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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So yummy! The chicken is so tender. I add chopped asparagus and red peppers at the end and cook until just tender.
Forgot to mention I also added 3 carrots sliced diagonally to add some color. Sautéed them before adding the onion. I also actually added the chicken next because I was using boneless skinless thighs and wanted them to get some “brown” flavor.
Delicious even with my adaptations based on what was in the refrigerator! No scallions-so yellow onion and the chives that have come back to my herb bed from a long winters rest. Green curry paste-not as pretty as the red but great flavor and had the perfect amount that inspired looking for a recipe to use it. No jalapeno but it was hot and flavorful enough with the addition of some chili garlic paste (also languishing in the refrigerator).
This is my go to for a fast dinner. I use rotisserie chicken and if i walk in the door and start the rice first, the rest of the dish is done when the rice is cooked. Fabulous recipe. i can always count on Once Upon a Chef to be great!
Yummy and easy. Your recipes are so reliable that they are the ONLY ones I can ALWAYS count on to turn out exactly as predicted. Many other “chefs” recipes disappoint on occasion. Yours are simplified, and because I am a visual learner, the photos are incredibly helpful. I am a devoted fan. Thank you for your teaching style. Your books will be this Christmas’s gifts for my friends who spurn cooking as I am sure their quick, easy, tasty recipes will be life changing experiences, bringing them joy rather than disappointment, hesitancy, and frustration. Having had a very negative experience with fish sauce in the past, the fact that I totally trusted this recipe speaks volumes about how reliably wonderful ALL of your recipes are.
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This is wonderful! Since I doubled the recipe, I was concerned that not all of the chicken would cook enough….so I just poached it before hand and then added it to the curry, and I also sliced up and added one red bell pepper….it turned out so so yummy!
Great recipe. Made the curry with chicken, and then sautéed green beens, red bell pepper and mushrooms separately. After separating some of the oil from the curry, I combined curry with veggies. So good with quinoa, rice or just dunked French bread!!! Didn’t have fresh jalapeño, but added a few slices from a jar we already had for extra flavor. Thanks for this recipe!
This recipe is delicious! I substituted sriracha for the jalapeño and used leftover chicken because that’s what I had in my kitchen and my family loved the dinner. Thanks Jenn.
Yum! It turned out perfect the first time! I added chopped raw asparagus to the sauce in the last three minutes for extra nutrition and flavor! Absolutely delicious next time I will add chopped broccoli!
Wonderful, easy to make, a hit every time. Would not change a thing.