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This easy, Thai-inspired vegetable red curry is quick to make and packed with both healthy veggies and beautiful savory flavors.
Why we love this recipe
This savory, Thai-inspired vegetable red curry tastes like it cooked all day, but it’s ready in a weeknight-friendly timeframe. It’s:
- Full of good-for-ya veggies
- Remarkably complex in flavor
- Naturally gluten-free, and vegan if you want it to be
- Super-accommodating: use the vegetables you’ve got
- Make-ahead and even freezer-friendly
This was one of the first recipes I ever published on Umami Girl, way back in 2008. I’ve updated the post for clarity and also updated the recipe a bit.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe. It looks like quite a few, but there’s nothing fancy. I’ve provided links below for any ingredients you may have trouble sourcing locally. And keep in mind that the vegetables are very flexible. You can substitute, add, or subtract to suit what you’ve got.
- Thai-style red curry paste is a fabulous shortcut for packing tons of layered, balanced flavor into a quick-cooking dish. You can buy it here if you can’t find it locally.
- Fish sauce — made by fermenting tiny fish like anchovies to produce a briny, savory ingredient that packs a punch — adds another layer of umami. To make this dish vegan, use a vegan version or leave it out. Buy it here.
- Use canned coconut milk, not the stuff in the refrigerator case (which is watered down and not very creamy). You’ll use the entire can, including the cream (which is solid at room temperature) and the liquid.
- Safflower oil is my high-smoke-point, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
How to make it
Here’s what you’ll do to make a beautiful vegetable red curry. It’s quick and easy!
- First you’ll cook the onion, garlic, ginger, and celery for a few minutes.
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce.
- Stir the tomato paste into the veggies in the pan, cook for a minute, and then pour in the sauce, along with some water.
- Add the rest of the veggies. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice, basil, and cilantro. That’s it!
Expert tips and FAQs
If you wish, you can add cooked chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, chickpeas, or other protein to bulk up this curry. Add it in the last couple minutes of cooking, to warm through.
We like to serve it with basmati rice.
As written, this recipe contains fish sauce. To make it vegan, either leave out the fish sauce or use a vegan “fish sauce” to replicate some of the umami flavor. It’s great either way.
It’s not. The red curry paste (at least the brand I use) has a hint of heat, but not much. If you’d like to spice it up, you can mince a fresh chili and sauté it with the other veggies at the beginning, or add red pepper flakes when you pour in the sauce.
You sure can. The flavors only improve over time. Vegetable red curry will keep well in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for a week, so make it anytime and reheat before serving.
It freezes well for up to a year, though the veggies will soften up a bit in the freezer, as they do.
More vegetarian curries
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Vegetable Red Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) safflower oil
- 1 medium yellow onion or large shallot, diced small
- 3 celery stalks, diced small
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1- inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 15- oz. can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) Thai-style red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 medium zucchini, diced
- 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, diced
- 2 small carrots, shredded
- 2 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 10 basil leaves
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Warm the oil over medium heat in a deep 12-inch lidded frying pan or medium-sized pot.
- Add the onion, celery, garlic, ginger, and salt. Sauté for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until onion and celery are beginning to soften and turn translucent.
- In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar.
- Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Pour the sauce mixture into the pan.
- Add zucchini, potatoes, carrot, and tomato.
- Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, probably about 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro, and lime juice.
Notes
- Safflower oil is my high-smoke-point, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
- Thai-style red curry paste is a fabulous shortcut for packing tons of layered, balanced flavor into a quick-cooking dish. You can buy it here if you can't find it locally.
- This recipe isn't spicy. If you'd like to spice it up, you can mince a fresh chili and sauté it with the other veggies at the beginning, or add red pepper flakes when you pour in the sauce.
- Fish sauce — made by fermenting tiny fish like anchovies to produce a briny, savory ingredient that packs a punch — adds another layer of umami. Buy it here.
- To make this recipe vegan, use vegan "fish sauce" or leave it out. It's great either way.
- Use canned coconut milk, not the stuff in the refrigerator case (which is watered down and not very creamy). You'll use the entire can, including the cream (which is solid at room temperature) and the liquid.
- If you wish, you can add cooked chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, chickpeas, or other protein to bulk up this curry. Add it in the last couple minutes of cooking, to warm through.
- You can make this recipe in advance. The flavors only improve over time. Vegetable red curry will keep well in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for a week, so make it anytime and reheat before serving.It freezes well for up to a year, though the veggies will soften up a bit in the freezer, as they do.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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We made it with foods from our garden box tonight. Eggplant was a big hit (peeled and chopped up) and carrots, and yogurt because we did not have coconut milk. Used half the amount of yogurt, then added the other half vegetable broth. Came out GREAT!!
So glad, Blair. Thank you for the comment!
We do something like this all the time, but I never thought to add the brown sugar. Great idea!