Minutes to make, absolutely delicious, a handful of ingredients come together in a gorgeous, healthy meal. Thai Curry Chicken will impress anyone it’s served to and make you look like a genius when you whip it up.
Thai Coconut Chicken Curry – this is just half a recipe
You know how you eat one dish and fall in love with it – only to try it other places and find it just isn’t the same? I had a “Coconut Chicken Curry” made for me once by a long lost friend, and no other chicken curry came close, until now.
I kept trying different versions of curries with coconut, searching for the recipe and was at a loss. The issue? And those who are more familiar with Thai food than I am might smirk a bit. I was pretty ignorant about Thai cuisine.
No one actually calls this “Coconut Chicken Curry” and it’s often suggested for Westerners when they wish to try Thai food. It’s basically a “starter” dish…Of course, it didn’t take me too long once recipes for this marvelous dish started coming out on the internet.
Thanks to all the Thai cooks who’ve posted their versions. Your sharing has made me one very happy person. This dish, like many with roots in Asian cultures, is full of fresh vegetables, uses just a little meat, the right fats and makes a beautifully healthy and inexpensive meal. For four, the cost with rice was $5.07.
Thai Chicken Curry
Thai Curry Chicken
- 1 can Coconut Milk, full fat (let it settle a few days in your kitchen)
- Curry Paste, jarred or home-made (I prefer yellow, Kaeng kari) to taste. This really depends on the amount of flavoring you like and the type of curry paste you use. I think two or three slightly heaping teaspoons are about right.)
- 1 onion, sliced lengthwise
- 2 or 3 Peppers, thinly sliced, Red, Green, Yellow and/or Orange
- Optional: Snow peas or green bean
- 2 chicken breasts, about 3/4 pound sliced thinly
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 lime for serving
Prepare your chicken and vegetables. Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Open coconut milk and scrape the congealed coconut oil into the pan.
Add curry paste and let cook for a moment, then on one side of the pan add chicken and the other the vegetables. Stir each pile to coat in the curry and spread out, allowing to cook for a few minutes.
As the chicken begins to turn white on all sides and the vegetables start to become a bit tender, add the coconut milk and fish sauce and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is of the desired consistency.
Since Thai curries are traditionally rather thin and soupy, this takes just a few moments. If you want it very thick, you can remove the chicken and vegetables and reduce the sauce, or you can even reduce coconut milk before adding it…but be careful, coconut milk tends to boil over, just like plain ol’ milk! If too thick, add a bit of water.
Serve with rice and lime.
Let’s talk about how to save money/time on this recipe:
- Read {Strategies Applied} for additional tips, as well as throughout the recipe, for saving money/time and managing this recipe on a budget.
- Follow my 12 Strategies – You’ll see them on the upper drop down menu of every page and how I apply them, below.
- Don’t get discouraged if your prices don’t match mine! Keep shopping at the best prices and your fridge/freezer and pantry will be stocked with sales priced ingredients.
- Use a coupon matching site! Every store has a group of enthusiastic Coupon Matchers. Do not discount the savings!
Put Your Own Spin on It:
- Make this with any vegetables you’d like; obviously, some are going to take a bit longer to cook than others.
- Make this with any protein, or even vegetarian. Some of the most famous Thai recipes for this style of curry are Vegetarian and use potatoes.
- Vary the curry paste – this is delicious with green, yellow or red.
