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How to Make a Simple Thai Curry

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Thai curry with tofu

This quick Thai curry is chock full of colorful vegetables and provides a good amount of protein. You can use whatever vegetables you have in your fridge or pantry and it only takes about 30 minutes to make.

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Simple Thai Curry

Vegetables

I definitely don’t live a vegetarian lifestyle. I buy good quality meat and eat a fair amount of it – but I absolutely appreciate the value of vegetables. My fridge is usually full of a wide variety of produce and I usually eat a couple pounds of vegetables on a daily basis.

Let’s be real. Vegetables are delicious. They’re an amazing source of nutrients and they taste great if you know how to prepare them. Sometimes, I want to make a meal that helps bring out the flavor of a wide variety of vegetables.

A simple Thai curry is a great way to focus on the flavor of vegetables.

You can shove a ton of vegetables into one simple Thai curry. It’s also a great way to use any leftover vegetables you may have in your fridge. On that note, the vegetables I list here are just ideas. You can use whatever you want. Really load the pot with a wide variety of colors.

A ton of vegetables cooked and ready for sauce

Then place a lid over the pot and cook for 5-10 minutes, until they start to soften.

Curry Paste

The curry paste you choose will affect the flavor of this meal more than anything else. So try to buy a flavorful, high-quality curry paste.

One of my favorite, widely available curry pastes comes from Mae Ploy. You can find it pretty easily and it packs a lot of flavor. It also doesn’t have any extraneous, toxic ingredients. The only potential downside? It contains a good amount of shrimp paste. So it’s not a good option for vegetarians or for those with shellfish allergies.

If you can’t use the Mae Ploy paste, this paste from World Foods is another good option. It’s not quite as savory or flavorful, but it has a nice, clean taste that really brings out the flavor of the vegetables.

While the vegetables are starting to cook, whisk the curry paste into the broth. A lot of curry pastes are really thick, so it’s a good idea to mix the paste into the broth before adding it to the pot.

Thickening the Sauce

After you add the liquids, paste, and tofu to the pot, push everything to the side and let the pot simmer for a while.

Simple Thai curry with tofu simmering

This allows a lot of the extra water to evaporate and creates a nice, thick sauce that will stick to the vegetables and the tofu.

If you don’t like tofu, you can also use tempeh, shrimp, or chicken. The curry will still taste great.

Let it cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened considerably.

Simple Thai curry with tofu

Once the sauce has thickened, the curry’s ready to eat.

Serving

You can serve this over rice or some quinoa. You could also use a nice, thick slice of sourdough bread to help deliver some of the sauce to your mouth.

I also like to top with cilantro and a spritz of lime.

Simple Thai curry with tofu and lime

Last but not least, I’ll often add some Thai Hot Sauce.

My favorite is SD Sauce. It’s one of my favorite hot sauces and it’s designed for Thai food. It’s incredibly flavorful, complex, and authentic.

I hope you give this simple Thai curry a try. It doesn’t take very long and is a great way to get a wide variety of vegetables into one meal. Again, feel free to experiment. There aren’t any wrong answers here. Swap out vegetables, try different curry pastes, or add different sources of protein.

Worst case, you end up with a pot full of tasty vegetables that you can be proud of.

Thai curry with tofu
Print Recipe

Simple Thai Curry with Tofu

This simple Thai curry is full of a wide variety of vegetables and plenty of protein from the tofu. The flavor from the curry paste is a great compliment to the wide range of vegetables and clean taste of the tofu. It's a nice, fresh meal.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: curry, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil or avocado oil

Vegetables

  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 8 oz mushrooms sliced
  • 1/2 lb broccoli 1 head
  • 1 yellow bell pepper sliced thinly
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced thinly
  • 6 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 14-oz can baby corn drained and broken into bite-size pieces
  • 1 8-oz can water chestnuts drained and sliced
  • 1 lb multi-colored potatoes cubed

Sauce

  • 2 cups broth
  • 1 14-oz can coconut milk
  • 5 Tbsp Thai curry paste *see note
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce or fish sauce
  • 2 lbs firm tofu cubed

Serving

  • 4 cups cooked white rice
  • lime wedges
  • cilantro chopped

Instructions

  • Place a wok or large pot on medium-high heat. Add the oil to the wok and heat until it starts to shimmer. Then add all of the vegetables. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
  • Add the curry paste to the broth and whisk/stir to combine. Once the vegetables have softened, add the broth, curry paste, coconut milk, soy sauce, and tofu to the wok. Bring back to a low boil.
  • Push the vegetables to the side, making a pool in the center. Allow to cook on medium-high heat for another 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
  • Serve over rice with some chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

Notes

* Most of the flavor in this dish comes from the curry paste, so you want a good quality, flavorful paste. My favorite, widely available Thai curry paste comes from Mae Ploy, but it does contain shrimp paste. No matter which curry paste you use, always read the ingredients and make sure it’s not full of toxic oils, unnecessary preservatives, and coloring agents. You can also make your own if you have the time. I’ll often make a large batch and then freeze the extra for later use.
I would taste the sauce after it’s started to reduce a bit. If it seems like it’s missing something, try adding some extra chile peppers for heat or something like soy sauce or fish sauce for extra umami. Some extra umami can revive an otherwise lackluster sauce.