Thai Coconut Curry Sauce
What do you do when you enjoy the coconut curry from your local Thai food take-out place, but you don’t want to keep paying the price for take-out food? That was my dilemma recently and that’s why I decided it was time to just figure out how to make my own! The result is this homemade Thai coconut curry sauce recipe and it’s been a great way to enjoy the flavor of red curry in our own homemade stir fries.
Making Thai Coconut Curry Sauce with Red Curry Paste
The two ingredients that primarily give this sauce its flavor are the coconut milk and the red curry paste. This sauce uses a 1/2 cup of coconut milk – AND – I like to make my own coconut milk too! This is because I can make just a 1/2 cup at a time and not have any leftovers as was so often happening when I would use the store-bought cans of coconut milk. My homemade coconut milk is a bit lighter and thinner than the store-bought versions, but I prefer it that way!
To the coconut milk I add 1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste. This is just enough heat for us but of course you can add more of this ingredient if you like things spicier. To finish the mixture I add 1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce, 2 teaspoons of Rice Vinegar, a 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, and a 1/8 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper. I usually just mix everything together in the same measuring cup that was holding the coconut milk.
Finally, you can stir 2 teaspoons of corn starch into the mixture which will thicken the sauce when it’s cooked. You have a couple choices here – you can add the corn starch directly to the sauce mixture but you need to add it gradually to keep lumps from forming. The other option is to make a separate corn starch slurry by combining the 2 teaspoons of corn starch in a scant 1/4 cup of cold water and add that to the sauce once it’s cooking.
How To Make A Thai Coconut Curry Stir Fry
Now that the sauce is all stirred together it’s time to use it in a stir fry! We usually make our Thai coconut curry stir fry using a 16 oz bag of frozen stir fry vegetables but of course you could also add a meat of your choice, or use an assortment of chopped fresh vegetables.
I simply heat up the thawed stir fry vegetables in a skillet which only takes a few minutes. Then I pour in the sauce and let it heat up and thicken which only takes a few minutes too.
Then I put some of our coconut curry vegetables over rice and dinner is served! I like to top my curried vegetables and rice with some of my homemade Everything But The Bagel Seasoning Blend. It’s the perfect finishing touch!
So most of the time we don’t even order the take-out anymore. In fact if I make the sauce earlier in the day, Bob takes over when supper rolls around and does the stir frying and rice cooking. And that’s just as much a treat for me as take-out!
More Homemade Ideas:
Thai Coconut Curry Sauce for Stir Fries
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Coconut Milk
- 1 Tbl Thai Red Curry Paste
- 1 Tbl Soy Sauce
- 2 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/8 tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper
- 2 tsp Corn Starch (see Notes)
For Stir Fry:
- 16 oz Bag Frozen Stir Fry Vegetables – thawed
Instructions:
- Combine the coconut milk, red curry paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, and cayenne pepper and mix well to combine.
- Next, you can add the corn starch directly to this mixture, however add it gradually, crushing any lumps that may form as it's added, and stirring well. (see notes below if you would prefer to use a corn starch slurry).
- Heat the stir fry vegetables in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes or until heated through.
- Add the coconut curry sauce and heat while stirring until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve the coconut curry vegetables over cooked rice.
Notes:
