Thai chicken curry
See this recipe step by step

Thai chicken curry

Learn how to make an authentic-tasting Thai curry with this step-by-step recipe

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 - 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Method

  1. Peel shallots or onion and cut in half from top to root. Lay the cut sides flat on a board and thinly slice. Very finely slice the lemongrass, starting at the thinner end, stopping towards the base when it gets tough (often described as 'woody' and white in the centre).
  2. Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan for a couple of minutes until the oil separates (it looks more liquid at this point). Add the shallots or onion. Fry for 3-5 mins, until soft and translucent. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 min, stirring all the time.
  3. Add chicken pieces and stir until they are coated. Add the fish sauce, sugar, kaffir lime leaves and coconut milk. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 mins until the chicken is cooked. Stir the curry a few times while it cooks, to stop it sticking and to keep the chicken submerged.
  4. While the chicken is cooking, strip the leaves from the coriander stalks, gather into a pile and chop very roughly. Taste the curry and add a little more curry paste and salt if you think it needs it. Stir half the coriander into the curry and sprinkle the rest over the top. Serve with Thai jasmine or basmati rice.
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Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2006.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 141-160

  • 23 July 2012

    Rafflestiltskin rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really enjoyed this curry and it passed the Husband test as well!! The tip of adding green beans and birds eye chillis was useful as it really added that little extra crunch / kick. Will definitely make it again.

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  • 29 July 2012

    Molly rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really, really nice!! Have made this twice so far. Added green beans and 2 chillies the second time and it was gorgeous!! :)

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  • 09 October 2012

    Cath rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really authentic tasting. I did add a bit more fish sauce, mange tout, chopped green chilli and squeeze of lime juice to original recipe.

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  • 09 November 2012

    Karenc rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great recipe. A family favourite for Friday nights. I use a red chilli as well as chilli powder to spice it up.

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  • Binder photo PWS

    10 December 2012

    PWS commented on this recipe

    Could we have a filter for 'liked by kids'. eg: kids tend not to like hot, spicey food - but just because a recipie has chillies does not necessarily mean that the dish will be spicey/hot. So it is difficult to select for kids on the basis of ingredients alone.

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  • 13 December 2012

    Raven rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    A top curry. I sometimes add green beans, cherry tomatoes and potatoes. All the family love it. A squeeze of lime juice is good too.

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  • 30 December 2012

    drydoni rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    First time making a Thai curry and couldnt believe how easy and scrumptious it was, I did substiture a few ingredients depending what I had in the house already. I used 3 shallots because I love them Didnt have any lemongrass so added a small amount of ginger 2 tbsp fish sauce instead of one (just because someone else said they had and it was lovely) Didnt have kaffir lime leaves so used zest of one lime and squeezed in the juice also (again as previously advised) only had ground corriander, and am not a huge fan of it so added half a tsp Had one large red chilli, I used half of this then sliced it finely to give it a kick. Served with basmanti rice, this recipe was absoloutly declicious and I cant wait to have it for my lunch tomorrow. I always read through the feedback from everyone else and I got some really good suggestions and alternatives as always, if you love Thai curries give this one a try, next time I must serve with lovely Thai crackers, yum yum!

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  • 06 January 2013

    d0nnyoz rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great dish - taste lovely and really quite easy to make. Two points: - Nowhere on the recipe does it say to use the lemongrass - its in the ingredients! - I would use less coconut milk or maybe a creamier milk (Waitrose do a lovely creamed coconut milk!) to make the whole dish thicker. But an absolute smashing dish!

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  • Binder photo Del

    10 January 2013

    Del rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    AMAZING! I always throw in half a pack of sugarsnap peas 5 minutes from the end.

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  • 15 January 2013

    Sarah rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    For me: a watery waste of time. I'm not a fan of strong curries at all - I added 3 teaspoons of paste - but I'd advise others to add 4 - otherwise it ends up rather bland. I wouldn't add the whole 400 ml can of coconut milk - it's too much and and you'd have to forget about the 'gentle simmer' and opt for a fiercer boil in order to reduce it down/ thicken it. It was edible and easy to cook, but (for me) it needs tweaking. However, if everybody else loved it...

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  • 20 January 2013

    Kevcar commented on this recipe

    Lovely easy recipe. First time found it rather tasteless but soon realised a mistake in the recipe. It says add 3-4 teaspoons of red curry paste but most recipes have 3-4 tablespoons. We did this second time and it was delicious, adding a few green beans aswell. A big hit with the family.

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  • 20 January 2013

    Kevcar rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 23 January 2013

    am551 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 24 January 2013

    Jana rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Tried it with soya beans, tin of chopped tomato and red peppers added - tastes amazing!

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  • 09 February 2013

    Lulu rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this in advance for 15 people and just heated up when I was doing the rice and did some green beans separately. I too think it needs an extra spoonful of paste and less coconut milk. I put some chopped chillies in a seperate bowl for those who wanted to sprinkle some on for an extra kick. Very easy to make and everyone loved it.

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  • 09 February 2013

    Lulu commented on this recipe

    Made this in advance for 15 people and just heated up when I was doing the rice and did some green beans separately. I too think it needs an extra spoonful of paste and less coconut milk. I put some chopped chillies in a seperate bowl for those who wanted to sprinkle some on for an extra kick. Very easy to make and everyone loved it.

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  • 10 February 2013

    carol commented on this recipe

    When do you add the lemongrass?

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  • 24 February 2013

    Lulu commented on this recipe

    Third time I've made this but this time added 4 tablespoons of Thai paste NOT teaspoons and it was so much tastier. Also used less coconut milk. Served with green beans and basmati rice.

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  • 24 March 2013

    ChrissyD rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this and it was lovely but it all curdled quite quickly after I added the coconut milk. It was lower fat coconut milk so any ideas if this was the reason? I added a red chilli and some sugar snap and green beans also.

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  • 03 April 2013

    Christine commented on this recipe

    Could you cook this in advance for a large crowd and then reheat it? Or perhaps make it in a slow cooker? Any thoughts?!!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 - 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Authentic and easy

Ingredients

  • 2 shallots , or 1 small onion
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3-4 tsp red Thai curry paste
  • 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts , cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar , brown is best
  • 4 freeze-dried kaffir lime leaves
  • 400ml can coconut milk
  • 20g pack fresh coriander
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