Gordon Ramsay Thai Red Curry Recipe

Gordon Ramsay’s Thai red curry recipe is duck, not chicken, seared with crispy skin and served over a coconut sauce made from a red curry paste he builds from scratch with Kashmiri chillies, galangal, lemongrass, and shrimp paste. The whole thing takes about 45 minutes, and most of that is the duck fat rendering on low heat while you blitz the paste.

Ramsay learned this in Chiang Mai and put it in his Great Escape book, and he is firm that the paste must be fresh, not from a jar. I did not expect a Thai red curry recipe to use duck, and it changed how I approach every Thai recipe in my curry collection and lychees, but once I tried it I understood why chicken felt flat every time before.

Try More Curry Recipes:

• Thai Green Curry
• Curry Paste
• Massaman Curry

Why Duck Works Better Than Chicken Here

Duck fat renders into the pan and carries the chilli heat differently. The richness stands up to the lychees and coconut milk in a way chicken breast just cannot.

Gordon also glazes the duck in honey and soy before resting it, so it has a sticky sweetness that bleeds into the curry when you slice it on top. I skipped the glaze once and the whole dish felt like it was missing something obvious.

Thai Red Curry Paste Ingredients

This is Ramsay’s Thai red curry paste recipe from scratch. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds first, then blitz everything smooth.

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 10 dried Kashmiri chillies, soaked in warm water and drained
• 5 dried red chillies, soaked and drained
• 1 red finger chilli, deseeded
• 2cm (1-inch) piece galangal (or fresh ginger), peeled and chopped
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 5 shallots, peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) stalks, chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and chopped
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste
• 2 tsp sea salt

Thai Red Curry Ingredients

• 4 x 175g (6 oz) duck breasts, skin on
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp groundnut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 4-6 tbsp red curry paste (above)
• 400ml (1.75 cups) coconut milk
• 200ml (0.85 cups) chicken stock
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
• 200g (7 oz) lychees, peeled and deseeded (tinned works fine)
• 100g (3.5 oz) sugar snap peas
• Handful fresh coriander (cilantro), to garnish
• 2 limes, halved
• 2 spring onions (scallions), sliced

How To Make Gordon Ramsay Thai Red Curry

1. Make the Paste: Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan over high heat for 2 minutes until fragrant. Put the toasted spices with all remaining paste ingredients into a food processor and blend until completely smooth.
2. Render the Duck Fat: Score the skin of each duck breast in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Season with salt and pepper, place skin-side down in a dry hot pan, then drop the heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes until the fat renders out.
3. Crisp and Glaze: Turn the heat up and fry until the skin is golden and crisp, then flip and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes. Drizzle the honey and soy sauce over the duck, toss to coat, cook until it reduces to a sticky glaze, then transfer to a plate and rest for 5-10 minutes.
4. Fry the Paste: Heat the groundnut oil in a wok over high heat. Add 4-6 tablespoons of curry paste and fry for 1-2 minutes until the paste deepens in colour and smells fragrant.
5. Build the Sauce: Pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock, stir well, then add the fish sauce and palm sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer.
6. Add Vegetables and Lychees: Add the sugar snap peas and lychees, cook for 5 minutes until just tender. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce or sugar if needed.
7. Serve: Slice the rested duck breasts and divide the curry among four warm bowls. Place the sliced duck on top, drizzle any remaining glaze, and garnish with coriander (cilantro), spring onions (scallions), and lime halves.

How To Make Red Thai Curry As Good As a Restaurant

Fry the paste in oil before any liquid goes in. Gordon fries his for a full 1-2 minutes until it darkens, and that step alone is the difference between flat homemade curry and one that tastes like someone who knows what they are doing cooked it.

The paste matters more than anything else. Shop-bought works in a rush, but fresh paste with toasted spices and real lemongrass has a sharpness no jar can touch.

Can I Use Chicken or Prawns Instead?

For a Thai red chicken curry, use 500g (1.1 lbs) boneless thighs cut into pieces, skip the rendering, and brown them in oil for 3-4 minutes before setting aside. Add them back after building the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

For a Thai red prawn curry, add raw king prawns (shrimp) to the simmering sauce for the last 4 minutes. Both work, but neither gives you the fat and richness that duck does.

Does Gordon Ramsay Make Curry Often?

Gordon Ramsay has been cooking Thai food since his Great Escape travels and has published several curry recipes across his books and shows. This red Thai curry is from the South East Asia book, and he also has a Thai green curry rice from Ultimate Fit Food.

