Coconut Curry Chicken
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1000x better than takeout! Tender chicken + veggies in a heavenly curry sauce. Serve over rice to sop up everything!
We savored every single drop of this curry. EVERY DROP. On a bed of white rice (or any rice/grain of your liking), you can let this heavenly coconut curry sauce get completely sopped up with zero leftovers.
reasons to make coconut curry chicken
- Take-out favorite. Restaurant-quality coconut curry chicken can be made right at home using better quality ingredients.
- Flexible, lightning fast recipe. With boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts) and some hearty veggies (feel free to throw in all the lingering fridge veggies as needed – mushrooms, snap peas, broccoli, green beans, etc.), this comes together so so fast. Serve over rice, over noodles, over all the things.
- So much flavor. The finishing touches of the freshly squeezed lime juice, cilantro, and Thai basil leaves simply takes this Thai curry to the next level.
what is red curry paste and where can i find it
Commonly used in Thai dishes, red curry paste is made from a blend of red chili pepper, garlic, lemongrass, Thai ginger and various spices.
Red curry paste is typically used for stir-fry, soups or mixed with coconut milk for curry. It is readily available in most grocery store chains, particularly the Thai Kitchen brand, and online, with some brands containing shellfish (shrimp paste).
how to make coconut curry chicken
- Start cooking the rice (or your favorite grains)
- Brown the chicken
- Stir in curry paste + spices + coconut milk + chicken stock
- Simmer to keep things happy, saucy and creamy
- Stir in veggies until softened
- Add your finishing touches (cilantro, basil, lime juice, s+p)
- Serve over rice
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite protein. This recipe will work well with chicken thighs, chicken breasts, shrimp or tofu.
- Use full fat coconut milk. Although lite coconut milk can certainly be used, full fat coconut milk will yield a much more rich and creamy broth.
- Mix it up. Swap the red curry paste for green, add in more veggies (potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, mushrooms or bok choy) or serve over rice noodles or naan bread instead of rice.
what to serve with coconut curry chicken
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Coconut Curry Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
We personally love Mae Ploy (contains shrimp paste). Thai Kitchen is also great, and more readily available at most grocery stores.
If you cannot find Thai basil, a combination of sweet basil and mint leaves gets very close!
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
We do not recommend freezing this as coconut milk tends to separate when frozen.
Coconut Curry Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 (12-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Thai basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 1 1 /2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken and shallot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is evenly browned, about 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, red curry paste, garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in coconut milk and chicken stock; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 7-10 minutes.
- Stir in bell peppers until softened, about 5-8 minutes.
- Stir in cilantro, basil and lime juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve warm over rice.
Video
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Another winner! Comes together super fast and packed with flavor. I added a heaping spoonful of brown sugar and a few glugs of fish sauce, as well as some bamboo shoots and water chestnuts for some extra veg and crunch.
This was so good! I followed it exactly and it turned out wonderfully. I’ll definitely make it again.
Coconut curry chicken was wonderful. We gave it a 9 1/2. I only used 1 1/2 tabs curry and it was perfect. It is alot of work but worth it.
Super easy and the whole kitchen smelled amazing.
For those concerned about spice level, take note: I used only 2tbsp of the curry paste and it was still fire so added some plain yogurt as a topping. I would suggest starting with 1tbsp if you’re a lightweight like me and then tasting after adding the coconut milk, adding more if you want more at that point.
Can you substitute chicken with tofu? I assume we would cook the tofu for a shorter time.