Brothy Thai Curry With Silken Tofu and Herbs

Scallions are easy to grow. Save the bottom bit with the roots and stick in water or dirt. I started doing this at the beginning of the pandemic and now have a bumper crop!

This is my basic Thai red curry recipe but I alternate tofu, shrimp or chicken. The curry itself freezes extremely well. Cook longer if you want a thicker sauce to use over stir fried veggies, rice or noodles.

Before scallions got outrageous, I started cutting halfway up the white and sticking them in the ground. You harvest them the same way and they grow back over and over. I haven't bought scallions for years now.

I made this exactly as written, and the flavors of the broth are delicious. This was my first time eating silken tofu, and I really liked the texture it added. However, there has to be a way to warm it up. As soon as the hot broth hit the cold tofu, the whole thing was lukewarm with cold bites of tofu. If I make this again, I might cut the tofu up into pieces and heat it with the broth.

I learned how to warm silken tofu from Fuchsia Dunlop’s marvelous cookbooks. Bring a small pan of lightly salted water to a soft boil, scoop out large chunks of silken tofu and submerge them, and gently simmer for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. The same technique can be used for firm tofu, but be careful not to go above a gentle simmer, as boiling renders the tofu porous.

Also depends on the brand you use. Thai Kitchens is relatively low on heat (and flavor). Mae Ploy is relatively high on heat (and flavor). Given that the paste is diluted by more than six cups of liquid, two or three tablespoons of Thai Kitchens should be relatively mild. Half that for Mae Ploy.

Add 1 tbsp fish sauce

What about not adding any salt to the recipe, using reduced sodium soy sauce and low sodium /no sodium vegetable stock to lower the sodium content in the soup, if it is a concern? Everyone should always cook with their health front and center and alter recipes in a way that is still pleasing but healthier if necessary. That squeeze of lime juice will help trick your taste buds into not missing all that sodium!

The curry was decent, not too hot as written, so there's room to amp it up. In my opinion, the addition of cherry tomatoes was odd in this recipe. I used fresh (imported, because...January in the Midwest) but I felt they were more of a nuisance, bobbing in the broth, rather than an enhancement. Like others, I added bok choy; other greens would work well, too. I served over rice noodles because it is a bit sparse without.

Scallions are shockingly expensive these days. Try this with shallots or red onions instead. Adds crunch and a bit more sharpness than scallions but... pandemic & supply chain be dam_ed.

Did this as-is with exception of putting some bok choi on top for a little greens. Used fresh cherry tomatoes - about 1.5 cups of not a touch more - but before throwing them in dice them up so they release their juices. Would probably go with canned next time. A splash of fish sauce/colatura to give a touch of depth would help but maybe tomorrow the leftovers will mature more as all dishes like this do.

At step 3, when heat reduced to medium, I added some chopped red pepper, broccoli florets and sugar-snap peas - the veggies cooked in the broth. As we are not vegetarian, I used shredded cooked leftover chicken - added at the end of Step 3, after the coconut milk, and warmed through Left out Steps 4 and 5, obviously Topped the curry with spring onions ('scallions') which are cheap here in the UK ,and Thai Basil and Coriander (Cilantro)

I use both green and red curry paste frequently and usually use 2 tablespoons (1/8 cup) which is still quite spicy, so I would use much less if your family doesn't like things "hot" --- certainly no more than one tablespoon.

Following the advice given I doubled the curry paste. We wanted a full meal out of this so I added whatever veggies I had in fridge: sliced carrots, red onion , slivered cabbage, cut green beans and shiitake mushrooms. Didn’t have silken tofu but did have firm so diced firm tofu also went in. It was fabulous and a great meatless meal. Will make again.

Do you think this could work with Green vs Red Curry paste? I'd hate to have to buy a special jar of Red Curry paste when I already have and normally use Green... Tx.