Thai Yellow Coconut Curry

This vegan Thai yellow coconut curry is creamy, rich, and spiced, with a base of Thai aromatics, coconut, and a few warming spices that are reminiscent of Indian cuisine.

Highly recommend pairing this with white rice, Fresno peppers, and a squeeze of lemon or lime for brightness.

Traditional Thai Yellow Curry

So, a bit of background, Thai yellow curry is a rich, coconut cream curry with Thai aromatics like galangal, lemongrass, shallots, and turmeric (which is where that gorgeous yellow color comes from). However, unlike other Thai curries that don’t have powdered spices, this yellow curry uses a blend of cumin, coriander, and white pepper, making it reminiscent of an Indian curry.

Typically, carrots, potatoes, and prawns or chicken are added to the curry. However, to make this more plant-forward, I opted to use tofu. I’ve tested this a few times with chicken, and it’s equally as good, leaving my method further down in this post.

That said, there is a fair amount of ingredients to this dish, but the end result is so worth the effort, and it saves so well for lunch/dinner throughout the week!

One quick note on the method: Traditionally, the aromatics and spices are blended into a paste, fried in coconut milk, and then the other ingredients are simmered in the sauce. I opted to use a more Indian-inspired method to fry off the aromatics first, before blending everything together, which I feel yields a smoother curry with a more complex flavor.

Thai Yellow Coconut Curry Ingredients 

• Extra firm tofu: Highly recommend Hodo Foods extra-firm tofu. Extra-firm tofu is tofu that’s already been pressed to remove any excess water. Which means denser, meatier tofu that holds its shape and is ideal for a dish like this! Plus, it has a higher protein content than regular tofu.
• Carrots
• Full-fat canned coconut milk
• Fresno peppers: This yellow curry is already fairly spicy; however, I like adding thinly sliced fresno peppers as garnish at the end. They have a fruity flavor when they’re raw that goes so well with this curry and adds a pop of color! Feel free to omit them if you want.
• Thai basil
• Dried chilies: Dried Spur Chilies would be best, however I used Japones Chile, as my store didn’t carry any other varieties, and they worked surprisingly well. These chilies shouldn’t be that spicy, they’re mainly here for flavor and earthiness. The real heat comes from the fresh Thai chilies. After hydrating them, taste a tiny piece. If your dried chilies are on the spicier side, hold back a few chilies when you’re blending the curry. You can always add more little by little.
• Fresh Thai chilies
• Shallots
• Garlic, a whole bulb
• Galangal: If you can’t find galangal, you can swap it out for equal parts grated ginger + 1 tsp lemon or lime zest. Quick note that galangal is fairly tough, which is why I like to grate it with a microplane so it blends into the curry easier.
• Lemongrass: If you can’t find lemongrass stalks, a lot of grocery stores sell lemongrass paste (it comes in a tube), which you can swap in.
• Soy sauce or liquid aminos
• Coconut sugar
• Spices: Including turmeric, coriander, cumin, and white pepper. I opted to use ground turmeric instead of fresh turmeric, which is traditional, simply because fresh turmeric stains so badly and don’t want the headache.
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt

How to Make this Homemade Thai Yellow Curry – A Visual Guide

Roughly chop the chili and transfer to a bowl, leaving the seeds behind. Cover with boiling water and soak for 30 minutes to hydrate, then drain (reserve the soaking water for later).

Prep the aromatics and spices (mise en place). Finely slice the shallots and add to a large pan or braiser-style pot along with a generous amount of avocado oil (I used about 3-4 tbsp). Mince or grate the garlic with a microplane, and add it to a bowl along with the grated galangal and minced lemongrass. Add the coconut sugar and spices to a small bowl.

Bake the tofu. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a medium sheet pan with parchment paper. I used the air-fry setting on my toaster oven for the best crispy tofu. Dump the tofu onto the sheet pan, drizzle with a generous amount of avocado oil, sprinkle over white pepper and kosher salt, and toss to coat. Bake the tofu for 25-30 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp.

Sauté the aromatics. Fry off the shallots in avocado oil or any neutral oil until translucent, then add the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, and saute for an additional 2 minutes to toast. Sprinkle in the coconut sugar, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and white pepper. Stir to bloom (about 30 seconds), then deglaze the pan with the soy sauce, and remove from the heat.

Scoop the curry out and add into a blender along with the coconut milk, hydrated dry chilies, fresh Thai chilies, and salt. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. 

Dump the curry into your pan, along with the chopped carrots and crispy tofu. Let simmer, covered, for 15 minutes on medium heat, or until the carrots are tender. Taste and adjust for salt. Turn off the heat and stir through the Thai basil leaves. Serve with white rice, and garnish with thinly sliced Fresno peppers and extra Thai basil leaves.

Chicken Variation

When making this for the family, I tested it with shredded chicken and it was fabulous. Basically just pressure cooked a whole chicken, shredded it, and popped it into the final curry. Alternatively, you can chop your chicken into bite size pieces (I would use thigh meat as it’s much more flavorful and juicy than breast), and saute it in your pan or braiser after cooking off the aromatics.

Anywho, leaving this here to say that if you want to make this with chicken, it works just as well!

A Few Notes

• If you’re sensitive to spice, I would only use the dried chilies, blend the curry, and taste for spice. Add the Thai chili little by little, blending with each piece you add, until you reach the spice level you want.
• Wash your hands really well after cutting the chilis (both the dried and fresh ones)! Actually, just don’t touch your face when you’re cooking this dish haha. Alternatively, you can use gloves.
• I like this curry on the thick side, so it’s more saucy. If you want the curry thinner, add 1 tbsp of the reserved chili water to the curry until you reach the consistency you want. Alternatively, you can add water or stock.
• Especially for a dish like this, where I’m using a lot of turmeric for both flavor and color, I reach for Burlap & Barrel turmeric. In general, their spices are superb!
• I love serving this with white rice, but I have paired this with roti, and it also tastes fabulous.
• Store any leftovers in a glass container in the fridge. It keeps well for 3 days and tastes even better the following day once everything has had a chance to soak up the curry.

Can’t wait for you to make this thai yellow coconut curry! Don’t forget to leave a starred rating and review, love hearing from you!

Print