The first time I ever tried curry was during the COVID-19 lockdown at age 25. I am not a picky eater so I’m surprised I haven’t tried it before now. I may never have tried it if it wasn’t for a fun zoom cooking class during quarantine, which inspired me to make a skinny creamy red peanut curry for the blog.
It wasn’t until I moved out of my parent’s house for college that I really started trying ethnic foods. Growing up, we ate healthy but our meals were more traditional American meals. Every once in a while, we would order in Chinese food but that’s it.
I remember going to college and trying Thai food for the first time at No Thai! If you went to MSU or U of M, you know what I’m talking about. It was soooo good and it became a favorite for me whenever I was going to get take out. And when I was interning at my first PR agency the summer before my senior year of college, we ordered Mediterranean food from Zaytoon’s. I knew at that moment I had just found my favorite category of food. Mediterranean is my ride or die and I prefer it over any other food genre any day.
Which brings me to how I tried Indian food. The only early experience I have with Indian food is going to this buffet-style restaurant when we were visiting my aunt and uncle in California in high school. I don’t remember what I had, but I remember not being a big fan.
But after preparing it for myself during lockdown, I quickly fell in love with curry. The flavor and spice level are what hooked me. Quickly after taking the cooking class, I realized that bringing a healthier version of red peanut curry to the blog was non-negotiable. I had to let everyone know how good curry can be and that we can make it healthier with a few modifications and swaps from the traditional!
This skinny red peanut curry recipe gives you a great base for a customizable dish. You can choose what grain or pasta, protein and veggies you want to use. I share a few suggestions below for what I recommend, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Now let’s get into what you’ll need to make this easy, red peanut curry!
Ingredients & Alternatives
Light coconut milk: For this recipe, we will use half light canned coconut milk, half water to lighten it up. If you prefer, you can use 2 cans of coconut milk instead. I always struggle to find this at the grocery store – you will want to look in the ethnic foods section. This is usually by Thai and Asian foods.
Natural peanut butter: Any peanut butter you have on hand will work here. I’ve made it with natural, drippy peanut butter from Trader Joe’s and natural Jif and both turned out amazing.
Red curry paste: The little 4oz jar is all you will need to buy. We will use about half of it for this recipe. Again, you can find this in the ethnic foods section at the grocery store. It should be close to the coconut milk! I prefer the brand Thai Kitchen but any will work.
Olive oil: Any oil you have on hand will work here — sesame, coconut, peanut, canola or avocado oil.
Soy sauce or coconut aminos: Either soy sauce or coconut aminos would work in this recipe. If you have fish sauce at home, feel free to use it instead!
Spices (curry, cumin, ginger, garlic, salt): You can use dried spices or fresh ones, whatever you prefer. I think fresh ginger and garlic would be great in this recipe, but I’ve always made it with dried or canned minced garlic for convenience.
Sriracha hot sauce: If you like spicy foods, you’ll want to have sriracha or another hot sauce to add to the dish. We add a few tablespoons in the recipe, but I always add more when serving since I love spice. If you do not like spicy food, feel free to skip this ingredient.
White onion: You’ll use one medium sized onion for this recipe.
Vegetables of choice: You can use fresh or frozen veggies in this recipes. Try bok choy, bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, edamame and/or sliced carrots. I always want to add a lot of veggies here but be careful because you can add as much as your wok can hold, plus the other ingredients.
Grain or pasta of choice: Basmati rice, brown or white rice, rice noodles, spaghetti pasta, chickpea pasta, egg noodles or cauliflower rice would work well.
Protein of choice: Shrimp, chicken or tofu would be my recommendations but you can make this recipe with whatever protein you have on hand. Or feel free to omit protein from the recipe if you prefer.
Peanuts, sesame seeds and more hot sauce: Totally optional toppings that would be great! I highly recommend adding more hot sauce so it really has a kick.
How to make skinny red peanut curry
Whenever I make any recipes, I like to start by chopping everything at once. Even though you may have time to do it while the dish is cooking, I don’t like to stress about chopping and potentially burning or overcooking whats on the stove.
With that being said, I recommend beginning by chopping all of your veggies but keep the chopped onion separate since they will cook on their own.
Before starting the curry, start preparing your grain/pasta and protein separately. If your protein is already cooked (i.e. cooked shrimp or tofu), you can skip any prep, but make sure they are thawed.
Now let’s start the curry! Over medium heat, add your oil and let it warm up for about a minute. Slowly add your chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add in your curry powder and red curry paste and mix until well combined with the onions. Slowly pour in the coconut milk and water and stir.
Now we can add all of the remaining ingredients minus the vegetables — peanut butter, soy sauce, cumin, ginger, sriracha and salt. Stir well to avoid clumps with the spices and so the peanut butter starts to melt into the sauce.
Reduce heat to a simmer and slowly dump your chopped veggies to the wok and mix. The liquid should just about cover the vegetables so they can cook entirely. Cover wok and simmer for 10-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are fully cooked. If you are using frozen, you may only need to cook for 5-10 minutes.
Once all of the vegetables are cooked, add in your cooked protein and mix well. Let the curry cook for a few more minutes before removing from heat.
To serve, scoop your grain or pasta to the bottom of the bowl, then top with the red peanut curry. If you’d like, top with unshelled peanuts, more hot sauce and/or sesame seeds. Dinner is served, enjoy!
MORE DELICIOUS MEALS TO TRY:
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- Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp & Cilantro Lime Rice
Skinny Red Peanut Curry
Equipment
- Large wok
Ingredients
- 1 can light coconut milk could use 2 cans instead of 2 cups water in the recipe
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter 4 tbsps or 66 grams
- 1/4 cup red curry paste 4 tbsp or 60 grams, I like the Thai Kitchen brand
- 1 tbsp olive oil could use avocado or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 3 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ginger dried or fresh
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp sriracha hot sauce omit if you do not like spice
- 1 white onion
- Veggies of choice fresh or frozen bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, sliced carrots, edamame, bell pepper
- Protein of choice shrimp, tofu, chicken (thawed)
- Grain or pasta of choice basmati rice, pasta, rice noodles, cauliflower rice
- Peanuts and seaseme seeds optional for toppings
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Chop all of our vegtables and set aside, keeping the onion separate.
- Begin preparing grain or pasta of choice according to package instruction. If you are using cauliflower rice, you can add it to the wok when you add your vegetables.
- Begin preparing your protein of choice. If already cooked, or using tofu, you can omit this step.
- On medium heat, add a tbsp of olive oil to the wok and let heat up for one minute. Slowly add your onion and cook until they become translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add in the curry powder and red curry paste and mix well.
- Pour in a can of coconut milk and 2 cups of water (or another can of coconut milk) and stir.
- Add in peanut butter, soy sauce, cumin, ginger, garlic, sriracha and salt. Mix until well combined.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and slowly add in your remaining chopped vegetables. If using cauliflower rice, you could add now.
- Cover and simmer for 10-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are fully cooked.
- Once the vegetables are fully cooked, add in your cooked protein or tofu and simmer for a few more minutes.
- To serve, add your grain or pasta of choice to the bottom and top with the red peanut curry. Add unshelled peanuts, hot sauce and/or sesame seeds to the top, if you'd like, and enjoy!