Thai-Style Red Chicken Curry
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This fragrant Thai chicken curry is a one-pan dish that comes together in just 30 minutes.
I love cooking Thai-style food at home because there are so many recipes that you can create with just a few staples from the Asian food aisle of your neighborhood supermarket. This red chicken curry is case in point: a one-pan dish of tender chicken simmered in a rich, red curry-infused coconut milk sauce, it comes together in just 30 minutes with minimal prep work.
In developing the recipe, the biggest challenge was determining the best way to cook the chicken. Most recipes call for sautéing the chicken first and then warming it in the finished sauce. But the problem with that method, if you’re using white meat, is that the chicken tends to dry out quickly. I found that gently poaching the chicken in the coconut sauce is not only easier but also foolproof. You’ll be so pleased with how tender the chicken turns out when cooked this way!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Thai-Style Red Chicken Curry
Before we get to the step-by-step instructions, a few words about the ingredients:
- Red curry paste is a blend of lemongrass, galangal (Thai ginger), fresh red chilis, and fragrant spices. The spice level will vary depending on the brand of curry paste you use. The brand I use above (Thai Kitchen) makes for a mild, family-friendly dish. For more heat, you can always add a drizzle of Sriracha, some of the seeds of the jalapeño, or some crushed red pepper flakes.
- Be sure to use full-fat coconut milk. The sauce won’t have the same smooth, thick consistency with the reduced-fat variety.
- Fish sauce is a salty, savory condiment often used in East Asian cuisine. It adds a rich umami flavor to sauces, marinades, and salad dressings.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large nonstick pan. Add the light scallions, garlic, and jalapeño. (The dark green scallions are used as a garnish at the end, as they are mild in flavor and pretty, too.)
Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown.
Add the coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, and brown sugar.
Bring to a gentle boil and simmer until thickened, a few minutes.
Add the chicken pieces.
Simmer, stirring occasionally to promote even cooking, until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes.
Stir in the lime juice, dark scallion greens, and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lime, if necessary.
Serve with jasmine rice.
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Thai Red Curry Chicken
This fragrant Thai chicken curry is a one-pan dish that comes together in just 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced, light and dark green parts divided
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced (see note)
- 1 (14-oz) can coconut milk (unsweetened)
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2½ tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 1½ pounds chicken tenderloins, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon lime juice, from 1 lime
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large nonstick pan. Add the light scallions, garlic, and jalapeño and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown.
- Add the coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, and brown sugar and whisk together. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened, a few minutes. Add the chicken and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally to promote even cooking, until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. (Do not let the sauce boil; the idea is to cook the chicken gently so that it's tender.) Stir in the lime juice, dark scallion greens, and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lime, if necessary. Serve with jasmine rice.
- Note: As always, take care when working with jalapeño peppers. If you touch the seeds or ribs, be sure to wash your hands well and avoid touching your eyes.
- Note: It's important to wait until you're ready to eat to cook the chicken. If you want to get a head start, prepare the sauce up until the point when the chicken is added. Take it off the heat and then poach the chicken right before serving. If the chicken sits in the hot curry sauce for too long before serving, it will overcook.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 649
- Fat: 51 g
- Saturated fat: 26 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Sodium: 886 mg
- Cholesterol: 128 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Made this tonight. Super easy and SO DELICIOUS!! I omitted the jalapeño and added red bell pepper to keep It mild for my 4 year old granddaughter. She loved it and so did her parents.
I made this last week and it was totally delicious, I’m making it again tonight. So full of flavour and very tender chicken. Well done a super recipe, I will be trying more of yours👏👏👏
Thanks for the great recipe! I substituted sugar for honey and also added chopped coriander stalks to scallions and jalapeno in the beginning (from another recipe). Excellent!
However, your advice about steaming the veggies separately is spot on! I sort of missed it and added zucchini and champignons raw towards the end of the process. That was a mistake – everything turned out very tasty, but taste and creaminess of coconut milk were gone for all the extra liquid that came from veggies and mushrooms. So I will follow your advice next time and I’m sure it will be even better!
Outstanding recipe. Our family is knowledgeable and experienced with Thai foods. I added thin stripes of red and yellow bell pepper and Thai peppers for heat. Thank you for this wonderful and easy recipe. ALL OF YOUR RECIPES ARE 5 STARS.
Hi Jen – I couldn’t get any Jalapeño peppers- would red pepper flakes substitute Thank you!
Soogan
Sure – they’ll add a slightly different flavor, but they will definitely work to add a bit of heat. Enjoy!
Our 6 year old wanted to give you 10 stars for this dish! I have yet to make one of your recipes that our family hasn’t devoured. This was my 1st attempt at curry, and the chicken was so soft. Tossed in sauteed mushrooms, onions, and haricot verts. Fantastic!!!
Forgot to add a few items, since I so appreciate other reviewers comments… I omitted the jalapeno for our son, so if you need to but find you are missing a little kick, adding a little sambal oleak wound up being a perfect tableside addition. Based on other reviews, I reduced the brown sugar by half a TBSP (could reduce more), increased the lime by about about a TBSP just to use it up (plus I love lime). I seasoned the cut up chicken with salt & pepper, plus a little of the red curry paste, and let it marinate while I cooked the rice & chopped up the aromatics. I was nervous about making this because my hubby isn’t a huge fan of dishes that are heavy on fish sauce or coconut milk flavor, but don’t shy away from this recipe. Jenn has balanced everything so beautifully in this sauce! It is insanely delicious! I would gladly have made a bowlful of the sauce as soup. Next time, trying it with peas & potatoes, possibly eggplant. What a phenomenal dinner with leftovers for tomorrow! Thanks again!!
Thank you, Jenn! I’ve been cooking more at home and followed some of your recipes which were all resulted in success. This one though, absolutely outstanding! We love Thai food and I can tell this is the BEST EVER red curry chicken we’ve had. We have three picky eaters and we can never find a recipe that satisfies all but this one did it. Shocking!!!
I doubled the recipe with increasing the cooking time and substituted the jalapeño with yellow bell pepper (kid-friendly version) and added boiled and rinsed peas at the end based on your instructions in your comments. Served with Jasmine rice and viola!
P.S. I was intimidated by the dish/cuisine but after reading your recipe, I’m glad I gave it a go! Now I have more confidence in getting out of my comfort zone, I’ll try your chicken tikka masala tomorrow and this one again with green curry. Can’t wait!
All of the recipes I’ve made from this site have been outstanding, but this one….the word outstanding doesn’t do it justice. This is BETTER than any Thai restaurant version I’ve ever had. “Absolutely amazing” were the words my husband used. Jenn, you have outdone yourself with this. It deserved 10 star. I served with your Thai Cucumber Salad (another incredible dish) and Jasmine rice.
So glad you enjoyed!!
Made this recipe with a few additions and tweaking to the method the second time around.
Sautéd the red curry paste with a 2tsp of chopped ginger and the chopped garlic, addional red chilli (morter and pestal) with about a tbsp of canola oil
Then added the cubed chicken thigh meat ant sautéed that for a few min.
Once I can see a bit of the paste stick to the bottom of the pot, I added the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and lemon grass then reduced the heat to a medium low simmer covered. 20 mins.
Added broccoli florets, thinly sliced bell pepper, and bamboo shoots. Simmer 10 mins.
This method seemed to release more of the red curry flavour for our liking. We found the store bought paste on its own a bit too mild for us, and decided to amp up the flavour by lightly sautéing the paste with the chicken first.
The recipe overall is a great intro to Thai cooking. Thank you Once upon Chef.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!