Thai Red Curry with Chicken (2024)

Red Curry Paste – choose ONE:

• ▢ 5 – 6 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste (store bought, Maesri best) (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 quantity homemade Thai Red Curry Paste

Extras – only for jar curry paste (Note 2)

• ▢ 2 large garlic cloves , minced
• ▢ 2 tsp fresh ginger , finely grated
• ▢ 1 tbsp lemongrass paste or finely chopped fresh (Note 3)

Thai Red Curry

• ▢ 3 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola or peanut)
• ▢ 1 cup (250 ml) chicken broth/stock , low sodium
• ▢ 400 ml / 14 oz coconut milk (full fat!)
• ▢ 6 kaffir lime leaves (Note 4)
• ▢ 1 tbsp sugar (white, brown or palm)
• ▢ 2 tsp fish sauce , plus more to taste
• ▢ 350g / 12 oz chicken thighs (boneless and skinless), cut into 0.75 / 1/3″ thick slices (Note 5)
• ▢ 150g / 5 oz pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into 1.5cm / 3/5" cubes (~1 heaped cup)
• ▢ 120g / 4oz green beans , trimmed and cut into 5cm/2″ pieces
• ▢ 12 Thai basil leaves (Note 6)

Garnishes (optional) & serving:

• ▢ Fresh red chilli slices (small chilli – spicy, large = less spicy)
• ▢ Fresh coriander / cilantro leaves
• ▢ Steamed jasmine rice

• Heat oil in a large heavy based skillet over medium high heat.

• Add curry paste and Extras (if using jar paste) and cook for about 2 minutes so it “dries out” (See video)

• Add chicken broth and stir to dissolve paste. Simmer rapidly for 3 minutes or until liquid reduces by half.

• Add coconut milk, lime leaves, sugar and fish sauce. Stir, then add chicken.

• Spread chicken out, bring to simmer, then turn heat down to medium. Simmer for about 8- 10 minutes or until Sauce reduces, the chicken is cooked and the sauce is almost at the thickness you want.

• Do a taste test. Add more fish sauce (or even shrimp paste) to add more saltiness, sugar for sweetness.

• Add pumpkin and beans, stir. Cook for 3 minutes or until pumpkin is just cooked through and Sauce is thickened – see video for Sauce thickness.

• Remove from heat. Stir through a handful of Thai basil leaves.

• Serve over jasmine rice, garnished with fresh red chilli slices and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, if desired.

1. Curry paste – if using store bought, try to get Maesri brand if you can, it’s the best (small can, very cheap). Sold at major grocery stores (Woolies, Coles) or Asian stores. Otherwise, use your favourite.

Use 5 tbsp if you are unsure about spiciness, or 6 tbsp (or the whole can!) if you are sure you can handle it!

Note: curry paste in jars has a more concentrated flavour than fresh homemade paste so you need less. The video shows homemade paste.

2. Extras – these are to freshen up store bought curry paste. Not required if using homemade.

3. Lemongrass paste – convenience tubes of cold pressed lemongrass paste, the next best thing to peeling / finely chopping fresh lemongrass! Can sub with 2 tsp finely minced fresh lemongrass.

4. Kaffir Lime Leaves are the leaves of a kaffir lime tree. It’s used to add earthy citrus flavours into Asian food. Sold at large grocery stores and Asian stores. Dried is an ok substitute (same amount), but I really urge you to try to find fresh if you can because it adds that “something-something” that really makes this “restaurant quality”.

5. Chicken – Thigh is best for this recipe because it’s nice and juicy. But breast and tenderloin is fine too.

6. Thai Basil looks like normal basil but has pointier leaves and a purplish tinge. It tastes like basil + aniseed. Not the end of the world if you can’t find it – ordinary basil will be an adequate substituted but only use a small handful.

7. General recipe notes:
Spiciness:Thai Red Curry is not supposed to be crazy spicy but it has a nice tingle to it.
Sauce thickness varies drastically between restaurants – at some it is almost watery, at others it is really thick and seems to be made with coconut cream. I like mine in between – a sauce that is pourable but with a gravy like consistency. I am not a fan of very sweet Red Curry, but if you are, just add more sugar.
Consistency:Thai red curry sauce doesn’t look completely smooth, it looks a bit split because of the oil and that’s the way it is supposed to be.
Stuff in it:There are no hard and fast rules about what goes into a Thai Red Curry. You’ll find Thai eggplant in curries at very authentic Thai restaurants but to be honest, I am not a huge fan of them – they are like tiny eggplants and kind of hard (also not easy to find in shops). I’d say that the two most common vegetables I’ve noticed are pumpkin and green beans or snake beans. While pumpkin may not sound “Thai”, don’t dismiss it, it is spectacular in red curry for both the texture, the sweetness and also because it soaks up the sauce.

8. Nutrition per serving, curry only.