When I was growing up, my family would drive through Manhattan’s Chinatown at least once a month, whether it was for weekend dim sum, visiting family, or just heading into the city. We’d drive in via the Holland Tunnel, and in minutes, we’d be surrounded by familiar Chinese restaurants and seemingly endless fruit and vegetable vendors.
On the way out of the city at the end of the day, we had a pretty reliable tradition of stopping off at one of Chinatown’s mainstay takeout restaurants (like NY Noodletown) to order dinner to take home. My sister would go for the Cantonese roast meats––Char Siu Pork, Soy Sauce Chicken, and Roast Pork Belly. My mom would get braised beef with tofu, and my dad would order a special seafood congee with lots of scallions and ginger.
As you can probably tell from all the links above, we’ve covered several of these favorite dishes on our blog. But we haven’t yet covered one of my favorites––a really quick takeout-style Chicken Curry, served over lots of steamed rice.
Chicken curry was one of the dishes that I always looked forward to on any trip to Chinatown, and it’s actually incredibly easy to make. You only need a handful of ingredients, many of which you probably already have in your pantry or refrigerator, and it takes 15 minutes flat to prepare.
Just make sure to wear an apron or a black t-shirt, and use metal (as opposed to wood or bamboo) utensils to stir-fry this chicken curry dish––the turmeric and curry powder can leave stains. But of course, the risk is totally worth it.
You’ll need:
- 12 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
- Vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
- 1 medium onion, halved and sliced into small wedges
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 4 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- salt
In a medium bowl, combine the sliced chicken breast, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
Heat your wok over high heat until smoking. Add a couple tablespoons of oil, and then add the chicken to the pan in one layer. Stir-fry the chicken just until it turns opaque, and remove from the wok. Set aside.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, and add the onions. Stir-fry for one minute, then stir in the chicken stock, curry powder, turmeric, sugar, and salt to taste.
Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water and mix until the cornstarch is dissolved. Stir it into the curry and stock mixture, and simmer for 1 minute, until thickened. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, add more cornstarch slurry. If it’s too thick, add more chicken stock.
Add the cooked chicken back to the wok, and stir for another 30 seconds.
Serve your homemade take-out style chicken curry with steamed rice and a big spoon!
- 12 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
- Vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
- 1 medium onion, halved and sliced into small wedges
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 4 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- salt
- In a medium bowl, combine the sliced chicken breast, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
- Heat your wok over high heat until smoking. Add a couple tablespoons of oil, and then add the chicken to the pan in one layer. Stir-fry the chicken just until it turns opaque, and remove from the wok. Set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, and add the onions. Stir-fry for one minute, then stir in the chicken stock, curry powder, turmeric, sugar, and salt to taste.
- Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water and mix until the cornstarch is dissolved. Stir it into the curry and stock mixture, and simmer for 1 minute, until thickened. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, add more cornstarch slurry. If it’s too thick, add more chicken stock.
- Add the cooked chicken back to the wok, and stir for another 30 seconds. Serve with steamed rice and a big spoon.
Martin says
This curry is great. I always add a handful of frozen peas. Much nicer than the takeaway chinese curries we get here in the UK which can be very thick and glue.
Sarah says
Yay! So glad to hear you’re enjoying this recipe, Martin. I love it too, especially because it’s so fast. Also love the idea of adding peas for a little green. :)
Monica says
This was great – fast and tasty. Thank you for all the great curry (and other) recipes!
Sarah says
You’re welcome, Monica!
Jessyca says
Hi there, one of my favorite treats is chinese cantonese style takeaway curry. It’ll be my first time trying it at home, I saw online that there’s a bunch of different recipes and different take depending on the family. I will be making this vegetarian with potatoes/carrots, etc. Would you recommend cooking my vegetables in the curry sauce or cook them independently then add them to the sauce? I fear that if I cooking my vegetables in the curry sauce it’ll thicken the sauce by a lot since potatoes and carrots can take a good while to cook.
Thanks and happy lunar new year!
Sarah says
Hi Jessyca, you’re right that potatoes and carrots would take longer to cook than this 15 minute recipe allows. That said, if you thinly slice the potatoes and carrots (almost like the chicken slices in the recipe), you can stir-fry them and they will cook faster. The potatoes will also thicken the sauce some, but if it’s too thick, just add a bit of vegetable stock to thin it out.
Linda Paisley says
Thanks Sarah! I made this this evening and it was really nice. I changed it slightly only because I didn’t have any cornflour, so I used plain flour instead and I forgot to add the sugar but I had added a tin of coconut milk as well so probably didn’t need it. Empty plates :) Happy days :D
Sarah says
Love it Linda! Thanks for sharing, and so glad you enjoyed it!
Lucy says
Yummy!!! It reminds me of a similar curry chicken dish my Shanghainese family made when I was a kid. We used potatoes instead of onions.
Sarah says
I do enjoy potatoes in my curry too, Lucy!
Holly says
Could you happen to tell me the calories in this?
Sarah says
I don’t have that info, Holly, but free apps like MyFitnessPal have features that let you calculate the calories in a recipe. Hope that helps!
Karen says
I doubled the amount of chick and came out to 315 calories for 4 servings with 6.1 g of fat, 16.8 g of carbs and 45.8 g of protein, excluding rice. You can definitely use the original recipe but I like to have a substantial amount of meat with my dinner. This was absolutely delicious by the way and I’ll definitely be making it again. I’ve tried a bunch of recipes on your site now and all of them have been absolute winners, so thank you!
Sarah says
You’re welcome, Karen!
Irene Brewster says
Sounds like a great Chinese chicken curry, away to get ingredients. I’m also looking for a recipe for coconut chicken curry if you have any recipes ? Thank you Irene
Judy says
Hi Irene, here is our coconut curry chicken recipe.
Claire says
This curry was awesome! I’m not a great cook but was so easy to make. Added some mushrooms and peas in it too. Was delish with some rice and chips. Can’t wait to make it again
Sarah says
Love it! Glad you enjoyed Claire…doesn’t get much easier than this recipe!
Helen says
This looks wonderful and pretty easy. I was wondering if I could use this sauce to make a curry pasta with chicken? I have seen it on a menu and thought maybe this would be appropriate?
Sarah says
Hi Helen, hmmmm…you could try it? Sounds like an interesting idea. Let us know how it goes!
Nuree says
The best curry I have ever made. My family rate it better than a take out. So easy to make but with great results.
Sarah says
Thanks for the feedback! So glad you guys liked it!