Pineapple Red Curry

My dad and step-mum have a home in Thailand where they escape the New Zealand winter, and it has become one of my favourite places to visit. Their home is in a humble farming village called Bankor, close to the Laos border. A beautiful spot where the water buffalos still rule the rice paddies and meals are mostly made of what is grown or raised in the village. Being there allows me to completely unwind. Outside of our family, no-one speaks english and, except for my step-mum, we speak terrible Thai so communication with villagers is reduced to friendly smiles, waves, and random hand gestures that we make up as we go along. But I love it. Not being able to speak the language doesn’t seem to be much of a problem – good friends are still made through the sharing of food, laughter, and rice whiskey!

It was during my visit to Thailand two years ago that I met my partner, Sun, who now lives with me in Auckland. He works in a Thai restaurant and can cook wonderful curries, som tum (papaya salad), sankaya (steamed pumpkin custard), and many others I forget the name of.


Yet despite this, I rarely get to eat Thai food at home. Sun is so busy in the restaurant that, quite understandably, the last thing he feels like doing on his few days off is cook. But last weekend he taught me this incredible recipe for pineapple red curry with soft tofu – one of my favourite Thai dishes. The juicy, sweet pineapple lends a fresh touch to the rich, aromatic spices of the red curry.

Pineapple Red Curry Recipe
I used soft tofu for this recipe – I love the contrasting texture against the other ingredients and the way it melts in your mouth. You can use any tofu you like but if you use soft tofu be sure to add it last, just to heat through before serving. It will start to fall apart after a few minutes and that’s when you want to serve it – before it completely disintegrates.

4 cups cooked brown jasmine rice
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 large red onion, chopped into large chunks
3-5 kefir lime leaves, torn
8 fl oz / 250mL / 1 cup coconut cream
1/2 pineapple, skinned and cut into small (1/2 inch / 1 cm cubes)
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons unrefined sugar or agave nectar
300g soft tofu, cut into 1 inch / 2.5cm cubes
Basil leaves for serving

Heat the oven to 300F / 150C and toast the cashew nuts for 10 minutes, stirring at the half way point.


Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, curry paste, lime leaves and 2 tablespoons of the coconut cream. Stir to break up the paste and activate the flavours, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the remaining coconut cream, tamari, pineapple and sugar. Continue to simmer over medium heat until everything is well blended, 3-4 minutes. Add the soft tofu and stir until heated through and begins to fall apart, 1-2 minutes.

Serve topped with sweet basil leaves and toasted cashew nuts, over a bed of brown jasmine rice.

Makes 4 servings.