Authentic Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken
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Do you ever have those days where you wake up and think, “I would do anything right now, to be on a sunny island in Thailand, with a big, spicy bowl of curry in front of my face”?
Because I do.
And today was one of those days.
Inconveniently, though, I’m over here in California. And no matter how much I want it to be, going to Thailand just isn’t on the agenda today.
So instead of pouting, I’ve decided to bring Thailand to me.
Today, I’m cooking up a big ol’ pot of Thailand, in the form of some creamy yellow curry, packed with tender chicken, potatoes, carrots, and onions.
I know I can hardly wait to share my Thai yellow curry recipe with you. So let me ask you one thing.
Are you ready for this?!
How to make authentic Thai Yellow Curry
This Thai yellow curry recipe couldn’t be easier to make, and it couldn’t be more satisfying either.
It’s one spicy, creamy, flavorful trip to Thailand, packed into one bowl. And it’s healthy, too!
Serve this curry over some rice, and garnish with a pinch of cilantro, and you’ll transport yourself to a faraway land — the Land of Smiles — where the sun is hot, the curry is even hotter, the Asian elephants roam, and the beaches are nothing short of screensaver material.
Which curry paste should you use?
To make this Thai yellow curry recipe properly and authentically, you need one very important ingredient: Authentic Thai Yellow Curry Paste.
If you search high and low, you might be able to find yellow curry paste at the grocery store. But if you want your curry to taste just like the curry you’ve had in Thailand – or at your favorite Thai restaurant – you need this curry paste, which is imported straight from Bangkok. Most of the pastes you’ll find in the grocery stores and Asian markets just don’t cut it.
Trust me on this one.
Note: If you can get your hands on the Mae Anong Curry Paste (it’s often sold out), then get it… and stock up! It’s the best. If you can’t, then a very close second best is the Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste. Truly though, both are great.
Get your authentic Thai curry paste on Amazon:
- Mae Anong Curry Paste (my top choice!)
- Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste
The hardest part about this Thai yellow curry recipe is simply waiting for the mailman to deliver your beautiful parcel of curry paste.
Once you have it, all you need to do is thinly slice your chicken, chop up your vegetables, and let the curry paste work its magic.
And of course, you can’t forget to throw in some of that thick and luscious coconut milk. Mmmmm. Yes, please.
Which coconut milk should you use?
Just like choosing the right curry paste, it’s important to get high-quality coconut milk.
The quality of coconut milk brands varies widely. When you’re shopping, look at the ingredients list to find the product with the highest coconut solids to water ratio, ideally with no extra additives. You may need to trial and error a few different brands to find the one you prefer. Low-quality coconut milk will result in a more โsoupyโ or โrunnyโ curry.
Traditionally, Thai curries are not supposed to be extremely thick. If you prefer a thicker curry, you can simply substitute coconut milk for coconut cream. And again, the same rules apply. Check the ingredients list; see if you can find a can of 100% coconut kernel extract, with no extra water, thickeners, or other additives listed on the label.
Authentic Thai Yellow Curry Recipe with Chicken
A staycation never looked so good. Am I right?
Seriously, this stuff is the real deal.
Making this Thai yellow curry recipe is like taking a trip to Thailand, but without the jet lag and the expensive plane ticket. It’s creamy, spicy, and healthy, and it’s everything you’ve been needing in your life.
And if you don’t have all the ingredients, don’t worry! This recipe is very versatile, so you can add in whatever vegetables and proteins you have on hand.
This Thai yellow curry is authentic and absolutely delicious. And now that you’ve seen this post, you know you want to make it! So what are you waiting for?!
Get your authentic Thai curry paste on Amazon:
- Mae Anong Curry Paste (my top choice!)
- Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste
Authentic Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken
Craving some authentic Thai yellow curry? Don’t have the time to take an island vacation? Well, this simple, spicy, and delicious recipe will take your tastebuds on a journey to Thailand, and you don’t even have to leave your own kitchen.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- 4 tbsp yellow curry paste
- 2 15-ounce cans of coconut milk (high quality, see notes)
- 1 or 2 cups chicken stock
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/8” rounds
- 4 medium-size potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 yellow onion, sliced into wedges, then halved
- 2 chicken breasts, very thinly sliced
- 1.5 tsp fish sauce, plus more to taste
- 3/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 1.5 tsp sugar, plus more to taste
- cilantro, for garnish
- lime wedges, for garnish
- serve with jasmine rice
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the curry paste to the oil, and stir-fry until fragrant, about two minutes. Take care to scrape any bits that stick to the bottom of the pot with your spoon.
- Spoon in the coconut solids from the top of the can first, and allow it to fry with the paste for a minute. Stir in the rest of the coconut milk (or coconut cream) and 1 cup of chicken stock. If you would like the curry to be thinner/soupier, then you can add 1 more cup of stock. Bring to a low boil, then turn the stove down to a simmer.
- Stir in the potatoes. When the potatoes are about halfway cooked through, stir in the carrots and onions.
- Once the carrots are almost fork-tender, add in the thinly sliced chicken and cook for two or three minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through and tender. Pay attention not to overcook the chicken, this process doesn’t take long.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the fish sauce, salt, and sugar, adjusting each to suit your tastes.
- Serve the curry in bowls, over jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.
