Thai Red Curry Flavored Veg Fried Rice

Thai Cuisine needs no special introduction; a unique blend of flavors with refreshing aroma of exotic herbs, unmatched sharpness of red chilies, soothing sweetness of coconut milk and a tantalizing tartness of limes, it has carved its own very niche on the international culinary platform. Truly speaking, Thai Food is all about a well balance of flavors: sweet, sour, spicy, salty and bitter.

Our love for this exotically flavorful cuisine started during our three years of tenure in Singapore, a country that truly deserves to be called a melting hot pot of South East Asian flavors, be it Thai, Malay, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese. The best part was, since every ingredient used in Asian cooking was so easily available, I could try out many recipes at home....and Thai was always preferred over other cuisines because my husband was a big fan of Thai cuisine; off-course the credit goes to his frequent visits to Thailand for work where his taste buds got acquainted to all the enticing flavors and aroma of Thai Dishes, be it "Tom Yam Soup", "Som Tam Salad", "Thai Red & Green Curries", "Thai Basil Chicken & Rice" or the much famous "Thai Pineapple Fried Rice". 

For the past 6 months, ever since we have relocated back to India, I have kind of stopped making Thai food at home, primary reason being unavailability of Thai herbs, especially in the region we are currently putting up...and unfortunately, we somehow miss the authentic flavors of Thai food in even best of the restaurants. Luckily, as my husband was travelling to Singapore this month, I took full advantage of the opportunity and asked him to get few packets of Thai red chilies, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves on his return. So, back he was loaded with whatever I had asked for....and this "Thai Red Curry Flavored Veg Fried Rice" is the very first dish that I made and served for the dinner along with Tom Yam Soup. Its quite an easy and straight forward recipe, do try whenever you get an opportunity. I have made the veg version, but it can easily be converted into non-vegetarian by adding some meats such as chicken or prawns. Also, for those who cannot get hold of Thai Red Curry Paste, I have also mentioned steps to make the same at home. 

Thai Red Curry Veg Fried Rice

Ingredients

• Plain boiled rice - 2 cups
• Thai Red Curry Paste - 2 tbsp (recipe given below, else you can use store-bought one also)
• Garlic cloves (finely chopped) - 6 to 8
• Coconut milk - 2 tbsp
• Onions (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
• Carrots (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
• French beans (finely chopped) - 1/4 cup
• Baby corns (finely chopped) - 1/4 cup
• Red and Yellow bellpeppers (finely chopped) - 1/4 cup
• Spring onion greens (finely chopped) - 1/4 cup
• Salt - as per taste
• Crushed black pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp
• Thai basil leaves - a few, for garnishing
• Sesame oil - 1 tbsp

Thai Red Curry Paste

• Dried red chilies - 8 to 10
• Fresh Thai red chilies - 4 to 5
• Galangal (roughly chopped) - 2 inch
• Kafir lime leaves (roughly torn) - 3 to 4
• Shallots - 4 to 5
• Garlic cloves - 8 to 10
• Lemongrass - 2 sticks, cut into pieces
• Coriander seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Black pepper corns - 4 to 5
• Salt - to taste
• Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
• Coconut sugar/Normal sugar - 2 tbsp
• Coriander roots - a few

Thai Red Curry Veg Fried Rice

Method

(For Thai Red Curry Paste)

1. Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin and black pepper corns until fragrant.
2. Cool down to room temperature, then grind to a powder. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil. Add in dried and fresh red chilies, garlic cloves, shallots, galangal, lemon grass, kafir lime leaves and coriander roots.
4. Boil until chilies get soft and water is reduced by 70 to 80 percent.
5. Bring it to room temperature.
6. Blend to a smooth puree along with ground spices, sugar, salt and lemon juice.
7. Store in a clean glass bottle and use as required. It would last for about a week.

(For Fried Rice)

1. In a wok, heat the oil.
2. On high flame, saute garlic. As it starts getting golden, add carrots, babycorns and beans and saute them too for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Next add onions and bellpeppers. Saute them for 2 minutes.
4. Season with salt, black pepper and Thai Red Curry Paste. Give a good mix.
5. Next add coconut milk and let cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the boiled rice and gently mix so that they are well coated with the veggies and spices.
7. In the end, mix in half of the spring onion greens and lemon juice.
8. Garnish with remaining spring onion greens, few basil leaves and a couple of lime wedges. Serve hot.

Thai Red Curry Veg Fried Rice

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