Red Thai Curry Sauce

I am back with another tofu dish within the week.  I am shameless.  But seriously, this sauce is everything.  I found it the other day on  Pinch of Yum's blog and it is a recipe I know I will make again and again.  It's that good.

It does not require any obscure ingredients/complicated steps and can take anywhere between 5-20 minutes, depending on how thick you would like it and what you are using it for.

I decided to make a Thai curry bowl with baked tofu, broccoli, carrots, and red bell pepper.

First I started preparing baked tofu and when that was about half way done baking, I started to assemble the sauce.  Once the sauce was in the simmer/thickening stage I added my vegetables to cook.  Because I had plenty of veggies, I added additional vegetable stock  {as the recipe indicates you might need} to increase it's volume.

By the time my vegetables were done cooking, the tofu was ready and I added it directly to the sauce and veggies to coat.  I poured it over some rice and BAM! Just like that I had a darn good curry that rivaled any takeout place. 

Red Thai Curry Sauce
Modified slightly from a pinchofyum.com

• 1 can of light coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter
• 2 tbsp. red curry paste
• 1 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/3 cup crushed peanuts
• up to 1/2 cup water or broth
• extra crushed peanuts and scallions for topping

1.  Pour coconut milk into a sauce pan over high heat.  Once it is simmering add peanut butter, red curry paste, lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and garlic. Whisk on high heat for 15 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened. 

2. Add the peanuts and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. When the sauce coats the back of the spoon, add small amounts of water or broth depending on the consistency you're going for. 

* Note:  I have tried this recipe both with light coconut milk and regular coconut milk and I prefer the light version.  The dish wasn't as spicy with regular coconut milk and it was far more rich. I suppose you could add more red curry paste to remedy the spicy issue if that is a predicament for your taste buds.

I also did not add 1/3 cup of crushed peanuts like the recipe stated because I didn't have any on hand. Plus I buy chunky peanut butter so that uhh little bit counts for something right?

* Baked tofu method: After draining tofu on a plate with something heavy on top of it (another plate with cans for example) for 15-30 minutes, cut the tofu into cubes or slices and place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Take out of the oven, flip the tofu, and place it  back to bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown.