Yellow Chicken Curry
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We love Thai food, but often don’t have time to get to our favorite restaurant during the week. When we do go, we always choose one of the curries. Each curry has a different flavor profile and it just depends on our mood. Quick and easy isn’t probably the first thing you think of when you see yellow chicken curry. But surprisingly, this dish takes less than an hour from start to finish.
With tender chicken, and loads of veggies, it’s rich and mildly spicy, with just the right level of heat. This dish is also a “one pot meal” with the protein and veggies all cooked together, which means fewer dishes to wash. Another plus on a busy weeknight! Serve it with steamed white rice. (This post was originally published on September 28, 2011)
Ingredients for yellow chicken curry
While this recipe uses yellow curry paste, you can easily substitute red or green curry paste for a different flavor profile. You can also swap out the green bell pepper for red or yellow, or add cubed zucchini for extra veggies.
- Thai yellow curry paste. 4 Tablespoons, but add more if you prefer a hotter spice level. This is easy to find in most major grocery stores, Asian stores, World Market or on Amazon.
- 2 cans of coconut milk. I prefer full-fat coconut milk. Don’t substitute coconut cream.
- 1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs. I prefer thighs to breasts as they tend to have more flavor. But if you’re a breast fan, substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- 3 Yukon gold potatoes, about 1 pound.
- 4 carrots, about 8 ounces
- 1 white onion
- 1 green or red bell pepper
- Thai fish sauce. Don’t substitute soy sauce. Fish sauce gives Thai cuisine its “umami” flavor. Just as soy sauce does to Chinese and Japanese food.
- Sugar. Just a pinch.
- Kosher salt to taste.
- Lime juice
- Thai basil for garnish. (Substitute regular basil or fresh cilantro)
How to make this Thai yellow curry recipe
- Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, about 1″ in diameter.
- Cut the veggies into large dice, about 1″. Read more about types of vegetable cuts here.
- Dice the potatoes into large cubes.
- In a large pot add 2 cans full fat coconut milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in 4 Tablespoons Thai curry paste. This is the perfect amount of heat for us. Add more if you love hotter food.
- Add chicken, potatoes, carrots and onions and increase heat to a gentle boil. Partially cover pot and continue boiling until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. About 35 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on how large your veggies are.
- Add green bell peppers and continue cooking another 10 minutes.
- Stir in fish sauce, lime juice and sugar.
- Serve with white or jasmine rice.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Love Thai food?
Can’t get to your favorite Thai recipes? Here are some more easy Thai recipes.
Yellow Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken thighs boned, skinless, diced into bite-sized pieces.
- 2 cans coconut milk 13.5 ounces each
- 4 Tablespoons yellow curry paste
- 3 Yukon gold potatoes about 1 pound, peeled and cubed
- 4 carrots peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- onion peeled and chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce peeled and grated*
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Chop chicken into bite sized pieces.
- Peel and chop potatoes into large chunks about 1". Slice carrots int 1/4" rounds. Chop bell pepper and onion into large chunks.
- In a large saucepan bring coconut milk to a gentle simmer. Whisk in curry paste. Add chicken, carrots, potatoes, and carrots and bring to a boil. Keep curry on a low boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 30 minutes.
- Add bell peppers and continue cooking another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the juice of one lime, fish sauce and sugar.
- Garnish with chopped Thai, regular basil or cilantro. Serve over white rice.
I tried this recipe today. We don’t get curry sauce here, so i got yellow curry paste and mixed it in coconut milk. Could you pls tell me approx how many cups of sauce your bottle is equivalent to. i used a can of coconut milk which is about 2 cups. My curry looked way soupier than yours. i also added mushrooms and basil, and some sliced green chilies to spice it up, as it was too bland. All in all it turned out pretty well, except that i over cooked the prawns till they practically shrank into oblivion. i used half water and half coconut milk for the rice, and it was yummy! Thanks
Zainab, my bottle is 11oz., so about 11/2 cups. I’ve got a bottle here. Here the ingredients: water, canola oil, sugar, coconut milk powder, garlic, onion, coconut milk, red chili, ginger,cornstarch, “spices”, milk. I found a Yellow Thai Curry recipe that I’m attaching a link for. I have not tried it, but you can tinker around with it. When Kishwar goes to Pakistan, I will make sure I send a “care package” with her of some Yellow Thai Curry sauce and some Greek Seasoning the is great on chicken and shrimp. http://www.food.com/recipe/yellow-curry-chicken-thai-soup-143874
Hi! Can you please tell me what you sautéed your veggies/shrimp with ? I always use chopped fresh garlic and olive oil and garlic salt but I don’t want it to change the flavor of the curry ! Help 🙂
Lately I’ve been using coconut oil to saute with…that would be perfect with this!
Thanks for sharing this recipe, I always though Thai curry would be more difficult than this It was fantastic and so easy to make!
Thank you Sherry! Glad you enjoyed it!