This Thai coconut curry tofu is loaded with vibrant Thai flavours! It’s easy to make, vegan, and gluten-free!
If you’ve had a chance to scroll through my recipes, you may notice I’m a pretty big fan of Thai food. Thai is one of my favourite cuisines because it’s filled with bold vibrant flavours that are unlike anything else. Also, many Thai dishes are easily made vegan or vegetarian, or can be adapted to include any protein you desire.
To try or not to try curry tofu?
Having travelled to Thailand three times and eating my way from the North to the South, I discovered my passion for cooking this type of food. I’ve collectively spent over 2 months in Thailand, and during my time there I was lucky to be able to take a few cooking classes! These classes weren’t formal, but just a fun activity you could do for the day while your there. (If you’re planning a trip there, I highly recommend you do a cooking class!)
Some people are intimidated by cooking different types of cuisines, but I assure you, you’ll be amazed at how simple a Thai coconut curry tofu is to make! I’m talking just a handful of ingredients and one pan needed kind of simple. Have I convinced you yet to try an easy curry recipe?
How do I cook curry tofu?
The trick to making a perfect Thai curry is to balance the flavours of sweet, salty, sour and spicy. You’ll see in this recipe in addition to using red curry paste, it’s important to add maple syrup, soy sauce and lime to achieve the right balance in flavour.
This Thai coconut curry tofu is spicy, sweet, salty, and bursting with aromatic spices. It’s also made healthier with light coconut milk, and served with sprouted brown rice. If you want to make this recipe a bit more rich and creamy, you can always make it with full-fat coconut milk.
One thing I love about this recipe is that the sauce and rice can be prepared ahead of time if you’re looking for a dinner that you need to put together fast! Simply make the sauce and the rice and store them in containers in the fridge until you’re ready to prepare dinner. Then all you have to do is cut up the tofu and veggies and add them to a pan with the Thai red curry sauce!
Some notes on substitutions & additions:
You can use any sweetener instead of maple syrup in this recipe. In Thailand, they traditionally use palm sugar. (which is the same as coconut sugar) Some other great options are agave syrup, or even stevia if you want to keep the recipe entirely sugar-free. You can substitute the tofu in this recipe for any protein you like. For plant-based proteins, tempeh or chickpeas would both be great options in this recipe!
If you want to enjoy this dish with more veggies, you can simply add in your favourite vegetables to the pan with some oil before adding the tofu. Some vegetables I’d recommend using in this dish are bok choy, spinach and snow peas.
This Thai coconut curry tofu is:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Made with whole-grains
- High in protein
I love enjoying this Thai coconut curry with sprouted brown rice to make it extra healthy, but you can use tradition Thai Jasmine rice, or any rice you love on the side instead.
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A healthy and delicious Thai-inspired tofu in a coconut red curry sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pack organic tofu
- 2-3 tbsp avocado oil (or any other high cooking temperature oil)
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 1-2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Juice of 1/2 a lime
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 cup sprouted brown rice (uncooked)
- 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Cook your rice according to package directions.
- In a large saucepan, heat your avocado oil on medium high heat.
- Drain all the water from your tofu, chop into cubes, and add tofu to the pan on medium high heat. Cook your tofu for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Make sure your pan is large enough, or cook your tofu in 2 batches.
- In a separate saucepan, on medium heat, and your curry paste and can of coconut milk and stir together until incorporated. Increase heat to medium high and let reduce, for about 5 minutes. (You will see the sauce begin to bubble and thicken.)
- Reduce to low heat, and add your soy sauce, maple syrup, lime, and paprika. Mix until incorporated.
- Add your cooked tofu to the pan with your curry sauce, on medium heat, and stir together until tofu is well coated in your sauce.
- Serve over brown rice with chopped cilantro on top.
Notes
You can use any type of rice you like for this recipe
Add any veggies you love to the tofu!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 114
- Sugar: 4g
- Fat: 4g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
Keywords: Healthy vegan dinner, thai food, coconut curry tofu
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Need more tofu inspo? Here are 5 more great tofu recipes!
1. 15 minute lemongrass tofu
2. Tofu satay with cauliflower fried rice
3. Thai red curry tofu tacos
4. Banh mi bowls with sticky tofu
5. Coconut jasmine rice with sesame tofu
I too am such a HUGE HUGE HUGE fan of Thai food! This curry tofu is making me seriously hungry! And I love the vibrancy of every photo!
Thanks Cassie! Be sure to check out my other thai recipes, I have a great thai curry noodles as well! Thai food is simply the best!
SO YUM!!
★★★★★
So happy you liked this recipe!:)
This recipe was okay. Happy to try new vegan recipes and was easy to make. But, I was disappointed that it was not spicy.
Hi Malaya, thank you for your note. I’m surprised yours was not spicy, usually, Thai red curry paste has quite a kick! If you make the dish again, I’d recommend adding an extra tablespoon of red curry paste if you’d like the dish to be spicier, to 1-2 tsp sriracha or red chilli flakes!