This vegan Thai red curry recipe is my go-to for when I have friends over for dinner as it’s really simple yet so impressive and tasty! Before turning vegan I always used to go for chicken Thai red curry at my favourite Thai restaurant in Leeds (Zaap), but this Quorn version is a fab meat-free alternative.
You can use any Thai red curry paste but I love Blue Dragon’s one because I find that they have a really good balance of flavours, and is the closest I’ve found to taste like the ones I had whilst travelling in Thailand (you can read about my travels to Thailand here). Of course you can make your own instead and freeze it but as I love the taste of the Blue Dragon paste, I prefer to just buy it for the convenience.
If you have a high tolerance for spice, you can add fresh chilies or chilli powder to raise the heat! I personally like adding vegan Quorn “chicken” pieces for this vegan Thai red curry but this isn’t essential as you can add extra veggies, tofu and cashew nuts instead.
The vegan fried rice recipe is also a lot simpler than it might sound as it only involves frying the boiled rice some seasoning and a bit of soy sauce in a pan!
One of my favourite things about my vegan Thai red curry recipe is that you can adapt the vegetables you use depending on whats in season. As we’re currently in the Summer season in the UK, I’m currently using aubergine in a lot of my recipes including this one! You can keep yourself updated with what’s in season using this website.
I really recommend giving this vegan Thai red curry recipe I try for your next dinner party of date night- your guests will LOVE it!
Thai Red Curry with Vegan Tofu Fried Rice
A beautiful fragrant Thai curry served with a vegan version of egg-fried rice.
Ingredients
For the curry
- 1 tbsp oil (of your choice- I use olive)
- 2 handfuls button mushrooms thickly sliced
- 1 handful green beans
- 1 aubergine, sliced into large cubes
- 2 handfuls spinach
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/2 bag Quorn chicken pieces
- 1 hanful cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 handful unsalted cashew nuts
- 1 large potato thickly chopped
- 1/2 tin coconut milk
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 sprig lemongrass (flattened with a knife and knotted)
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste ( I use Blue dragon)
For the tofu fried rice
- 2 cups dried brown rice, washed with sieve
- 4 cups boiling water
- 1/2 low salt stock cube
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground all-spice
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 1 handful chopped coriander to garnish (optional)
Instructions
For the curry
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Heat a large deep pan on the hob on medium heat, then add the oil. Once the oil is heated, added the chopped garlic followed by the chopped onion.
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Once the onion and garlic have a bit of colour (but not browned), add the Thai red curry paste along with 2-3 tablespoons of water to coat the onion and garlic
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Once the onion and garlic are coated in the paste, add the sliced mushrooms, aubergine, chopped potato, cherry tomatoes and cashew nuts. Add the chili powder then a tiny bit more water if necessary.
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Add the chopped tomatoes, followed by the tomato purée. Add the Quorn pieces and knotted lemongrass. Reduce the heat of the pan to a simmer. Leave to simmer for 20-25 mins until thickened.
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Once the curry simmers make the rice (see below)
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After the curry has thickened add the coconut milk, green beans and spinach. Continue to cook for another 5 mins
For the fried rice
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Add the freshly boiled water from the kettle and washed dried rice to a deep pan on high heat.
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Add the stock cube, once bubbling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes or until soft
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Once cooked, drain excess water (if any) with a sieve.
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Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add 1/2 tsp of olive oil
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Add the cooked rice, all-spice, soy sauce and slat and pepper. Fry until the soy sauce coats the rice
To serve
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Serve the rice and curry and sprinkle over the chopped coriander- enjoy!
Recipe Notes
If you're feeling lazy you could buy microwavable packet rice and fry it in a pan with soy sauce instead (but this works out more expensive)