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Get ready for the BEST Thai Red Prawn Curry you’ve ever tasted! This quick and easy recipe can be made in one pot and is ready in under 20 minutes, perfect for a weeknight dinner! Using super accessible, easily found supermarket ingredients, the flavours from this creamy coconut prawn curry sauce are unbelievable. It is guaranteed to be a winner with all the family!
Recipe Difficulty – Very Easy
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
This Thai Red Prawn Curry with Vegetables is great any time of year, but I especially love it in the colder months. It’s warming and comforting and absolutely perfect for when time is limited and you fancy something wholesome and nutritious! The flavours produced from this prawn curry recipe are seriously out of this world, especially considering it is cooked in such little time! I love the subtle, zingy, citrusy notes running through the curry, paired with the lemongrass that give it that fresh, uplifting taste!
This coconut prawn curry is a quick and simple recipe to make and was inspired by my 15 Minute Veg Curry recipe. Both these recipes are insanely quick to make and pair so well with this amazing Quinoa or even my Gluten Free flatbreads to really mop up every last drop of the delicious curry sauce!
Having said that, Kaeng Phet (which is the traditional name of an authentic Thai Red Curry) is often served with rice. You could use jasmine rice, brown rice, or even coconut rice. If you are using a rice cooker, you will need to start your rice cooker about 10 minutes before you start the Thai Red Prawn Curry recipe to make sure everything finishes at the same time!
If you’re looking for a few healthy homemade Thai dishes then do try my Peanut Butter Noodles or Vegan Pad Thai or Vegan Laksa or even try my Vegetable Thai Green Curry.
I also added this recipe into my collection of 21 Gluten Free Easter Recipes.
Ingredients to make Thai Red Prawn Curry
- Coconut Milk – a staple in many Thai curries. It helps turn the red curry paste into a creamy delight.
- Red Thai Curry Paste – This is a combination of red chilli peppers, garlic, sea salt, lemongrass and often turmeric. It gives a warm and gentle subtle heat to this coconut prawn curry recipe. If you have some spare then make my Thai Curry Noodle Soup.
- Lemongrass – Lemongrass brings a flavourful pop to any dish. If you haven’t looked for it at your local supermarket before, it should be in the produce section near the ginger! I also use lemongrass in my Thai Tofu Curry.
- Red Pepper – I’ve used a red pepper in this Thai Prawn Red Curry as it has a slightly sweeter flavour in comparison to green or yellow peppers. This is because it is maturer, so has had longer to sweeten up!
- Green Beans – these may not be the most common vegetable that you’ll find in a Thai prawn curry recipe, but I love the texture they give to this recipe, plus they are extra colour and nutrients!
- Lime Zest – adds a citrusy flavour and helps to balance the other delicious flavours! I find lime pairs so well with lemongrass and helps to cut through the heaviness of the coconut milk.
- Basil – this is the hero ingredient for this Red Thai Prawn Curry recipe, its fresh flavours really bring this prawn red curry to the next level!
- Maple Syrup – is a unique addition, but one that makes such a difference! It adds a subtle sweetness to this prawn red curry!
- Prawns – You can’t very well have a prawn curry without prawns! I’ve used frozen prawns in this Thai Red Curry for ease!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Coconut Milk – You could substitute coconut milk for coconut cream. This may produce a slightly thicker sauce, but this can be adjusted by adding a small amount of water to create your desired consistency.
- Maple Syrup – If you don’t have maple syrup, you use an alternative sweetener such as honey or sugar. If using sugar I would suggest 1-2 tsp.
- Lime – If you don’t have fresh lime available, you could use a lemon instead.
- Prawns – You could choose to substitute these with an alternative such as chicken. However you would need to cook the chicken first. If you want to make this a vegan Red Thai Curry the swapping the prawns for tofu or tempeh would work well.
- Vegetables – Feel free to substitute the pepper and green beens for vegetables of your choice. You could change it up with bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, baby corn or any left over vegetables you have left over in your fridge to help reduce food waste!
Variations
- Kid-friendly – If your kids aren’t ready for prawns yet, try chicken instead or keep it just to vegetables. Although this recipe is mild for everyone to enjoy, there are warm flavours running through it. If you have a child that is particularly sensitive to spice you could reduce the quantity of Thai Red Curry paste. Alternatively, I have a great 10 Minute Peanut Butter Curry recipe that you could try! If cooking with children, you could even try out a dessert with them such as my 3 Ingredient Oat Cookies
- Deluxe – This is the perfect recipe to cook if you have dinner guests. It is made in one pot, so minimal washing up and is ready in under 20 minutes! To take this Thai Red Prawn Curry to the next level, I’d serve it with white basmati rice, freshly chopped coriander and lime wedges. To make it look really impressive you could even use tiger prawns! I’d then follow with my Vegan Chocolate Tart, as it’s a total show stopper, with minimal prep required!
- Spicy – As I mentioned above this recipe is fairly mild so that everyone can enjoy it. If you enjoy spice, then feel free to add some freshly chopped chillis into the recipe. You should also check out my Cherry Tomato Pasta recipe too!
How to make Thai Red Prawn Curry
Step 1: Firstly, prepare the lime and vegetables. Zest the lime and chop the red peppers.
Step 2: Combine the curry paste, coconut milk, and lemongrass in a large frying pan with a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Step 3: Now add the chopped pepper, green beans, lime zest, and maple syrup and simmer for another 5-6 minutes.
Step 4: Finally, add the prawns and basil and allow the curry to simmer for another 5 minutes or until the prawns are cooked.
Hint: If you are using tiger prawns, jumbo prawns, or other large prawns, you may need to allow for a longer cook time.
Leftovers
If you have extra Thai red curry with prawns left over, fear not it will store really well and the flavours will taste even better the next day! Refrigerate in an air-tight container for a few days.
Please note: you can only reheat prawns once when cooked. If using raw prawns, you can cook the recipe and reheat it once. However if using cooked prawns from the start of this recipe, you won’t be able to reheat the recipe.
Recipe FAQs
Thai Red Curry Paste is usually a combination of red chilli peppers, garlic, sea salt, lemongrass and often turmeric. It gives a warm and gentle subtle heat to this prawn curry recipe.
Thai red curry is spicier than Indian curries. However I prefer to make my curries on the milder side so that everyone can enjoy them! You can reduce the quantity of Thai red curry paste if you are sensitive to spice, however, equally you can increase this if you prefer more heat!
I have used frozen prawns in this Thai Red Prawn Curry recipe, however you could use fresh prawns if you preferred. Ensure they are piping hot before serving. If using cooked prawns, you won’t be able to reheat this recipe again as you can only reheat prawns once when cooked.
There are quite a few differences between the two curries however primarily, Thai curries tend to rely on coconut milk for thickening while Indian curries use yoghurt or cream.
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Easy Thai Red Prawn Curry
Equipment
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- large pot/frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 can coconut milk
- 5 tbsp red Thai curry paste
- 1 lemongrass
- 1 red pepper
- 100 g green beans
- 1 lime zest
- 1 handful basil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 240 g raw prawns
Instructions
- Firstly, chop the vegetables and zest the lime
- Then, in a large pot or frying pan add the curry paste, coconut milk, lemongrass along with a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes
- Now add the chopped pepper, green beans, zest of 1 lime and maple syrup and simmer for a further 5 minutes
- Finally, add the prawns and basil and simmer for 5 minutes until the prawns are cooked
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Absolutely delicious! So easy to make, had with coconut rice and has overtaken my go to Thai green curry recipe! Thank you x