Prawn prawns Seafood shrimp Thai Red Curry

Thai Red Curry with Prawns

July 20, 2016 3 Comments

Luscious. I love that word and hate the fact that my Thai tongue has difficulty in getting around it to pronounce it properly! However, to me it’s a word that truly describes the combination of King prawns in a Thai red curry sauce. Despite the fact that I always have a bag of prawns in the freezer (and a packet of curry paste knocking around:-)), this is not a dish I eat often. The reason for that is simply that it is one of my all time favourites and so I keep it as a treat. This dish just works. It looks great, tastes wonderful, and yet takes only minutes to prepare. Treat yourself!
I like to buy my prawns with the shell on and peel them myself. However, I know that not everyone likes to peel prawns so use peeled prawns if you prefer. I use up to about 500g of prawns depending on how many I'm feeding. The important thing is to make sure they are thoroughly defrosted before going into the sauce as you only want to cook them for a few minutes to keep them tender. Defrost them under running water if necessary.

If I only have cooked prawns available, I defrost them and just add them into the heated sauce and then remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. I’m also using some mild red chilies, and as ever, some lime leaves from the freezer for garnish. These are optional, you can buy them frozen in Asian stores or in the UK most supermarkets have started stocking fresh leaves. The pastes are complete but it is always a good idea to have a little lime juice to hand to adjust sweetness, if needed, to your personal taste at the end of cooking. You also adjust saltiness by adding a little more fish sauce or salt if required.

Make sure you’re using the “right” type of coconut milk as it will make or break this or any other coconut-based curry. Quick guide here, Coconut Milk Summary or if you would like to see the difference between different brands of coconut milk the full article is here, Cooking Thai Curry with Coconut Milk. Just use half a can to start with, if it has separated in the can to a thick part at the top of the can then use the top part. You can add the remaining coconut liquid later depending on how thick you want your curry to be.

Put the paste in the pan, heat until it bubbles and add half the can of coconut milk.

Thai Red Curry with Prawns add sauce and coconut milk

Heat through while stirring

Add the defrosted prawns and sliced red chillies. Stir through adding the remainder of the coconut milk if needed.

Thai Red Curry with Prawns add prawns to sauce

Simmer gently for a few minutes taking care not to overcook the prawns or they will become tough. Top with desired garnish and serve with Thai jasmine rice.

Thai Red Curry with Prawns serving presentation 2

Enjoy!

If you like this recipe please click the star rating or add a comment below! Kop Khun Kha, Nitsa.x

Thai Red Curry with Prawns

Rated 5.0 stars by 7 users

Servings

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Calories

494

Author:

Nitsa Takhiansok

Whenever I eat this I can’t help but think King prawns in a Thai red curry sauce was a marriage meant to be. There is so little effort that goes into making this and yet the end product is so delicious. Even better is the fact that with a bag of prawns in the freezer and a packet of curry paste and a can of coconut milk in the cupboard you have a superb meal in minutes.

Ingredients

1 packet of My Thai Curry Red Curry Paste
500 g of frozen or fresh prawns. See notes at the end of the recipe.
400 mL of coconut milk.
3 mild red chillies.
Kaffir lime leaves (optional).

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Directions

Put the curry paste in the pan and heat until it bubbles.
Add half the can of coconut milk, preferably the thicker part at the top of the can and heat through whilst stirring.
Add the defrosted prawns and sliced red chillies. Stir through, add in the remainder of the coconut milk if needed.
Simmer gently for a few minutes only, take care not to over cook the prawns or they will become tough. Top with desired garnish and serve with Thai Jasmine rice. Enjoy.

Recipe Note

I prefer to buy prawns with their shell on and peel them myself after defrosting them under running water. It’s important to make sure they are thoroughly defrosted before putting them into the sauce as you only want to cook them for a few minutes. If you’re going to use cooked prawns it’s sufficient just to let them sit in the sauce for a few minutes before serving.

As always using the “right” type of coconut milk is a game-changer. See here.

Nutrition

Serving Size Per person
Calories 494, Sugar 4.7 grams, Sodium 376.7 milligrams, Fat 35.2 grams, Saturated Fat 26.3 grams, Carbs 13 grams, Fiber 2.8 grams, Protein 38.1 grams, Cholesterol 268.3 milligrams

3 Responses

Emma Jackson

June 16, 2023

Oh this recipe is sublime, obviously due to the amazing Thai red curry paste! This curry is so easy to make and tastes absolutely gorgeous! Will definitely be ordering more of this paste and this recipe will be a firm favourite in my cooking repotiore!! X

Lindy McDermott

February 18, 2020

OUTSTANDING!!! Not much more to say really, it was the perfect prawn curry loved by everyone! Thank you, buying more now!

Pam Young

March 10, 2018

This curry is sensational and needs nothing else added to it other than a red chilli and lime leaves. Definitely one of my favourite sauces.

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