Thai Coconut Shrimp and Tofu Curry

A symphony of slightly sweet, acidic, heat that fulfills all of your curry fantasies, this Thai Coconut Shrimp and Tofu Curry is an incredibly delicious, cozy meal.

In the early mornings and evenings, I can almost imagine it is truly fall here in the Southwest.  We’ve  hit a nice crisp 60 in the early hours, making the cats wish to snuggle in for cuddles under the blankets and encouraging the switch to a steaming cup of hot coffee rather than iced.  During the midday, the temperature pendulum swings upwards and I reach for icy cold matcha lattes, coffee, or plain water.  But, in the ever changing whims of the weather goddesses, the evenings cool down and I reach for a cozy bowl of soup, a hot cocoa, or some other form of comfort food like this incredible bowl of Thai Coconut Shrimp and Tofu Curry.

For the record, this is a concoction of my own making having studied and tested various other recipes for a Thai Red Curry sauce.  This is by no means an authentic version, as it doesn’t include palm sugar nor Keffir leaves, but it is incredibly delicious and made with easily accessible ingredients.  This is a blend between a Red Curry and a Yellow Curry, and has incredible depth and nuance in the balance of sweet, tart, and savory. There are minimal ingredients involved, however the payoff in bold, huge flavors are incredible.There is a creeping bit of heat at the back of your palate when eating this, but the acidity of the lime cuts through the spices and creamy goodness like a knife. The curry sauce itself is something I could just ladle onto rice and eat for days and be a happy little camper.  

The curry sauce tastes like it simmers for hours, even right when you first make it. If you make the sauce ahead, the flavors deepen. Top your meal off with fresh cilantro and lime to add a fresh touch to the deeper flavors of the curry.

You start off the sauce by mincing your aromatics, the onion, garlic, and ginger.  Sweating, then browning the onions till they take on a deeply caramel color and depth of flavor will lead you into adding in both the ginger, garlic, and other spices to let the flavors bloom and become incredibly fragrant.  Once the spices are incredibly aromatic the rest of the ingredients go in EXCEPT the lime juice, and you aggressively simmer everything until it thickens, roughly 10 minutes.  Do NOT skip the fish sauce.  It is one of those essential ingredients in much of Asian cooking that adds undertones and layers to the final dish you don’t typically know are there but would miss if it is not included.  

You can absolutely make this all in a single day, and there are that times I do, however I do urge you to make the curry sauce the day before you actually make the entire dish.  The spices and flavors of the sauce meld together in such a harmonious way and it matures into something more magical than what you begin with.  The flavors just deepen, intertwine, and create that next level home cooked dish that rivals any restaurant.

After pressing the water out of the tofu, pan sear until camarlize and brown on all sides in oil and soy sauce. This step flavors your tofu more than just covering with the curry - it is a tasty snack just by itself!

I bring this Thai Coconut Curry Sauce to you with the proteins of both pan seared Tofu and Shrimp as I think they perfectly complement the dish, however if you want to shortcut the protein I have also just tossed leftover rotisserie chicken in at the last moment to warm through with the vegetables.  In doing that, you have an incredibly delicious, nutritious meal within the 30 minute mark if you make the sauce ahead.  However, proteins such as tofu and shrimp are a little more tricky to figure out how to treat, so I wanted to explain my own methods for preparing them.

For the tofu, I use extra firm tofu and cut the tofu into 1 inch pieces.  I try to get them as uniform as possible because you end up pressing the water out of them for at least an hour to improve the texture when both cooking and eating it.  I line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then layer a bunch of paper towels, then the tofu pieces.  Then I line the bottom of another baking sheet with aluminum foil, top the tofu with more paper towels and put the baking sheet on top.  Lastly, I put my fruit bowl on top to create a weight on top of the sheet.  Anything you have that fits on the baking sheet that has a good amount of weight (5 pound bag of flour, for example, heavy bottom pot with a few cans of unopened beans for another) will work beautifully.  Once the tofu has been pressed for at least an hour, it is ready to use.  

I love using the 21-25 count shrimp.  If you have access to fresh, tail on shrimp, power to you for being so lucky to be near the coast where amazing seafood is, but being in a landlocked state I rely on frozen.  I prefer to use the shrimp that are tail on because cooking them allows for more flavor, even though they take a little bit of work to devein and then take the tails off before you add them back into the curry (or as you eat). I recommend defrosting the shrimp in the fridge overnight if you remember to do so, otherwise you can defrost the shrimp in cool water the day of.  Deveining the shrimp is pretty simple, you just run a sharp knife (such as a paring knife) from the tail end to the front end of the shrimp, then gently remove the dark line.  I also like to cut a little slit on the other side of the thick part of the shrimp as this helps the shrimp curl and open up a little bit on the edges while cooking.  I feel like it helps the shrimp cook and brown more evenly.  When I cook them, I very lightly season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper just to enhance their natural flavors.

Once the curry sauce is made, stir fry your veggies to your preferred dueness. I love starting the onions first as it softens them just a touch more than the other vegetables.

When cutting your vegetables, take care to try and cut them all relatively the same size and thickness.  This helps ensure they will end up done at the same time.  Per my own preference, I add the onions to the pan first as I like them with a little less “bite” than the rest of the vegetables.  The veggies I have listed here are my preference in this curry, however feel free to substitute in your favorites, omit ones you do not like, and have fun with it.  

