Looking for a quick healthy meal? This Thai prawn curry, served with basmati rice, is ready in 20 minutes - So much quicker than take away!
Thai-style meals are a firm family favorite, and over the years, this chickpea and spinach curry recipe has quickly become a family-favourite.
So when I don't feel like spending too much time cooking and my fridge is half empty, this is one of my go-to dinner recipes.
It’s one of those quick meals you can whip up in no time, without planning ahead. It comes together all in one pot, and it's incredibly simple to prepare.
I can't claim this 20-minute prawn curry is super traditional, but it's an easier and quicker version of traditional Thai curry.
**This post is sponsored by HelloFresh. All opinions are my own.**
It's also naturally gluten-free and nut-free. You can eat it straight away but it keeps well in the fridge too.
It's totally freezer-friendly (but I prefer to freeze it without the prawns and cook them last-minute) and easy to customise.
I've found the recipe and loosely adapted it from HelloFresh Recipe Hub. HelloFresh offers a huge range of weekly meal boxes.
Your weekly box comes with easy-to-follow recipes with step-by-step pictures, plus all the ingredients you need.
Each recipe box contains the exact ingredients and quantities you need to make up your meal.
I absolutely love this, because there's no need to weigh up the ingredients, no waste involved and it's great for portion control.
It really makes cooking totally fuss-free! If you're looking for more recipe inspiration, make sure to check out HelloFresh's most popular recipes.
The best part is that this super simple meal comes together easily in just about 20 minutes, making it perfect for a quick dinner during the week.
As an added bonus, you can easily customize it by adding extra veggies or skipping the prawns for a vegetarian version, I’ll leave you some of my favourite options here below.
Ingredient Tips
RED CURRY PASTE
We’d all love to be able to have a Thai red curry any night of the week made with homemade red curry paste. But sometimes, especially during a busy week, it’s simply not viable.
Supermarket curry paste in a jar might not have the vibrant flavour of homemade curry paste, but most of the time works great too.
My tip to make curry paste in a jar taste way better: sauté the curry paste in oil with grated garlic, ginger, and lemongrass paste.
Adding these fresh aromatics works like a charm for improving the flavour!
Alternatively, if you don't have those aromatics at hand, a great cooking hack is to simply substitute them with a generous pinch of vegetable stock powder.
The best Thai red curry paste I tried are from Mae Anong and Maesri (widely available in the US) and Mae Ploy and Cock (widely available in the UK and Europe).
BASMATI RICE
Basmati rice is a fragrant thin long-rice with a subtle nutty flavour, and it's commonly used in various cuisine from Central Asia, India and the Middle East.
Both white basmati rice and wholegrain basmati rice work wonderfully for prawn coconut curry.
I like to cook it on the stove, you need 1 cup of basmati + 1 ½ cups cold water.
For regular basmati rice the cooking time is about 12 minutes. Cooking brown basmati rice takes about 20 minutes and you need to increase the water by ½ cup.
If you want to cook it in a rice cooker, simply add rice and water to the cooking pot, select the corresponding program, and press the start button.
KING PRAWNS
Feel free to choose your favorite prawns for this king prawn curry recipe.
Fresh or frozen raw peeled jumbo prawns are my go-to option, they're big and juicy and taste amazing.
For a convenient alternative, go for regular raw prawns, they're smaller but much more cost-effective, and they still taste great.
VEGETABLES
When it comes to curry, you can go crazy with the veggies!
I kept it simple with a simple mix of red bell pepper and carrot, but that doesn't mean you have to.
Other veggies that work great in prawn coconut curry are pak choi, snow peas, zucchini, bamboo shoots.
20-minute Thai red prawn curry recipe in 4 simple steps
This delicious and quick dinner recipe is super simple to prepare in just 4 easy steps.
Step 1 – Cook the rice
Place 130 gr of brown basmati + 600 ml cold water in a large pot.
Cover with a lid and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for a further 20 minutes.
Turn the heat off, and let the rice sit undisturbed for 5 minutes before serving.
Step 2 – Stir-fry the veggies
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, add in the bell pepper and carrot and stir-fry them for about 4 minutes.
Step 3 – Add in the curry paste and coconut milk
Add the curry paste, and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.
Pour in the coconut milk followed by the stock powder, then bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Step 4 – Add the prawns into the coconut curry
Add the king prawns into the skillet with the other veggies, and cook all ingredients for about 2 minutes.
Turn the heat off, drizzle with lime juice, sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with basmati rice.
Storage tips
Thai curry freezes beautifully, however, I recommend skipping the prawns.
Follow the recipe, then store portions into air-tight containers. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Defrost the curry and reheat it gently in a large skillet. Add in the prawns and cook them for 2 minutes, then serve.
More Thai Recipes To Try:
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment and/or a rating below, and share a picture and tag @thepetitecook on Instagram! Reading your feedback and looking at your pictures always makes me smile *and super hungry*!
Easy Thai Prawn Curry
Ingredients
- 130 g brown basmati rice or brown jasmine rice
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 carrot thinly sliced into half-moons
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 200 ml full-fat coconut milk (about ½ a can)
- 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
- 150 gr raw king prawns heads and shell removed
- ½ lime
- 3 tbsp fresh coriander finely chopped
Instructions
- Place the brown basmati into a large pot, add in 600 ml of water, cover the pan with a lid and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a minimum and simmer for 20 minutes, until the rice is soft and slightly chewy. Turn the heat off, and let the rice sit undisturbed for 5 minutes before serving.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add in sliced carrot and bell pepper and stir-fry them for about 4 minutes.
- Add the red curry paste and garlic into the skillet, and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk followed by the stock powder, then bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the king prawns into the skillet with the other veggies, and cook all the ingredients for a further 2 minutes, or until the prawns turn pink and are cooked through.
- Turn the heat off, drizzle the curry with the juice of half lime, sprinkle the fresh coriander on top and serve with basmati rice.
Notes
Ingredients substitution
Brown basmati rice: regular basmati or jasmine rice. Vegetable stock powder: for extra flavour, you can substitute with 1 tsp of freshly grated ginger and ¼ tsp of lemongrass paste. Carrot and bell pepper: broccoli, snow peas, green beans, sweet potato, zucchini.How to store leftovers
Fridge: It keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 days without the prawns. Freezer: It will keep well int he freezer for up to 1 month without the prawns. Defrost the curry and reheat it gently in a large skillet. Add in the prawns and cook them for 2 minutes, then serve. Nutritional information provided for curry only without rice.Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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