His curry recipe collection covers Indian, Malaysian, and Thai styles. I have cooked most of them, and this duck version is the one I come back to when I want something that feels like a proper occasion rather than a Tuesday night dinner.

What to Serve With It

Steamed jasmine rice and nothing else. Ramsay serves it in bowls with the sliced duck fanned on top so the crisp skin stays above the sauce.

A cucumber salad with rice vinegar cools it down if you went heavy on the paste. I have a duck breast recipe that uses the same rendering technique if you want to practise the duck part before making the full curry.

Keeping the Paste and Leftovers

The paste keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for a week, or freeze it in ice cube trays for single portions. One cube is roughly enough for one serving of curry.

The finished curry lasts 2 days in the fridge, but the duck skin goes soft in the sauce. Reheat in a hot wok, not the microwave.

FAQs

• Where is this recipe from? Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape, the South East Asia edition. He ate it with rambutans in Chiang Mai and adapted it with lychees and duck breast.
• Can I use shop-bought paste? Yes, use 3-4 tablespoons and add a squeeze of lime at the end. It is decent but missing the toasted spice depth you get from fresh.
• What if I cannot find galangal? Fresh ginger works. Galangal is sharper and more citrusy, but Ramsay lists ginger as the alternative in the book.
• Do I have to use lychees? No, but they balance the chilli heat with sweetness. Tinned lychees work just as well as fresh, and Ramsay also suggests rambutans.

More Recipes To Try:

• Malaysian Curry
• Pumpkin Curry
• Fish Curry

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)

• Calories: 520 kcal
• Total Fat: 32g
• Protein: 34g
• Total Carbohydrate: 24g

Gordon Ramsay Thai Red Curry Recipe

Recipe by Sophie Lane

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Total time

45

minutes

Gordon Ramsay’s Thai red curry recipe is duck, not chicken, seared with crispy skin and served over a coconut sauce made from a red curry paste he builds from scratch with Kashmiri chillies, galangal, lemongrass, and shrimp paste. The whole thing takes about 45 minutes, and most of that is the duck fat rendering on low heat while you blitz the paste.

Ramsay learned this in Chiang Mai and put it in his Great Escape book, and he is firm that the paste must be fresh, not from a jar. I did not expect a Thai red curry recipe from Gordon Ramsay to use duck and lychees, but once I tried it I understood why chicken felt flat every time before.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 2 tbsp coriander seeds

• 1 tsp black peppercorns

• 10 dried Kashmiri chillies, soaked in warm water and drained

• 5 dried red chillies, soaked and drained

• 1 red finger chilli, deseeded

• 2cm (1-inch) piece galangal (or fresh ginger), peeled and chopped

• 3 kaffir lime leaves

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

• 5 shallots, peeled and chopped

• 2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) stalks, chopped

• 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and chopped

• 1 tbsp shrimp paste

• 2 tsp sea salt

• 4 x 175g (6 oz) duck breasts, skin on

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp honey

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 3 tbsp groundnut oil (or vegetable oil)

• 4-6 tbsp red curry paste (above)

• 400ml (1.75 cups) coconut milk

• 200ml (0.85 cups) chicken stock

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)

• 200g (7 oz) lychees, peeled and deseeded (tinned works fine)

• 100g (3.5 oz) sugar snap peas

• Handful fresh coriander (cilantro), to garnish

• 2 limes, halved

• 2 spring onions (scallions), sliced

Directions

• Make the Paste: Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan over high heat for 2 minutes until fragrant. Put the toasted spices with all remaining paste ingredients into a food processor and blend until completely smooth.
• Render the Duck Fat: Score the skin of each duck breast in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Season with salt and pepper, place skin-side down in a dry hot pan, then drop the heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes until the fat renders out.
• Crisp and Glaze: Turn the heat up and fry until the skin is golden and crisp, then flip and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes. Drizzle the honey and soy sauce over the duck, toss to coat, cook until it reduces to a sticky glaze, then transfer to a plate and rest for 5-10 minutes.
• Fry the Paste: Heat the groundnut oil in a wok over high heat. Add 4-6 tablespoons of curry paste and fry for 1-2 minutes until the paste deepens in colour and smells fragrant.
• Build the Sauce: Pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock, stir well, then add the fish sauce and palm sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer.
• Add Vegetables and Lychees: Add the sugar snap peas and lychees, cook for 5 minutes until just tender. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce or sugar if needed.
• Serve: Slice the rested duck breasts and divide the curry among four warm bowls. Place the sliced duck on top, drizzle any remaining glaze, and garnish with coriander (cilantro), spring onions (scallions), and lime halves.