How to make John Torode’s butternut squash red curry with tofu

A good vegetarian curry is a staple in many countries, and John Torode’s butternut squash red curry hails from his many trips to Thailand.

“The red curry, in my opinion, is the richest and most satisfying to make of all the curries,” he says. “It is the flavour of Thailand in one addictive sauce. The process of cooking out the paste, then adding the palm sugar and cooking again until the paste becomes a baked terracotta-red, rich, fragrant and the consistency of jam, is paramount for a really red curry.”

Print Recipe

Nutrition Facts

Butternut squash red curry with tofu

Amount Per Serving

Calories 716 Calories from Fat 468

% Daily Value*

Fat 52g80%

Saturated Fat 43g269%

Cholesterol 48mg16%

Sodium 440mg19%

Potassium 1163mg33%

Carbohydrates 55g18%

Fiber 7g29%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 15g30%

Vitamin A 19647IU393%

Vitamin C 67mg81%

Calcium 222mg22%

Iron 9mg50%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Butternut squash red curry with tofu

A rich vegetarian curry that packs loads of flavour

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Thai

Servings: 6

Calories: 716kcal

Author: John Torode

Equipment

• Bowl
• Small frying pan
• Food processor or mortar and pestle
• Saucepan

Ingredients

For the paste (makes enough for 3-4 curries):

• 50 g medium dried red chillies
• 1 tsp white peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp mace blade (a spice available from Amazon)
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh galangal roughly chopped
• 1 lemongrass stalk outer leaves removed and inner leaves roughly chopped
• 3 fresh red chillies de-seeded and roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves peeled
• 3 small Thai shallots chopped
• A handful of fresh coriander root soaked and washed
• finely grated zest of 1 lime
• 1 tsp salt
• 25 g shrimp paste toasted
• 6 lime leaves
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the curry:

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 300 g firm tofu
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 150 g red curry paste
• 125 g creamed coconut
• 800 ml coconut milk
• 40 g palm sugar
• 4 lemongrass stalks bruised
• 12 lime leaves torn
• 4 thumb-sized pieces of galangal roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (or add a vegetarian fish sauce substitute or 1tsp salt)

To garnish:

• Fried chillies, shallots and garlic
• 1 fresh red chilli, sliced (optional)

Method

• To make the paste, snap the stalk end from the dried red chillies and shake out the seeds. Put the dried chillies into a bowl and cover with hot water. Leave for about 20 minutes until they have plumped up, then drain but keep them wet.
• Heat a small dry frying pan over a medium heat until hot, then add the peppercorns, both lots of seeds, the cloves and mace blade and dry-fry, stirring regularly, until nicely toasted, about two minutes.
• Tip the toasted spices into a mortar and pestle or food processor and pound or blend to a fine powder. Add the galangal and lemongrass and pound or blend to a paste. Add all the remaining ingredients, including the soaked chillies, and pound or blend to a paste.
• Peel and de-seed the butternut squash, then cut into chunks the size of golf balls. Cut the tofu into similar-sized pieces. Set both to one side.
• Heat a little vegetable oil in a medium saucepan, then add the curry paste and cook for a minute or so. Add the creamed coconut and the creamy layer from the top of the tins of coconut milk and cook over a medium heat for five to six minutes – it will start to colour and smell of roasted coconut, but watch that it doesn’t burn.
• Now add the palm sugar, reduce the heat and cook gently for about five to 10 minutes, stirring until it is rich red in colour and no longer smells raw. The oil will separate from the mixture and then gradually start to come back together as the mixture thickens and darkens. Be careful not to let it burn.
• Add the squash pieces and stir well so that the paste coats them all, cook for a couple of minutes, then pour in the coconut milk and 200ml water and bring to the boil. Drop in the lemongrass, lime leaves and galangal, add half the fish sauce, then reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 10–12 minutes. Stir in the tofu and simmer gently for a further 10 minutes.
• To finish, season with extra palm sugar if it’s too spicy, or the remaining fish sauce if it’s a little bland. The sauce should taste sweet, hot and just slightly salty. Dress with some fried garnish and the sliced chilli and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 716kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 43g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 440mg | Potassium: 1163mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 19647IU | Vitamin C: 67mg | Calcium: 222mg | Iron: 9mg

John Torode’s Sydney To Seoul: Recipes From My Travels In Australia And The Far East by John Torode is published by Headline.

Best-selling air fryers

Looking for an air fryer? Check out our list of best-selling air fryers on Amazon.

Bestseller No. 1

Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Digital Air Fryer, 2 Drawers, 9.5L, 6-in-1, Uses No Oil, Max Crisp, Roast,...

