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Jungle Curry
Jungle curry is a popular and spicy Thai curry made with no coconut milk. You can make pork or chicken jungle curry with this easy recipe.
It tastes different because it’s not as “creamy” and sweet without coconut milk added in the curry, and hence the spices taste more pronounced.
I grew up with all sorts of curries back home in Malaysia: chicken curry, fish curry, squid curry, etc.
And then I discovered Thai curries, which are rather different, but delicious nonetheless.
Ingredients for Thai Jungle Curry
- Red Curry Paste
- Galangal
- Pork
- Fish Sauce
- Bamboo Shoots
- Baby Corn
- String Beans
- Basil Leaves
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Curry Taste Like?
Curry is unique and gets its name due to the combination of both savory and sweet spices. Additionally, there is usually an amount of spiciness in curry. This is made by the type and amount of pepper used.
How Many Calories?
This recipe has 351 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
This dish is best served with white rice. For a wholesome Thai meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Jungle Curry
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 pack red curry paste (see picture below)
- 2-3 slices galanga (1/4 inch thick)
- 1 teaspoon rhizome (optional)
- 1 pound pork, sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoot
- 1/2 cup canned baby corn
- 1/2 cup canned straw mushroom
- 8-10 string beans (cut in to 2" length)
- 6 kaffir leaves
- 15 basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat up a wok and add in the water, red curry paste, galanga and rhizome (optional). Stir to combine until boiling.
- Add the pork and let it cook for 1 minute. Add the fish sauce and sugar. Stir to mix. Gently transfer the bamboo shoot, baby corn, straw mushroom, string beans and kaffir leaves into the wok. Stir to mix.
- Cover the wok and bring to boil. Turn the heat to medium and let it cook for 5-6 minutes. Add in the basil leaves. Give it a quick stir and cook for 2 minutes. Serve with rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Really easy to put together. I actually managed to get the tinned ingredients off Amazon! I will try fresh next time and see how that turns out.
I had Gaeng pa in Phrae with a Thai girl many years ago. It was even too hot for her, probably because I asked the cook to add 25 red chilies. It was a fantastic curry.
I do find the Thai recipes online or in recipe books not the hotness of the Thai food I had over there. Must be another secret of Thai cooking to master.
I made this today
But used very little curry because my family can’t eat spicy. Also I used whatever the veggies I have in the fridge. It is absolutely mouthwatering!
Thank you for the recipe ?
Thanks, Vy.
What is rhizome?
It’s a root shaped herb.
Are lemon leaves the same as kaffir leaves?
No, it’s not the same.
This was great! I had different veggies on hand and used sardines instead of pork. Still delicious and very easy.
Awesome!
Looks delicious! I adore Thai food, but I was looking for a dish with fewer calories, and this fits the bill! Very excited to try it out soon. I am not sure what exactly rhizome is, though. I looked it up online and I only got a result saying it was a botany term for a class of plants that include orchids, ginger, asparagus, galangal, and lotus. Ginger seems the most likely candidate to me, but it already has galangal, so I just wanted to be sure. Is there another word rhizome is called?
It’s called rhizome. No other name.
It’s also called Krachai, or Wild Ginger.
I know this is probably old but just in case. Rhizome is what it will normally be labelled when it is preserved in a jar. Otherwise it is known as finger root, krachai or grachai. I’ve seen both angalsied spellings.
It’s not really like ginger. Never substitute ginger for finger root because the flavour will be wildly different. If you can’t find it then it’s better to leave it our entirely. There isn’t a substitute that tastes like right.
Hope this helps.
When the word “rhizome” is used as the name of a specific spice, it refers to krachai (sometimes written grachai), in Thai “กระชาย”. The most common names in English are fingerroot, lesser ginger, and Chinese key. (It is also sometimes called lesser galangal, but that is a different plant). The botanical name is Boesenbergia rotunda. It’s in the same family as ginger, [greater] galangal, and lesser galangal, and can be recognized by its finger-like shape.
It’s called fingeroot and in Australia, we can get it pickled in a jar. This to me is the most important part of the dish, very earthy
Made this today but instead of using a wok I threw everything in the slow cooker for 6hrs. Turned out brilliant! I will definitely be making again. Thank you
Hi Sarah, awesome. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Yay – we have krachai in Australia.
Hi
Can I use fish in the recipe instead? Which one would you recommend?
Yes you can or chicken.
Thank you for your response! I actually put in fish as well as prawns, just because I didn’t have enough fish to feed the family :-). It turned out great! Thanks for the awesome recipe – I’m going to try out more of the yummy recipes on your site……