Stir-fried Red Curry Green Beans with Tofu

Stir-fried Red Curry Green Beans with Tofu (and a fried egg)

We frequently cook Thai or Thai-inspired dishes for dinner or lunch in our house, with this dish being a favorite. One of the best things about this recipe is how easily it comes together with ingredients that we usually have in the refrigerator: red curry paste, tofu, shallot, and green beans. When we want something tasty and easy we can crank this out in less than 30 minutes.

My original source for this recipe is from Serious Eats (see here). Instead of making curry paste from scratch, since I didn't own a nice Thai-style granite mortar and pestle at the time, I opted for the store-bought red curry paste route. I also used easy-to-find, nothing-fancy green beans instead of long beans. With the acquisition of our air-fryer, we often opt to simply season and then air fry the tofu cubes while stir-frying the green beans, combining them at the very end.

Ingredients:

• 12-ounce block of firm or extra firm tofu, drained, pressed with paper towels to remove moisture, cut into 3/4" cubes
• 1 Tbsp red curry paste (we like the Mae Ploy brand)
• 2-3 Tbsp vegetable, canola, or peanut oil
• 1 pound green beans (or long beans), washed, trimmed, and cut into 1 1/2" pieces
• 1 small shallot, sliced into rings
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• Steamed white rice (Jasmine preferred) for serving
• Fried egg, over easy, for serving

Instructions:

1. Make the rice. We use a counter-top rice cooker and follow its directions.
2. Prepare the tofu by draining and pressing between paper towels to extract moisture. If you have time to start this step an extra 10-15 minutes early then you can get even more moisture out of the tofu. After pressing out liquid, cut tofu into 3/4" cubes.
3. Wash, trim, and cut green beans into 1 1/2" pieces. Drain well or pat dry.
   
   

   

   Curry paste, shallot, sugar, and soy sauce

   
   
   
   
4. Peel and slice shallot into thin rings, measure out white sugar and soy sauce (into a single small dish is fine) or set near stove for easy access.
5. Fry the tofu. We use an air fryer, which takes about 15 minutes. If you don't have an air fryer, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl oil to coat the pan once oil is hot, then add the tofu in a single layer and cook until crisp on first side (about 3 minutes). Then flip pieces and cook until second side is crisp. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
   
   

   

   Stir-fry the green beans

   
   
6. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat (same pan used to fry tofu if not using an air fryer). Swirl to coat the pan after oil is hot then add green beans and stir-fry, stirring occasionally until blistered and tender. Transfer to same bowl with tofu and set aside.
   
   

   

   Add the curry past and fry until aromatic

   
   
   

   

   Green beans with shallots, ready for tofu

   
   
   
7. Add 1 Tbsp oil to the wok or skillet and return to medium-high to high heat. Add curry paste all at once and cook, stirring constantly to prevent paste from burning, frying until aromatic and sizzling. Return tofu and green beans to pan, along with sugar, soy sauce, and shallot. Stir and toss to combine and coat everything with the curry paste. Dish is done cooking once shallots have softened and everything is evenly coated with the curry.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Serve immediately over steamed rice and with an optional fried egg on top. Eat by breaking the egg yolk, cutting egg into pieces, and gently mixing in with the beans and rice.