Print

Authentic Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken

Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken
Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 80 reviews

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.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 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

  1. In a large pot, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Stir in the potatoes. When the potatoes are about halfway cooked through, stir in the carrots and onions.
  5. 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.
  6. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the fish sauce, salt, and sugar, adjusting each to suit your tastes.
  7. 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 “soupy” or “runny” 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. 
  • Want your curry to be spicier/hotter? 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 (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! 
  • 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!

Find it online: https://maddysavenue.com/authentic-thai-yellow-curry-recipe/