Description
This rich and flavorful Pumpkin Curry combines roasted pumpkin with a fragrant Thai red curry sauce made creamy with coconut milk. Enhanced with fresh bell peppers, shallots, Thai bird’s eye chilies, and bamboo shoots, this vibrant curry is both comforting and aromatic. It’s served with steamed rice and garnished with fresh Thai basil and lime wedges for a perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegetables & Produce
- 1 small pumpkin or kabocha squash (about 3 to 3 ½ lb)
- 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
- 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
- 1 medium shallot, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 Thai bird’s eye chilis, sliced
- 1/3 cup canned bamboo shoots, drained and sliced into thin matchsticks
- 1/2 lime, juice
- 1/4 cup fresh Thai basil, plus more thinly sliced for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving
Pantry & Others
- 5 tbsp. vegetable or peanut oil, divided
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce
- Steamed rice, for serving
Instructions
- Roast the Pumpkin: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Halve the pumpkin and scoop out seeds. Cut into 8 to 10 thick wedges and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of oil and season with kosher salt. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes until almost tender, allowing a fork to be inserted with slight resistance. Let cool.
- Prepare the Pumpkin Flesh: When cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to carefully peel off the skin from the pumpkin wedges. Roughly chop the pumpkin into 2-inch pieces. Mash enough tender pieces to fill a ¼ cup measure and set aside for pureeing.
- Cook the Curry Base: In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. When shimmering, add the Thai red curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and darkened in color—about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the coconut milk; simmer gently for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Puree the Curry Sauce: Add the mashed pumpkin and ¼ cup water to the coconut curry mixture. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Alternatively, blend in a regular blender and return the sauce to the pot.
- Add Vegetables and Simmer: Add the sliced green and red bell peppers, shallot, Thai bird’s eye chilis, and bamboo shoots to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Finish Cooking Pumpkin and Simmer: Uncover the pot, add the reserved chopped pumpkin pieces, and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes more.
- Season and Serve: Just before serving, stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, and Thai basil leaves. Ladle the curry over steamed white rice and garnish with additional sliced Thai basil. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
Notes
- This pumpkin curry gains its rich, velvety texture and intensified pumpkin flavor by blending some of the roasted pumpkin flesh directly into the coconut curry sauce.
- Adjust the number of Thai bird’s eye chilis according to your preferred spice level.
- Using kabocha squash as a substitute for pumpkin will add a sweeter, nuttier flavor.
- For a vegetarian version, omit fish sauce and replace it with soy sauce or tamari.
- Serve with steamed jasmine or basmati rice for a complete meal.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (about 1 cup curry with rice)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 20 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
