Red curry is a popular Thai dish consisting of red curry paste cooked in coconut milk and added with meat; such as chicken, beef, pork, duck or shrimp, or vegetarian protein source such as tofu.
Red curry paste itself is the core flavouring for a number of other non-related dishes such Thot man pla (fish cakes) and sai ua (grilled Chiang Mai sausage).
Tofu, meat analogues or vegetables such as pumpkin can be substituted as a pseudo-vegetarian option, but due to the presence of shrimp paste in curry paste, substituting protein does not make the dish vegetarian. There are, however, vegetarian red curry pastes available. This dish normally has a soup-like consistency and is served in a bowl and eaten with steamed rice.
Gaeng Daeng Gai(red Curry) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless chicken breast
- 1 can bamboo shoots, sliced
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 2 fresh red chili, sliced diagonally
- 1/2 cup Thai sweet basil leaves (bai horapah), torn
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp palm sugar
- Thai sweet basil leaves (bai horapah) for garnish
How To Make Gaeng Daeng Gai(red Curry)
- slice diagonally into 1/2 cm thick, 3cm wide and 3 cm long pieces. Thinly slice the bamboo shoots (if not already sliced).
- Pour 1 cup of coconut milk into a wok. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Add the curry paste, stir until red oil comes to the surface. Add the chicken and saute until it turns white and is cooked through.
- Add the remaining coconut milk, follow with the bamboo shoots. Season with fish sauce, sugar, and salt and bring back to a boil. Sprinkle with kaffir lime leaves, chilies, and sweet basil leaves. Turn off the heat. Arrange on a serving dish and garnish with sweet basil leaves before serving.