Sinking into a bowl of this Thai Coconut Shrimp and Tofu curry on a crisp, cool day is like settling into a cozy sweater.  The fluffy, slightly floral jasmine rice perfectly complements the rich, deep flavors of the curry sauce, the zip of the lime balances the salty fish sauce, and the little bit of sugar with the coconut milk sweetens it just enough.  Whatever vegetables you end up using, their tender crisp deliciousness allows you to have a never ending variety of textures and flavors as you scrape down to the bottom of the bowl.  While we firmly enter soup season, this curry is a top contender to surpass the usual chicken noodle soup for frigid days.

Mix and match your favorite veggies and proteins in this incredible curry sauce - you cannot go wrong with any combination you choose!

Thai Coconut Shrimp and Tofu Curry

Author:  Iris Anna Gohn

Servings:  4 to 6, depending if you have another side like Egg Rolls/Spring Rolls/Dumplings

This is a medium labor recipe, if only for the amount of chopping you do with the vegetables.  I recommend getting everything cut and ready before you start cooking, because it actually comes together pretty quickly once you start going.  

If you do not own, or do not want to dirty your blender/immersion blender for the curry sauce, you can skip blending it.  I’ve done this tons of times, and the curry is still delicious.  HOWEVER, the flavors/texture of the sauce are enhanced/enriched by taking the time to blend it, so if you have the inclination, I highly, highly, highly recommend doing this.  It takes it from “good, solid, delicious home curry” to “restaurant level”.  

I love the shrimp and the tofu in this, but sometimes I just want something a little easier, so I will throw in either some leftover rotisserie chicken or just extra veggies.  I’ve even thrown in some salmon I had - the curry sauce just absorbs into whatever protein you put into it.  JIf there are leftovers, the flavors just deepen and get better the next day, like a stew or chili.  

Ingredients

For the Thai Coconut Curry Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1 minced Onion 

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Minced Fresh Ginger (1 1/2 Inch piece)

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Minced Fresh Garlic (4 Cloves Garlic)

• 1/2 Tsp Ground Coriander

• 1/8 to 1/4 Tsp Ground Cayenne 

• 3 Tbsp Red Curry Paste

• 2 Tbsp Curry Powder

• 1 Can Full Fat Coconut Milk

• 1 Cup Chicken Stock

• 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce

• 1 1/2 Tsp Granulated White Sugar

• 1/4 Cup Fresh Lime Juice (1 - 2 Limes, depending on how juicy they are)

For the Thai Coconut Shrimp and Tofu Curry:

• 3 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided

• 1 Block Extra Firm Tofu, cubed into 1 inch pieces and pressed

• 2 Tbsp Lite Soy Sauce

• 1/2 pound Jumbo Shrimp (12 Shrimp) tails on and deveined 

• 1/2 Onion, sliced into 1/4 inch strips

• 8 oz Cremini Mushrooms, sliced

• 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into 1/4 inch strips then cut in half again

• 1 small head Broccoli, cut into florets

• 1 Carrot, peeled and sliced thin on a bias

• 1 1/2 Cup Fresh Baby Spinach (1 large handful)

• 1/4 Tsp Salt

• 1/8 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

To Serve:

• Jasmine Rice

• Chopped Cilantro (optional)

• Lime Wedges

Directions

For the Thai Coconut Curry Sauce:

1. In a large pan heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Once the oil shimmers and smells grassy add the minced onions, and reduce the heat to medium.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and saute for 5-7 minutes, until the onions are translucent and starting to brown. 

2. Add the ginger, garlic, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, red curry paste, curry powder, and stir and sauce for a minute or two to let the spices bloom and the other aromatics become fragrant.  Take care to not burn the garlic!

3. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, and sugar.  Stir, and bring to a roaring simmer but not quite a boil, and let simmer for 10 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce.

4. Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and add in the lime juice.  Taste, and adjust the salt, lime juice, or sugar if needed.  

5. Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth.  

For the Thai Coconut Shrimp and Tofu Curry:

1. In a large pan with high sides and over medium high heat, ad 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and add the tofu.  Add one Tbsp of the soy sauce at a time, trying to make sure all pieces of the tofu get seasoned.  Pan sear until all sides are golden brown, flipping the tofu pieces as needed.  This should take about 10 minutes.  Once the tofu is done, remove from the pan to a plate and set aside.

2. In the same pan, add another 1 Tbsp olive oil and then the shrimp to the pan.  Season the shrimp with a sprinkle of salt and pepper (you don’t need a lot because the pan already has the soy sauce remnants from the tofu).  Sear and brown for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook an additional minute or two.  Remove shrimp to a plate and set aside.  If the shrimp are not fully cooked this is okay, as the heat from the sauce will finish cooking the shrimp.  

3. Turn the heat to high, then in the same pan, add another 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and add the onions.  Saute for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms.  Saute for another 2 minutes.

4. Add red peppers, broccoli, carrots and saute for 5 minutes on high heat.  Season with the salt and a touch of pepper.  This should render the vegetables tender yet still crisp.  If you like your veggies a little more cooked, saute for an additional couple of minutes.

5. Add the Thai Coconut Curry sauce, the spinach, tofu, and shrimp to the pan.  Stir until the spinach wilts and the tofu and shrimp reheat through. 

6. Serve over Jasmine Rice, with a sprinkle of cilantro and a squeeze of lime.