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    Home > Vegan Entrees

    Thai Red Curry with Tofu

    By My Pure Plants on 02/14/2022 - May contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure.

    Jump to Recipe Print Pin

    This is the easiest Thai red curry ever with only simple 6 ingredients to make a delicious sauce. We also used ingredients that are common in Thai cuisine like tofu, wood ear mushrooms also known as black fungus, bamboo shoots, spring onions and red chilis. It is a delicious, rich and creamy red curry dish which is done in 30 minutes!

    White frying pan with a darkbrown red sauce tofu cubes, sliced bell peppers, sliced green chilies, mint leaves, sliced spring onion, mushrooms slices.

    Do you need more flavorful tofu dishes? One of the most flavorful tofu dish we have ever made are these Copycat Chipotle Sofritas. Oh, and you must try these Grilled Buffalo Tofu Skewers, or this Crispy Sticky Teriyaki Tofu or our Chinese BBQ Tofu Burger. Check out all of our Vegan Tofu Recipes.

    Table of Contents hide
    1. What to expect from this curry recipe?
    2. Curry paste or spice blend?
    3. Ingredients
    4. How to make the Easiest Thai Red Curry with Tofu?
    5. What goes well with curry and tofu?
    6. What to serve with Thai curry?
    7. More vegan tofu recipes
    8. Easy Thai Red Curry with Tofu

    What to expect from this curry recipe?

    When we visited Bali/Indonesia we tried many local recipes and ended up bringing home Vicki Liley’s The Complete Book of Hot & Spicy Asian Cooking*. (Wow, it is still available on Amazon despite that it is from 2007!). It has more than 200 pages of delicious recipes which we have been trying and loving.

    The inspiration behind this recipe is a combination of dishes we saw in this book. She makes everything from scratch among others curry paste. You can make homemade Thai red curry paste using ingredients including dried red chili peppers, garlic, lemongrass stalks, shallots, coriander root, and kaffir lime peel. Some of which are not easy to come by everywhere.

    So we tried to make Thai red curry easier by simplifying the ingredients, but not compromising on taste. What did we get at the end?

    • 6 ingredients
    • Rich curry sauce
    • Spicy but not too hot
    • Thick and creamy
    • Quick and easy to make
    White frying pan with a darkbrown red sauce tofu cubes, sliced bell peppers, sliced green chilies, mint leaves, sliced spring onion, mushrooms slices.

    Curry paste or spice blend?

    If you want to try Thai red curry, you have 3 options to choose from.

    1. You can make a homemade red curry paste from scratch from ingredients which are usually only available in specialty stores like lemongrass stalks, coriander root, or kaffir lime peel.
    2. Or you can also buy curry paste in stores of course. Pay attention if you want it to be vegan. For example this Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste* is vegan, but others may contain fish sauce or shrimp paste.
    3. Or you can try this super easy recipe which uses a Thai Red Curry Spice Blend.

    All the above options have different advantages and disadvantages. I would say that making the paste at home can be quite challenging. Especially to get it into a fine paste consistency. Store-bought paste can be a good option, although I feel that I can control how spicy it is better with a spice blend.

    Ingredients

    So what do you need to make the easiest Thai Red Curry with a spice mix?

    • Thai Red Curry Spice Mix (We used a spice blend of lemon grass, paprika powder, coriander, cumin, Thai basil, lime leaf, garlic, pepper, red chillies, which seems closest to Spiceology’s Red Curry Spice Blend*.)
    • Tomato Paste
    • Full-fat Canned Coconut Milk
    • Lime Juice
    • Vegetable Oil
    • Maple Syrup

    What else did we add? Firm tofu, mushrooms (we used wood ear mushrooms), bamboo shoots, spring onion and red chillies.

    Ingredients of red curry with tofu in small glass bowls translucent liquids, red paste and red spice blend. White tofu cubes are displayed on a black plate.

    How to make the Easiest Thai Red Curry with Tofu?

    Pressing tofu

    Use firm tofu and press it. We used our trusted TofuBud*, but you can choose any DIY method or tofu press. For more information, tips, and steps, read our guide to pressing tofu, including an honest review of TofuBud.

    Marinating tofu

    1. To make the marinade, take a glass mixing bowl and add Thai red curry spice mix, tomato paste, vegetable oil, lime juice and water. Mix it thoroughly.
    2. After you pressed the tofu cut them into cubes.
    3. Take a shallow glass bowl and add the tofu cubes.
    4. Pour the marinade and mix it with a silicone spatula or spoon to make sure it is throughly covered.
    5. Let the tofu to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

    Preparing the veggies

    Besides tofu, we also added a couple of veggies. You can mix and match and pair tofu with other ones depending on what you like and what you have at home.

    • Slice red chillies.
    • Cut spring onion in julienne style or if you have small fresh ones, just cut off the green leaves and add it like that.
    • Pre-cook wood ear mushrooms according to package instructions.
    • We used canned bamboo shoots, so nothing to prepare there.

    Making the curry with tofu

    1. Heat the frying pan or wok over medium heat and add the marinated tofu. Scrape leftover marinade from the bowl to the pan. Add salt and black pepper and mix well. Fry it for 5-8 minutes.
    2. Add red chillies, bamboo shoots, spring onions and pre-cooked wood ear mushrooms. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
    3. Add full-fat coconut milk (canned, shaken). Stir well.
    4. Add maple syrup. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Voila! You are ready!
    4 photo collage with a white frying pan with a darkbrown red sauce tofu cubes, sliced bell peppers, sliced green chilies, mint leaves, sliced spring onion, mushrooms slices.