Notes
- The quality of coconut milk brands varies widely. When you’re shopping, look at the ingredients list to find the product with the highest coconut solids to water ratio, ideally with no extra additives. You may need to trial and error a few different brands to find the one you prefer. Low-quality coconut milk will result in a more โsoupyโ or โrunnyโ curry.
- Traditional Thai curries should be on the soupier side, but not too thin either. If you prefer a thicker curry, substitute one or two cans of coconut milk for coconut cream. And again, the same rules apply. Look at the ingredients list. See if you can find cans of 100% coconut kernel extract, with no extra water, thickeners, or other additives listed on the label.
- If your curry still ends up “soupy” or “runny” for your liking, you can thicken it with a slurry of cornstarch and water.ย
- Want your curry to be spicier/hotter?ย Adding more curry paste willย notย do the trick, since yellow curry paste is pretty mild to begin with. Instead, add some red Thai/bird’s eye chilies in with the curry paste at step 2! You can use fresh Thai chilies (just leave them whole and remove them before serving your curry) or use Thai chili powder. If using fresh chilies, addย up toย 5 whole chilies. If using powder, addย up to 1 tsp. This is up to your taste and spice tolerance!ย
- Make sure to purchase this yellow curry paste from Amazon. While you might be able to find other yellow curry pastes at the grocery store, none of them are as authentic as this one, which comes straight from Thailand!
- If you don’t have virgin coconut oil, you can also use vegetable oil.
- You can make this recipe vegetarian/vegan by simply omitting the chicken and fish sauce. Use soy sauce or vegan fish sauce instead, to taste. For gluten free, use tamari.
- We used a mandoline to cut all of the carrots equally and to give them the fun, ridged texture you’d see in a restaurant.
- Some curry pastes are saltier than others. If you don’t use the curry paste I suggest, you may need to use more or less salt and fish sauce than the recipe calls for. Use your tastebuds to decide!
Did you try making our Thai yellow curry recipe? Let us know how it went by commenting below and tagging @maddysavenue or #maddysavenue on Instagram!
Nice!
Maddy,
I made your yellow curry tonight with Mae Anong curry paste. I followed the recipe and it was spot on! I have not made many curry dishes but this is my current favorite! One question: if you add more curry paste does it make the dish hotter/spicer?
Thanks for this wonderful and easy dish.
Happy travels,
Gaff Pearce
Hi Gaff, adding more curry paste will not do the trick, since yellow curry paste is pretty mild to begin with. Instead, add some red Thai/bird’s eye chilies in with the curry paste at step 2! You can use fresh Thai chilies (you can just leave them whole and remove them before serving your curry) or use Thai chili powder. If using fresh chilies, add up to 5 whole chilies. If using powder, add up to 1 tsp. This is up to your taste and spice tolerance!
I love this! It tastes just like my favorite food cart without the price tag! And between my husband and I, it lasted! I’m glad I didn’t double the recipe! I would note that if you add extra chicken broth, to also consider adding more curry paste. The flavor felt a bit muted.
Thanks for this note, Kayla! So glad you loved the recipe! :)
Made this today! The flavors and smell were amazing BUT I think my coconut milk curdled. It definitely didn’t look like the photos or other yellow Thai curry I’ve jade before. How do I prevent that from happening
Do you mean that the coconut oil (which is already present within the coconut milk/cream) separated? That’s actually not a bad thing – it results in a more flavorful curry! :)
This recipe is the best! I cut it in half, as I live alone, and subbed a sweet potato for one of the potatoes and dumped the carrots, potatoes and onion in at the same time. Otherwise I followed it exactly…the flavor is perfect, and tastes authentic! I will make it again soon, and try it with the addition of red and yellow peppers. Thanks for sharing!
Delicious and easy! Flavors were perfect! One question for my heat seeking husband – what would you add to make it a little hotter? Red pepper flakes? This was my first attempt at curry and we all were so happy!
So happy to hear this!
Red birds eye chilis (Thai chilis) are best! See if you can find them fresh at the grocery store. Otherwise, whole dried ones like these https://amzn.to/41EZNbJ or Thai chili powder like this https://amzn.to/43j65iv will work! Though, if you just want to use red pepper flakes, you can do that too.
Whichever you choose, you can add the chili to the pot when you add the curry paste. I usually add 3-5 whole fresh chilis, and remove them before serving.
Dang, I was hoping for the actual spices in the Thai curry to make from scratch!
Thanks for the feedback! It’s on my list to publish from-scratch curry paste recipes soon :)
Very delicious recipe. Last time I made it, I reduced the amount of paste and added some coconut yogurt in the bowl to make it a little less spicy.
I would like to make it with slightly different ingredients next time. Have you ever subbed sweet potatoes for regular potatoes? How would this affect cooking times?
Also, any thoughts on how to prepare this if I want to have white fish as the protein rather than chicken?
Thanks!
Any tips on if I just have yellow curry powder? Could I use that instead?
Curry powder is typically Indian-style and has a completely different flavor profile. You definitely want Thai yellow curry paste for this recipe.
You could try an Indian-inspired recipe like this instead: https://maddysavenue.com/indian-chicken-curry-recipe/ :)
We love this one!! It’s definitely a favorite for my family. Tastes just like the restaurant.
So happy to hear this! Thanks for your review, Brooke!