Thai Red Chicken Curry

Protein:

Origin: Thailand, Asian

Method: Stovetop

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This Thai Red Chicken Curry, is a classic curry dish from Thailand. It also happens to be one of the easiest Thai curry dishes to make. Some of the techniques in this recipe are adapted from our all time favorite cookbook for Southeast Asian cuisine: Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. It is truly a great resource for recipes and food history of the nations along the Mekong River. For the following recipe we provide a super simple recipe using store bought red curry paste, as well as a more authentic recipe adapted from the cookbook, using a homemade curry paste.

Preparing the Thai Red Chicken Curry

To make the curry, first gather your ingredients. If you are going to be making the curry paste from scratch then please refer to the recipe for the paste at the bottom of the page. Items like the lime leaves, Thai Basil, and Thai chile peppers can be found at most Asian markets

Prepare the green beans by rinsing them and then cutting off the ends. Slice the lime leaves into thin strips.

Next, divide the coconut milk into 2 bowls - do not shake the cans before opening! In one bowl, put the thick, creamy coconut milk from the top of the can, and in the other bowl, put the thin clearer coconut milk from the bottom of the can.

Cooking the Curry

Heat a wok or heavy-bottomed large pan over medium-high heat. Add a ½ cup of the thicker coconut milk.

When the coconut milk is bubbling, add the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add in another ½ cup thicker milk and cook for 5-8 minutes, until the oil begins to separate. If you do not have enough of the thick milk you can use some of the thinner milk to give you ½ cup.

Add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat with the flavored oil. Cook over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, until the chicken has changed color and become somewhat firmer.

Add the remaining coconut milk and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the fish sauce, chiles, beans, and lime leaves. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. We really like the green beans in this curry, but feel free to use any veggies that you prefer. We also frequently use bell pepper and bamboo shoots.

Just before serving, stir in the basil.

Homemade Red Curry Paste

While you can certainly use the store bought red curry paste as described above, this dish is so much more flavorful if you take the time to make your own Red Curry Paste. This is pretty simple, but will require a trip to the Asian market to get a few of the key ingredients. The homemade curry paste will result in a curry with a heat level around a 2-⅗ on the authentic Thai heat scale, or a nice medium heat. Store-bought curry paste tends to be milder, close to a 1-⅖.

Preparing the Red Curry Paste

Prep your ingredients

Gather your ingredients. Zest your lime into a small bowl. For the lemongrass you will want to remove the tough outer layer or two to get to the more tender portion of the lemongrass. Chop the lemongrass and place it into the bowl with the lime zest.

Remove the stems from the chiles and shake out the seeds. If using dried chiles, soak them in warm water for about 30 minutes.

Crush the coriander seeds and black peppers in a mortar and pestle, or place in a bag and crush with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.

Peel or slice off the tough portions of the galangal, then chop and place in the bowl with the lemongrass. Galangal has a much sharper, citrusy flavor than it's relative ginger.

Blend the ingredients

Peal and slice the garlic and shallot and place into a food processor or blender. Add in the galangal, lemongrass and lime zest. Pulse several times to finely chop the contents.

Scape the sides of the food processor bowl and add in the shrimp paste, cilantro paste, crushed spices, cumin, salt and Thai chiles. Run the food processor until a nice even paste is formed. If the paste seems too coarse add a couple tablespoons of the soaking water from the Thai chiles to help smooth it out.

Place the paste in a sealable container. The paste will keep for quite awhile in the refrigerator and you can typically have enough paste to make at least 3 recipes worth of Thai Red Chicken Curry.

Note: If using dried Thai chile peppers for your curry paste, your curry may lack some of the deep red color that is typically seen when using fresh peppers.

Serving the Thai Red Chicken Curry

Serve the curry with white rice or your favorite fried rice recipe. Make it an Asian inspired meal by making some Fried Sausage Wontons.

If you love curry as much as we do, then be sure to check out our other curry dishes from around the globe, including Indian Butter Chicken and African Bunny Chow.

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