Lobster Scallop Curry

This is restaurant-style Thai curry made luxurious with two shellfish. Sweet sea scallops and tender lobster meat poach gently in a coconut-red-curry broth that’s been built properly, the classic Thai way of simmering coconut milk with curry paste until the oil splits and rises to the top.

That oil-on-top stage is the moment most home cooks miss. When you see beads of bright orange oil floating on the coconut milk, that’s when the curry paste has fully bloomed and the spices are at peak flavor. Add the seafood at any other time and you get a flat, soupy curry instead of a fragrant, layered one.

The lobster goes in already cooked, so it just needs to warm through. The scallops, on the other hand, only need five minutes in the simmering broth, just until they turn opaque and bounce back to a gentle press. Overcooked scallops are the fastest way to ruin a curry like this.

Fish sauce and lemon juice are doing the seasoning work that salt would do in Western cooking. The fish sauce brings umami salinity, the lemon brightens. Together they balance the sweet coconut and the chile heat.

Thai basil garnish at the end is what makes this taste authentic. Don’t use Italian basil if you can help it, Thai basil’s anise-licorice note is part of the dish’s signature aroma.

Chef Tips

• Use full-fat Thai coconut milk, not light, the fat is what carries the curry paste flavor and gives the broth body
• Pat the scallops dry before adding so they don’t release water into the curry
• Slice the bell pepper and mushrooms thin so they cook through in just the few minutes they’re in the pot
• Start with a teaspoon of chili-garlic sauce and add more to taste, the heat builds as the curry sits

Variations

• Swap green curry paste and add a handful of fresh spinach or Thai eggplant for green curry style
• Use shrimp, calamari, or chunks of firm white fish in place of part or all of the lobster
• Add a stalk of bruised lemongrass and a few kaffir lime leaves while simmering for more aromatic depth