Red Thai Salmon Curry with Baby Corn and Sugar Snaps
This red Thai salmon curry is one of the easiest Thai curries you can make. Salmon needs no advance preparation, it cooks quickly in the sauce, and its natural richness sits beautifully against the heat of red curry paste. The whole dish is on the table in under 30 minutes.
I use skinless salmon, so everything goes straight into the wok with no extra steps. Baby corn and sugar snaps keep it light and add a satisfying crunch alongside the tender fish.
What Makes Thai Red Curry Special
Thai red curry strikes a balance that's hard to replicate. It's rich and creamy from the coconut milk, deeply savory from the fish sauce, gently sweet from palm sugar and fiery from the chili-laden paste. Every spoonful has layers of flavor, yet the dish comes together in minutes.
The secret is the paste. Lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime and red chili are pounded together into a paste that carries both heat and fragrance. The moment it hits a hot pan, it releases its aromatic oils and fills the kitchen with an instantly recognisable aroma. Unlike slow-cooked curries that build depth over hours, Thai red curry gets its complexity in minutes.
It's also one of the most versatile curries in Thai cooking. It works with chicken, shrimp, tofu and, as this recipe proves, salmon.
The Origins of Thai Red Curry
In Thailand, red curry is called gaeng phet (แกงเผ็ด), which literally means "spicy curry". It's one of the most classic dishes in Thai cuisine, with roots in the cooking of Central Thailand.
Thai curries are fundamentally different from Indian curries. Indian curries are usually built on dried spice blends, while Thai curries start with a fresh paste, traditionally pounded by hand in a pestle and mortar. Red curry paste gets its color from dried red chilies, blended with lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime zest, garlic and shallots.
Coconut milk gives red curry its creamy body. It softens the heat and carries the complex flavors of the paste without overwhelming them. Read our guide to choosing the best coconut milk.
Today, red curry is eaten all over Thailand and has become one of the country's best-known dishes worldwide. It's adapted to local tastes and ingredients everywhere it goes, but it's still rooted in the same core flavors that have made it a staple for generations.
Why Salmon Works So Well in a Thai Curry
Salmon isn't a traditional Thai ingredient. In Thailand, a Thai red curry with fish usually uses leaner local fish, such as sea bass or tilapia. But salmon has become a popular choice for a salmon Thai curry in UK kitchens, and once you cook it this way, it's easy to see why.
Salmon is an oily fish, with more natural fat than white fish. That fat keeps it moist, even if it sits in the sauce for a few extra minutes. Its richness also complements the coconut milk rather than competing with it. The flavor is bold enough to hold its own against a deeply spiced red curry paste, but not so strong that it fights the other ingredients. It soaks up the warmth of the chili and the fragrance of the lemongrass while still tasting unmistakably of salmon.
Cut the salmon into even 5cm chunks. Pieces of the same size cook at the same rate, and keeping them generous means they hold their shape in the sauce instead of breaking apart.
Key Ingredients
Mae Jum Thai Red Curry Paste: The heart of this recipe. Stone-ground in Southern Thailand, it delivers a depth of flavor that would take hours to build from scratch. This recipe uses nearly half a pack or 35g with only 200ml of coconut milk, so expect a curry with real heat.
Coconut Milk: Gives the sauce its silky texture and tempers the heat. At 200ml, this salmon coconut curry stays on the spicy side. For a milder, creamier curry, use 300ml and slightly less paste.
Baby corn and sugar snaps: Add crunch, freshness and color. Baby corn goes in first, as it needs a little longer. Sugar snaps go in with the salmon and only need a few minutes to stay crisp.
Thai sweet basil and fresh red chili: Added off the heat at the very end. Both lose their fragrance quickly at high temperatures, and the curry's residual warmth is enough to release their aroma.
Fish sauce and palm sugar: Season the sauce. Fish sauce brings savory depth and palm sugar rounds out the heat, giving you that classic Thai balance of salty, sweet and spicy.
Cooking Tips
Don't rush the paste: Fry it for two minutes before any liquid goes in. This releases its aromas and builds the base of the sauce. Rush it and the curry will taste flat and raw, however well you cook everything else.
Use the cream from the top of the tin: Don't shake the coconut milk. The thick layer at the top is richer than the liquid below. Frying a spoonful with the paste helps it come together into a smooth, glossy base before the rest of the coconut milk goes in.
Don't overcook the salmon: For 5cm chunks, 5 to 7 minutes of gentle simmering is enough. It's ready when it's opaque all the way through and flakes easily when pressed. Stir gently, or the pieces will break up.
Keep it at a gentle simmer: A little coconut oil rising to the surface is a good sign. It means you're using quality coconut milk and it's carrying the paste's flavor. A hard, rolling boil is what to avoid: it can make the sauce grainy and break up the salmon.
From Jum’s Kitchen
There’s something deeply satisfying about a curry that comes together this quickly. In my family’s kitchen in Southern Thailand, we’ve never believed good food has to be complicated, just honest. This salmon curry proves it.
The moment stone-ground paste meets a hot pan, the kitchen fills with the kind of aroma that makes everyone stop what they’re doing. That isn’t theater. It’s lemongrass, galangal and fresh chili releasing their fragrant oils, exactly as they should. Grinding them slowly by stone, the traditional way, keeps more of that flavor locked in until the moment you cook.
Thai food has found a real home in America, but the versions people know are often toned down. This curry isn’t. It has heat, it has fragrance, and it has the depth that only comes from real ingredients prepared properly. And it still fits into a busy weeknight.
Cook it once and you’ll understand why red curry is loved in every corner of Thailand and far beyond. Then you’ll cook it again.
Salmon Thai Red Curry with Baby Corn and Sugar Snaps
- 300 g Salmon
- 2 tbsp Mae Jum Thai Red Curry Paste
- 200 ml Coconut milk
- 100 g Baby corn
- 120 g Sugar Snaps
- 1 tsp Fish sauce
- 1 tsp Palm sugar
- 100 ml water
- 1 sweet chili
- — Sweet Thai basil
Thai Red Curry Paste