    What goes well with curry and tofu?

    We added red chillies, bamboo shoots, spring onions and pre-cooked wood ear mushrooms. However, you can change it as per your taste and add other vegetables like: eggplant, asparagus, shiitake or oyster mushroom, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas or snap peas.

    What to serve with Thai curry?

    We served it with white rice. But there are lots of options. Here is our recommendation if you want to mix and match.

    • Grains like: Steamed, cooked or fried white rice, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet or the combination of them. If you need to eat gluten-free, please make sure you use gluten-free grains. (Please note: Couscous is not gluten-free)
    • Riced veggies like cauliflower rice or sweet potato “rice“
    • Noodles like soba aka buckwheat noodles. If you need to eat gluten-free, please choose gluten-free noodles as soba noodles may contain wheat flour which is not gluten-free.
    • Toppings: sliced green onion or scallions or sprouts or fresh cilantro.
    A black bowl of rice and brown red sauce with tofu cubes, sliced bell peppers, sliced green chilies, mint leaves, sliced spring onion, mushrooms slices.

    This Red Curry Tofu recipe is vegan so meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. It is suitable for a vegetarian and nut-free diet. This recipe is WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you skip the oil.

    More vegan tofu recipes

    • Chinese BBQ Tofu Burger
    • Grilled Buffalo Tofu Skewers
    • Spicy Tofu Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
    • Copycat Chipotle Sofritas (aka Braised Tofu)
    • Crispy Sticky Teriyaki Fried Tofu
    White frying pan with a darkbrown red sauce tofu cubes, sliced bell peppers, sliced green chilies, mint leaves, sliced spring onion, mushrooms slices.

    Easy Thai Red Curry with Tofu

    Nandor Barta
    This is the easiest Thai red curry ever, with only simple 6 ingredients to make a delicious sauce. We also used ingredients that are common in Thai cuisine like tofu, wood ear mushrooms also known as black fungus, bamboo shoots, spring onions, and red chilis. It is a delicious, rich, and creamy red curry dish done in 30 minutes!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Marinating time 15 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Main Course
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 276kcal

    Equipment

    • TofuBud (pressing tofu in 15 minutes)
    • Non-stick frying pan (10.5 inch / 26 cm)
    • Wok

    Ingredients
     
     

    For the tofu marinade

    • 1 Tbsp Thai red curry spice blend
    • 1 Tbsp Tomato paste
    • 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
    • ½ tsp Lime juice
    • 1 Tbsp Water

    For the curry

    • 12 oz Firm tofu
    • ¾ cup Full-fat coconut cream (canned) shaken
    • 1 tsp Maple syrup
    • 3 Spring onion
    • 1.5 oz Bamboo shoots canned
    • 2.5 oz Mushroom we used wood ear mushrooms
    • 1 Red chilies
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    EXCLUSIVE 5-ingredient recipes for busy home cooks that are ready in 15 minutes!Check out our Express Vegan Cookbook!

    Instructions
     

    Preparing the ingredients

    • Use a firm tofu and press it. 
    • Slice red chillies.
    • Cut spring onion in julienne style, or if you have small fresh ones, just cut off the green leaves and add it like that.
    • Pre-cook wood ear mushrooms according to package instructions.

    Marinating

    • To make the marinade, take a glass mixing bowl and add Thai red curry spice mix, tomato paste, vegetable oil, lime juice, and water. Mix it thoroughly.
    • After you pressed the tofu cut them into cubes.
    • Take a shallow glass bowl and add the tofu cubes.
    • Pour the marinade and mix it with a silicone spatula or spoon to ensure it is thoroughly covered. Let the tofu marinate for at least 15 minutes.

    Making the curry

    • Heat the frying pan or wok over medium heat and add the marinated tofu. Scrape the leftover marinade from the bowl into the pan. Add salt and black pepper and mix well. Fry it for 5-8 minutes.
    • Add red chilies, bamboo shoots, spring onions, and pre-cooked wood ear mushrooms. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
    • Add full-fat coconut milk (canned, shaken). Stir well.
    • Add maple syrup. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Voila! You are ready!
    Tried this recipe? Can we see it?Please share a picture with us by uploading an image to Pinterest below ours.

    Notes

    We served it with white rice. But there are lots of options. Here is our recommendation if you want to mix and match.
    • Grains like steamed, cooked, or fried white rice, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, or a combination of them. 
    • Riced veggies like cauliflower rice or sweet potato rice
    • Noodles like soba aka buckwheat noodles. If you need to eat gluten-free, please choose gluten-free noodles as soba noodles may contain wheat flour which is not gluten-free.
    • Toppings like sliced green onion or scallions or sprouts, or fresh cilantro.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Easy Thai Red Curry with Tofu
    Amount Per Serving (1 serving (without sides))
    Calories 276 Calories from Fat 207
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 23g35%
    Saturated Fat 17g106%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
    Monounsaturated Fat 2g
    Sodium 42mg2%
    Potassium 341mg10%
    Carbohydrates 10g3%
    Fiber 3g13%
    Sugar 3g3%
    Protein 11g22%
    Vitamin A 274IU5%
    Vitamin C 21mg25%
    Calcium 131mg13%
    Iron 3mg17%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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    Hi, we are Emese Maczkó and Nándor Barta, the founders and recipe creators behind My Pure Plants. We are sharing our knowledge and expertise in vegan recipes and encourage you to try home-cooked meals using locally-sourced, organic, whole foods.

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