Mmmmm…Thai curry.
Somebody please make me stop eating these Thai Lime & Chili Almonds from Trader Joe’s. I just ate one of the little dried chili’s and my mouth feels like hot lava. And I’m too lazy to go upstairs to get a drink, so I just keep eating them! I am a huge sucker for Thai food. Especially the spicy and sweet combo. There’s nothing better than a rich, slightly sweet curry with that spicy kick at the end.
I had actually never had Thai food until my honeymoon. My husband and I were really into exploring new foods while on our honeymoon and we went to a little restaurant called Benja’s Thai and Sushi while in St. George, Utah. We had our first Thai curry, our first sushi roll (heaven!), and the best dessert of sticky mango rice. That was one of the best meals I have ever had. Ever since then, there has been a special place in my heart for Thai food.
Today’s recipe is a red Thai curry that is made super simple in the crockpot. This is one of my husband and daughters very favorite meals. Its full of sweet potatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, and peas smothered in a slightly spicy (you can adjust the heat) red coconut sauce. I use light coconut milk to keep the fat content lower, but I have made it with full fat coconut milk and even full on coconut cream (the thick part of coconut milk). Its pretty amazing with the coconut cream, but I just don’t feel good about making it on a regular basis with the higher calorie choice. So light coconut milk is what I end up using. You can really use which ever coconut option you would like, but just know that the sauce thickness will change depending on the type you use. With light coconut milk it will be pretty runny and with coconut cream it will be quite thick. Honestly, the coconut cream is the yummiest. If you are feeling indulgent, you should give it a try. I get my light coconut milk at Trader Joe’s because it so cheap! I also get my coconut cream there, mostly because I can’t find it at many other stores. Did you know you can make your own coconut cream? Here is a a tutorial on making your own coconut cream on Oh She Glows (no need to whip it for this recipe.)
All the flavors of a red Thai curry, but with the ease of a crockpot meal. Packed with veggies and fragrant with coconut milk or coconut cream.
Ingredients
- 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 small onion, diced or sliced vertically into sections
- 1 (14 oz.) can light coconut milk (or full fat coconut milk or coconut cream)
- 3 TBSP. soy sauce
- 1-2 tsp. sriracha sauce (depending on how much spice you can handle)
- 1/2 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
- *3 TBSP. red curry paste (See Note)
- 1 TSBP. brown sugar
- 8 oz. quartered white mushrooms
- 1 C. green peas (fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 C. toasted cashews (for garnish)
- 1/4 C. fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
- a couple fresh bail leaves (for garnish)
- cooked brown rice
Instructions
- Rinse and chop the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and onion and place in the crockpot. While you are at it, chop the mushrooms and cilantro and set aside. If you are starting with raw cashews, toast them for about 5-7 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 F. and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the coconut milk, soy sauce, red curry paste (see note below), brown sugar, sriracha sauce, and salt. If you have a low tolerance for spicy food, just put in one teaspoon of the sriracha sauce and taste. If you feel like it needs more heat, add the second teaspoon. Or if you are feeling wild, add as much as you want!
- Add the sauce to the veggies in the crock pot and stir until the veggies are all coated. Turn the crockpot to the low setting and let cook for 4 hours. Add the mushrooms and peas and cook for another 30 minutes. This would be a good time to start cooking the rice. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
- Serve over rice and topped with toasted cashew pieces, fresh cilantro, and basil.
Notes
*For a long time, I used Thai Kitchen for my red Thai curry paste. Its the kind you can find in the Asian section of most grocery stores. However, recently, I bought a big tub of a more authentic red curry paste and it is far more potent and requires a lot less curry paste. If you are using anything other than Thai Kitchen brand, mix the curry paste into the sauce mixture a teaspoon at a time, tasting after each addition.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only Idaho born and bred gal that loves Thai now. I tried it for the first time in Ithaca and love it, but I haven't been able to convert my parents. I'm not hopeful about it either. =) This sounds similar to a red curry pork I do,so I'm definitely going to try it, I'll just have to cut it down for one or find a freezer container. =) I'm looking forward to seeing you later this year!
Benja's is the one and only Thai place I have eaten at–and only once! I think I need to try some more. If you lived closer, I think you'd help me find the places to buy all the cool ingredients for the amazing dishes you make…I'll cross my fingers for a residency up here! 🙂
Hi and thank you for this recipe! I live in St. George and can tell you how lucky you were to discover Benja's! I absolutely love their red curry dishes so I am in the process of cooking this now! Question…it has only been cooking for about an hour and a half, and seems to have absorbed virtually all the liquid. I think maybe because the 2 sweet potatoes I used were pretty big? Anyway, would you suggest adding some coconut milk or other liquid at this point? Thanks in advance ��
Hi Nancy. Did you use a full can's worth of coconut milk or coconut cream? If you used the method for making your own coconut cream, did you make sure the amount of cream you extracted was about a 14 oz. can full? If you did use this method, you would need to extract the cream from two cans of coconut milk.
When I make this recipe, especially when using coconut cream, it always seems like there is just enough liquid to coat the veggies but not make a sauce. By the end, the veggies release some liquid and there is a lovely sauce. However, its possible if you used really big sweet potatoes, that they did suck up all the liquid. If after about two hours it isn't forming more liquid or if it seems like its burning on the bottom, add more coconut milk (if you have it. If not use water). Don't add too much, though. If you do add more liquid don't forget to adjust the flavor with more soy sauce, sriracha, salt, and curry paste if you need to. If the flavors don't sing, you most likely need a little more of one of those.
Good luck! I hope it turns out for you!
This looks amazing! How many servings is this recipe for? And will there be room in the crockpot to double it? I’m hosting roughly 12 people and don’t want to be skimpy on portions.
I would say it serves six-eight. I am not sure, if it would fit to double it in the crockpot. Imagining how it would fit in my crockpot, it seems like it would be too full to double it. I think you could get away with doing a 1 1/2 recipe and that would probably be perfect for 12 people. (I am doing a complete blog overhaul right now and am in the process of going back to all my recipes and adding serving sizes and cook times, but haven’t gotten to this one). Good luck!