbsp Thai basil - julienned
Instructions
- Heat red curry paste and 1/2 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.
Lauren
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.
Paint the Kitchen Red
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.
D
Nice, and spicy! I added snap peas from my garden and sweet peppers that were in the frig with red onion. Nummy!
Paint the Kitchen Red
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 🙂
Erlene
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!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Sorry the spice level was too much for you, Erlene. That’s the thing about spiciness, it’s so individualized 🙂
La
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!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for commenting and rating – I’m really happy you liked the recipe!
Eric Glaze
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.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Eric – thanks for the rating and comment. I’m glad you liked the recipe.
Terri W
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.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Terri, that’s awesome! Thank you for your comment. I’m thrilled that you liked the recipe.
Marianne
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
Paint the Kitchen Red
Marianne, please let me know how it goes! Thanks for your comment.
romain | glebekitchen
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!`
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you! I also like Mae-Ploy brand of Thai curry pastes. Do you use that too?
Alyssa @ A Bite of Inspiration
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!
Lindsay
Thanks for the great tips! I look forward to trying this dish. Sounds super yummy.