This red curry chicken is as easy as cooking gets. After making the miraculously simple 15-minute Coconut Curry Noodle Soup recipe a few months ago, I realized what a magical ingredient canned curry paste is. It adds a ton of flavor with minimal effort––emphasis on minimal. This recipe has fewer than 10 ingredients, takes less than a half hour to make, and it’s a one pot meal worthy of any weeknight.
If you’re wondering where to find red curry paste, head to any Asian grocery store, and look for a little red can labeled…you guessed it––red curry paste. No confusing Chinese characters or misspelled Chinglish words here! We used a brand called “Maesri,” which is the one we usually buy.
Red Curry Chicken: Recipe Instructions
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the Thai red curry paste and fry for another minute.
Turn up the heat to high and add the chicken.
Cook until the chicken is browned, and pour in the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and season with salt to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes and stir in the choy sum.
Cook until the choy sum is wilted and stir in the cilantro.
Serve this dish over plenty rice and enjoy the fruits of your labor, Thai Red Curry Chicken!!
Red Curry Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (450g, cut into bite-sized pieces)
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 slices ginger (minced)
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 cup coconut milk (235 ml)
- 1 small bunch choy sum (or baby bok choy)
- A handful of cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the curry paste and fry for another minute.
- Turn up the heat to high and add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is browned, and pour in the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and season with salt to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes and stir in the choy sum. Cook until the choy sum is wilted and stir in the cilantro. Serve over rice.
nutrition facts
I’m a foodie “sans frontiers” and my taste buds can on short notice adapt to any gastronomic adventures. Living as I am in the majestic isolation of the Himalayan mountain regions does not however afford me many such opportunities. When they do I am quick to pounce on the opportunity. I have had two previous and very satisfactory encounters with Thai cuisine and have nursed hopes of some day cooking up a Thai dish. This recipe seems to fit the bill for a first timer.
I have spent the last couple of days getting the ingredients and the will to put on the chef’s hat once more.
I have announced my intention to the rest of the family and tonight’s dinner will boast “Red Thai Chicken Curry”.
Will write in later and let you know whether I was the hero of the evening or the disaster.
hahaha thanks for sharing! please do let us know how you fare on your culinary quest. :)
I went to buy ingredients and when I got home realized I bought Kaeng Par curry instead of red curry. I am sure that it will have a different taste, but was wondering if it would taste super horrible if I substituted the curious.
How do you get the broth to be so red? And how much would you recommend if you plan to make in a bigger batches for an event/family gathering?
Hey Naly, the sauce turns that red color from the red curry paste. If you want to make a larger batch, just multiply all the ingredients by the same multiple. You can feel free to double or triple the recipe.
I’m excited to try this recipe as well as the other curry recipes here! I noticed that most say to stir fry the curry paste for 5 minutes, but this one suggests just 1 minute
Is that particular to this recipe? Or red curry paste vs. others? If I fry this one for 5 minutes is it gonna ruin the dish?
Thanks, love the site!
Hey Caleb, you can feel free to fry the curry paste a little longer if you like!
1 minutes vs. 5 minutes is a pretty substantial difference!
I’m more curious about the theory than the actual results (which were very tasty :D)
Does cooking longer bring out more flavor? Is it better for some colors and not others? Just looking for any info you know :) Thanks!
I think it’s the case that if you fry the curry paste longer, you’ll probably get more flavor out of it. For me, sometimes i’m more about speed and getting the curry onto some rice and myself onto the couch with a big bowl of it faster. haha
This recipe was excellent for how much time and effort is required. That’s not a backhanded compliment, by the way; it’s just that I’m so used to eating bleh food because I’m not particularly fond of cooking and always get embroiled in those three ingredients or less meals. I also eat a lot of frozen dinners, as a way of transitioning out of takeout and into at least going to the grocery store. This meal was easy enough for me to prepare and good enough for me to be really satisfied with. Thanks!
Thank you so much Danielle! So glad you enjoyed it––we hope you experiment with more homecooked meals from the site! We have a “Quick and Easy” section in our Visual recipe index that’s right up your alley: https://thewoksoflife.com/category/recipes/quick-and-easy/
Really want to try! But was wondering if this is going to be really spicy with the red curry and if so is there any other ingredients I could substitute for it instead?
Hey Desiree, the dish is relatively spicy. Unfortunately, there’s no real substitute that I know of for red curry paste. It’s such an integral part of the dish.
I love to make this especially on a rainy day. It’s warm and soothing and I like mine extra garlicky and hot. The house smells great for hours afterwards. I had a mild epiphany this afternoon though – I noticed I had a jar of Asian sesame paste on the counter. Two hefty spoonfuls and a bit of simmer later I had a delightful curry – satay chicken dish before me. Really nice.
oooh awesome idea! I’ll have to try it.
2 slices ginger, minced? How much ginger is this please, Sarah… 1 teaspoon? 1 tablespoon??
Hey Vanessa, it’s about two teaspoons. But you can feel free to use more or less depending on your own taste preferences!
Thanks Sarah =)
Another winner from your awesome blog! Going to try adding some eggplant next time :)
That’s a great idea!
Do not use old curry paste!
Just had this for lunch. Next time I’ll use a fresh jar of red curry paste. All I could get my hands on in short notice was an old jar from my parent’s kitchen: dried out and brown thus the finished dish lacked fragrance and that beautiful red color.
A generous squirt of sriracha did not resurrect it.
I’ll revisit this dish and next time will use a fresh jar of curry paste and on another poster’s recommendation a squeeze of lime juice.
Aw, sorry to hear it didn’t turn out the way you planned! Let us know what you think after you try it again. :)