This is not the curry you get at your favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant. I could give you a recipe for that, and maybe I will at some point but this is the curry you’ll want but can’t order and that’s kind of the point. In order to eat this, you have to make it (or I guess you could buy me a plant or an enamel pin and I’ll make it for you).

The nice thing though is once you know how to make the curry portion of this recipe, you basically know how to make Thai curry. Add green beans and diced potato, red peppers, bamboo shoots, whatever. Swap out green or yellow curry paste. It’s the same recipe.

This recipe came to be when Andrew went out of town to some science convention. When he leaves I like to indulge in things he doesn’t like, because when you’re buying groceries for the two you don’t usually buy things 50% of you won’t eat. In the summer, sometimes that means eating a whole basket of strawberries for dinner. Or maybe it’s a roasted beet salad. He’s come around to most mushrooms, but I used to go to an Asian grocery store and go buck wild grabbing every variety available. He still isn’t into tofu.

Before you scroll down, I’m going to give you a brief primer on some of the Thai ingredients you need to make this curry. If there is an Asian market where you live, you can easily find all of this (if you live here in Houston, there are plenty of locations to choose from).

Fish sauce: First of all, fish sauce smells suuuuuuuper strong, but the flavor is really mild when it’s added to things. Don’t even try omitting it, fish sauce is one of the most central flavors in Thai food and it will never taste right without it. If you’ve ever ordered Thai food, you’ve already eaten it anyway. There are a lot of different brands out there and they aren’t created equally. Red Boat is the best, but it’s about twice the price of the next best option, coming in at about $8. Three Crabs (pictured above) is my number two, followed by Squid. They’re all made with anchovies, so pay no mind to the different crustacean-y names.

Curry Paste: It doesn’t really matter what brand you get, just look for a tub like the one shown above. Red can be used to make red, massaman or panang curry. Green is slightly hotter and obviously used for green curry. Yellow is the most mild, so if you aren’t super into spice or you’re making curry for kids this would be a good swap.

Maitake Mushrooms: In Western countries, these are sometimes called Hen Of The Woods mushrooms and with that name they usually cost like, $50 a pound. However, if you go to an Asian market they are $3 for the exact same mushroom and well worth it. If you can’t find one though, the best substitute will be an oyster mushroom.

Pressed Marinated Tofu: This stuff is sometimes called dry spiced tofu. You’re looking for compact bricks of tofu with a brown marinated outside. They usually come in packs of two or three 3 inch square bricks. You can omit it if you can’t find it (you will find it at an Asian shop) or just add an extra mushroom.

Just a few more things and you can get on with it:

• If you want to buy pre-cubed butternut squash, go nuts. It’s usually a little pricier but if it makes you happier than breaking down the squash then it makes me happy, too!
• This isn’t insanely spicy, but if you’re sensitive to heat, swap milder yellow curry paste for the red
• You can use any winter squash you like – kabocha, acorn, delicata and cut them however you want
• The extra broth is there to thin out the curry only if you want to. If you’re serving it with rice noodles, you might want it to be a little thinner.

Print Recipe

Butternut Squash Curry with Maitake Mushrooms

I broke it down into sections just to keep things organized and tidy, but that was probably overkill. Don't let this recipe intimidate you because it really is so easy and so worth it. Feel free to substitute any winter squash you like (it works great with acorn squash or rings of delicata).

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

roasted butternut squash

• 3-4 cup butternut squash medium diced
• 1 T neutral oil
• kosher salt + pepper

maitake mushroom topping

• 2-3 pressed tofu blocks cut into 1 inch strips
• 2 maitake mushroom cut or torn into 2 inch pieces
• 2 T neutral oil divided
• 1/4 ts kosher salt

curry

• 1 T neutral oil
• 2 T red curry paste
• 4-5 garlic clove minced or grated
• 2 T ginger minced
• 1 ts ground turmeric
• 1 red onion halved and thinly sliced
• 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
• 3-4 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 T fish sauce or more to taste
• 1 T brown sugar (optional)

optional for serving

• cilantro
• red onion halved and thinly sliced
• cooked jasmine rice or rice noodles
• lime wedges

Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 45 minutes Servings servings Ingredients roasted butternut squash 3-4 cup butternut squash medium diced 1 T neutral oil kosher salt + pepper maitake mushroom topping 2-3 pressed tofu blocks cut into 1 inch strips 2 maitake mushroom cut or torn into 2 inch pieces 2 T neutral oil divided 1/4 ts kosher salt curry 1 T neutral oil 2 T red curry paste 4-5 garlic clove minced or grated 2 T ginger minced 1 ts ground turmeric 1 red onion halved and thinly sliced 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk 3-4 cup low sodium chicken broth 1 T fish sauce or more to taste 1 T brown sugar (optional) optional for serving cilantro red onion halved and thinly sliced cooked jasmine rice or rice noodles lime wedges

Instructions

roasted butternut squash

1. Preheat oven to 415 degrees. On a large sheet pan, toss your diced squash, 1T of oil, salt and pepper and spread it all out in an even layer. Roast 25 minutes or until tender and most of the squash is at least partially browned.

maitake mushroom topping

1. While the squash is roasting, heat 1T oil in a heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, saute tofu and maitake pieces in a single layer until deeply golden brown. You're going to put it all in the pan and not touch it for about 30sec - 1 min. before stirring so you can get that nice crust on them. Use the remaining tablespoon of oil when your pan gets a little too dry (tofu and mushrooms both tend to suck up oil).
2. Remove the tofu and mushrooms from the pan and reserve for later.

curry

1. Heat 1T oil in your pot over medium heat. Add curry paste, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and red onion. Stir constantly, until onions are tender and curry paste has darkened a little, 2-3 minutes. Don't worry about any bits sticking to the pan - its supposed to happen.
2. Add 3 cups of chicken stock, scraping all that business off the bottom of the pot. Add fish sauce and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer for 25 minutes.
3. Throw all that butternut squash into the curry. Use the remaining cup of chicken broth to thin the whole thing out a little if you like. Season with extra fish sauce (salty) or a little brown sugar, to taste.
4. Mix your tofu and mushrooms in OR add them on top if you want them to be a little more photogenic 😉

Recipe Notes

Serve with jasmine rice or rice noodles or on its own. Top with thinly sliced red onion and/or cilantro. This curry freezes well - so if you don't think you'll eat it all, you can save it for later.

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