• ENERGY-SAVING: Save up to 65% on your energy bill* (*testing and calculations based on recommended cook time for sausages, using air fry function versus conventional ovens).
• 2 INDEPENDENT COOKING ZONES: Cook 2 foods, 2 ways, both ready at the same time. Use different functions, times and temps in each drawer to create complete meals in one appliance, or cater to 2 tastes.
• 6 COOKING FUNCTIONS: Max Crisp, Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Reheat, Dehydrate. Cook from frozen to crispy. Up to 75% less fat* using the Air Fry function (*Tested against deep fried, hand-cut French fries).

£199.00

Buy on Amazon

SaleBestseller No. 2

Dual Air Fryer with Visual Window, 9L XL Capacity, 2 Drawers, 9-In-1 Cooking Presets, Touch Screen,...

• 🍕🍕【Smart Touch Control, Convenient Visual Window】The dual air fryer features a sensitive LED display that is simple to operate and easy to set and control. Super-large visual windows with...
• 🍗🍗【9 Litre Capacity, Dual Baskets】9L super-large double air fryer oven consists of dual frying baskets(the max capacity of each: 4.5L), each of which could work independently or together to...
• 🥦🥦【9 Cooking Presets for Various Food Types】Deal with different food types with varying cooking modes, choosing from fish, fries, bacon, bake, chicken-leg, steak, vegetable, shrimp, to...

£159.99 −£10.00 £149.99

Buy on Amazon

SaleBestseller No. 3

Russell Hobbs Air Fryer, 4L [7 Cooking Functions |10 Programs] Rapid, Digital, Energy Saving, Max...

• 10 Pre-Set Food Programmes You can select specific programmes for different food types: French fries, eggs, chicken, vegetable, air fry, bake, grill, dehydrate, frozen, reheat.
• 4 Litre Capacity The SatisFry Air Medium has a generous 4L capacity, which is large enough to hold a maximum 800g capacity of chips. 500g is recommended for best browning results.
• Air Fry Technology Air Fry technology circulates super-heated air with temperatures up to 220 °C.

£94.99 −£40.00 £54.99

Buy on Amazon

SaleBestseller No. 4

Belaco Air Fryer, 2L Digital Display, Rapid Air Circulation, Air Fryers, 60 Min Timer, Adjustable...

• 【COOKS FASTER】 Belaco 2L Air fryer cooks food faster than conventional oven. With 180° temperature it will cook your fish in 8-14min. Get crispy and delicious taste in less than half time, you...
• 【DIGITAL CONTROL】 The Air fryer has DIGITAL DISPLAY which gives you full control of options you prefer. With an adjustable temperature you can cook food from 80-200℃ and with the timer you can...
• 【ENERGY SAVING】This Air Fryer cooks 2x Faster than a, Conventional Oven So your food is ready in minutes, Not Only you save your time cooking your food but also you can save up to 60% energy...

£59.60 −£29.61 £29.99

Buy on Amazon

Bestseller No. 5

Instant Compact Small Air Fryer with Single Drawer, Healthy Oil Free Meals, Adjustable Temperature,...

• SIMPLE TO USE: making cooking effortless with easy-to-use dial controls for temperature and time taking the hassle out of preparing delicious meals quickly and simply
• CUSTOMISE YOUR COOKING: Control with an adjustable temperature dial (up to 200°C) and timer (up to 60 minutes) setting to provide precise cooking so you can set it and forget it!
• LESS OIL, LESS CALORIES: EvenCrisp air flow technology for the crunch and tenderness of deep-frying with 95% less oil, for delicious results every time from fresh or frozen

£59.99

Buy on Amazon

SaleBestseller No. 6

Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone Digital Air Fryer, 2 Drawers, 8.3L, 8in1, Air Fry, Extra Crisp, Roast,...

• 2 AIR FRYERS IN 1: With two different sized drawers (5.2L/3.1L), Easy Fry Dual Black with an airfryer plategives you a single and dual air fryer in one compact footprint. Heat the small drawer on its...
• SINGLES OR DOUBLES: The small drawer is perfect for single portions. Extra guests? Double up with the XL drawer – the combined 8.3L capacity feeds up to 8! Or cook a main and a side and SYNC the...
• COOK FASTER AND SAVE ENERGY: Get that crispy crunch and taste you love in less time. With the Easy Fry Dual air fryer you can prepare a wide variety of meals 40% faster than in a conventional oven,...

£179.99 −£50.00 £129.99

Buy on Amazon

Last update on 2024-04-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

You may be interested in…

• Persian pumpkin and chickpea curry
• Mango and tempeh curry
• Nisha Katona’s chicken, coconut and pineapple curry
• How to make Tim Anderson’s curry rice
• Baked baby aubergine with spicy lentil and chickpea curry

This article may include affiliate links to products and services where we may receive a small fee to support the running of this site if you make a purchase or is a sponsored article from one of our select editorial partners providing valuable advice and information to our readers.