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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Super easy and excellent recipe – thank you for another great one Jenn! I added 2 cups of fresh peas to mine right at the end and it was the perfect. I also only had light coconut milk and I did not find the sauce too runny. Will definitely make again.
Love this recipe! So easy to make and absolutely delicious. I added finely chopped fresh lime kafir leaves and it added a nice “zing”. Thank you so much!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! I’m so happy I found this website. Looking forward to trying more recipes. Thank you.
Recently we have made many of your recipes and they never disappoint!! Made this for first time tonight and loved by all which is a feat in itself! Super easy and super delicious! Thx so much and keep them coming:)
I made this the other day and it was so good!! I am hooked on your recipies…. Thank you!
Really good and easy. Question.. in the first pic on top of all the ingredients- what is the white stuff in the little brown dish? I couldn’t figure out which ingredient that was.
Hi Liz, If you’re talking about the very first pic on the page, it’s rice. Glad you like it, BTW!
I was looking over the reviews & noticed Liz’s question. I think she is referring to your ingredient picture. It appears to be salt in small dish, but the recipe does not list it. It tastes great without salt, but I just thought that may be what the she was asking 🙂
Ahhh… you may be right, Melissa. I thought she was referring to the picture at the very top of the page. That is salt in that little bowl in the second pic and it’s correct that the recipe doesn’t call for it so I can definitely see why it could be confusing – my bad!
Amazing recipe (as per usual) Jenn! I was wondering, out of curiosity – would another curry paste work here? I have Massaman curry paste at home and I’m wondering if it would taste as good!
Hi Maria, I do think other curry pastes would make nice variations.
Yum, Yum! This was so delicious and easy! Will definitely make it again!
This recipe is awesome. I decided to leverage the majority of the recipe, but I cannot help m myself to add to recipes as I go. I am retired and my wife is a remote employee. We live in rural Iowa. Moved here about 2 years ago. Needless to say one of the things we miss is the number of large quality restaurants available. That stated we have been cooking more at home. This recipe did the trick for us. We added Asian mushrooms, bean sprouts, and asparagus to this recipe. Highly recommend as I felt this was restaurant grade. Thank you.
Jenn – we make this recipe all the time and love it. We have friends coming over and wanted to make it, but they can’t eat coconut. Could we use yogurt or something else instead of the coconut milk?
Becky
Hi Becky, Coconut milk is such an important component of this recipe that I really wouldn’t substitute it. You may want to consider my Chicken Curry recipe instead. Hope that helps!