Perfect Red Curry

My love of Red Curry started many moons ago when I discovered it at a local Thai place and after trying a few times I have perfected, for me, the dish! Just the right amount of heat, sweet, salt, & acid. Feel free to adjust those in order to get your perfect curry!

A few key ingredients to make it work:

Red Curry Paste: you can find this in the Asian section at all groceries Kaffir Lime Leaves: these were not as easy to locate, but I am in a small town and found them at the Asian Supermarket in Newton. This place is amazing! If you are in the area you must check it out! They don’t have a website but do have a facebook page. Thai Chilis: also found there and keep a bag of these and the lime leaves in my freezer at all times! Fish Sauce: this is a product that I can say without a doubt, are NOT all the same at all! It does smell hideous to me, but there is no other ingredient that is going to give your Asian recipes that sour, brininess that a high quality, gluten free fish sauce does.

How I made it: I grabbed my favorite Dutch oven and put a big glug of avocado oil or you can use olive oil or whatever you prefer, a lot of recipes use good ole vegetable oil. Cut my chicken or whatever protien you choose into chunks, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little red curry powder. Saute those for a few mins to get a little color, remove from pot and add the white part of the scallions, garlic, and a cubed sweet potato (totally optional) saute for a bit again to get color and flavor. Add about a cup of chicken or vegetable broth along with 1 can of coconut milk, 4 Kaiffer lime leaves, 2 Thai chilis, 3-4 tablespoons of Red Curry Paste, 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 2 pieces of lemongrass, and here’s where I get all crazy, pineapple in lieu of sugar.

The Red Curry that I fell in love with has pineapple in it! So instead of using brown sugar or coconut sugar in the recipe I used about a 1/2 to a cup of pineapple and it was incredible! My husband, who hates fruit in anything savory had no idea it was even in there!

Add the chicken back to the pot and let “steep” on low, if you are in a hurry you can just let it meld while you cook the rice, careful not to boil it. If you have the time I suggest letting it cook for at least 30 mins so that you really get the flavors of the lime leaves, chilis, and lemongrass. It is so worth it!