An easy Thai curry made with shop-bought red curry paste, chicken and coconut milk. So fresh and aromatic! A great option when you're short on time but don't want to miss out on taste.
I've just done a quick count and I've found that we've got more than 20 curry recipes on Kitchen Sanctuary! I guess I just really like curry.
We make curry at home at least once, and usually twice, a week.
Quite often we'll make our own curry paste, but sometimes we'll use store-bought paste if we're in a hurry (or just too hungry to wait!).
What do we need?
Notes on Curry Paste:
Red curry paste can be very strong in flavour and heat level depending on the variety you buy. Here are the 2 that i use most often:
- Mae Ploy and Thai Taste (<--affiliate links) are both relatively hot but nicely authentic in flavour.
- If I want a milder red Thai curry that the kids will enjoy, I use Morrison's own brand Thai red curry paste. It's still got a great authentic flavour (very fragrant with lots of lemongrass in it), but is actually quite mild.
Notes on the other ingredients:
- Coconut milk: Go for full fat coconut milk for the best creamy flavour, without worrying that your sauce might split (as can happen with low-fat coconut milk). See my notes in the recipe below for swaps of coconut milk if you want to make this without coconut milk.
- Chicken: Chicken breast is great for this recipe as it cooks pretty quickly, so you don't have to worry about the chicken being tough. However, you can use trimmed chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Thai Basil: I love to add a little fresh Thai basil to the sauce and for garnish, but if you can't get hold of any, leave it out (you'll still have a lovely curry!) or add more fresh coriander (cilantro).
How to make this Thai red curry
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Soften onion in a little oil over a medium heat, then add the chicken and cook until sealed.
- Add garlic, ginger, lemongrass paste and a crumbled stock cube and stir together to coat the chicken.
- Add the curry paste and stir together.
- Add coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, bamboo shoots and curry leaves. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in lime juice, then serve the curry with boiled rice.
- I love to top the curry with fresh curry leaves, coriander (cilantro), chilli slices and slices of lime.
More better-than-takeout curry recipes
- Beef Massaman Curry
- Crispy Pork Katsu Curry
- Chicken Madras
- Persian Chicken Curry With Walnuts and Pomegranate
- Healthier Slow-Cooked Spicy Chicken Rogan Josh
- Prawn and Mango Curry Noodle Bowl
- Chinese Style Curry with Juicy Meatballs
- Chicken Jalfrezi with Homemade Pilau Rice
Can I make a vegetarian version instead?
Yes! Ensure the curry paste is vegetarian. Replace the chicken with mushrooms, roasted sweet potato or quorn. Replace the fish sauce with a vegetarian fish sauce replacement (Thai Taste do one). You'll also need to replace the stock cube with a vegetarian stock cube.
Can I make a lower fat/calorie Thai red curry?
Yes, here's my low fat Thai red chicken curry that uses a homemade paste and half-fat coconut milk. It's really delicious for a lighter option (267 cals per portion without the rice).
Which Thai curry is the spiciest?
🌶️🌶️🌶️Green Thai curry is considered to be the spiciest - as green chillies (of the same variety) are usually hotter and sharper than red chillies.
🌶️🌶️Red Thai Curry comes next, and 🌶️ Yellow Thai curry is the least spicy.
More Thai Recipes
Love those Thai flavours? Why not try one of these recipes next:
- Thai Style Peanut Pork with Broccoli
- Pad Thai with Prawns
- Thai Fish Cakes with Vegetable Ribbons
- Thai Sweet Potato Skins
- Thai Style Fish Burgers
- Thai Prawns with Cauliflower Rice (only 246 calories)
- Thai Chicken Salad with Easy Peanut Dressing
Watch how to make it
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Thai Red Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion - peeled and chopped
- 3 chicken breasts - about 720g chopped into bitesize pieces
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp lemongrass paste
- 1 chicken stock cube - crumbled
- 1 red pepper - sliced
- 4 tbsp red Thai curry paste
- 14 oz (400g) tin coconut milk
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp palm sugar or light brown muscovado sugar
- 8 oz (225g) tin of bamboo shoots, drained
- 10 fresh Thai basil leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice - about half a lime
To serve:
- Boiled rice
- 5-6 Fresh Thai basil leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh coriander - cilantro
- 2 Thai chillies - thinly sliced
- 1 lime - sliced into wedges
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened.
- Add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes until sealed.
- Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass paste and crumbled stock cube and stir together to coat the chicken.
- Add the curry paste and stir together. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the sliced red pepper, stir together and cook for a minute.
- Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar, bamboo shoots and curry leaves. Bring to the boil, then gently simmer for 10 minutes until thickened.
- Stir in the lime juice, then serve the curry with boiled rice.
- Top with fresh curry leaves, coriander, chilli slices and lime wedges before serving.
Video
✎ Notes
Can I make this curry ahead?
Yes! you can make this curry, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to two days. Reheat in a pan until piping hot throughout.Can I freeze this curry?
Yes, any leftovers of this curry can be cooled, covered and frozen. Then defrost overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in a pan (stirring often) or microwave until piping hot throughout.Can I replace the coconut milk?
The coconut milk is quite important for a more authentic Thai flavour, but you can replace the coconut milk with 250ml (about 1 cup) of stock and 150ml (about ½ cup plus 2 tbsp) of double/heavy cream. You may need to thicken the sauce slightly with a cornstarch slurry made of 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch, mixed with 5 tbsp of cold water. Stir it in slowly to the hot curry before serving - until you achieve the desired thickness. Nutritional information is per serving NOT including rice.Nutrition
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Kerri says
We starting watching Nicky’s cooking during COVID shutdown to learn new dishes. This is now our go to dish even 2 years later !!! So so good, everyone comments how delicious this recipe is every time we cook it. Thanks Nicky
Gerry says
Hi Nicky,
Thia was delicious but I've noticed that with your Green Thai Curry, you make the paste from scratch (which was superb BTW). Is there any reason you use a shop-bought paste in this recipe?