Last updated on May 15th, 2018 at 03:25 pm
This Thai Red Chicken Curry is incredibly delicious, so easy to make with bite size chicken pieces, snow peas and simmered in a red curry and coconut milk sauce. Thai cooking in under 30 minutes and all in one pot!
My love for Thai food knows no bounds. It’s a love affair that started almost 20 years ago and have never looked back since. My biggest challenge has always been to make it myself at home, but I’ve discovered a few years ago that Thai food really isn’t very complicated. I especially love all coconut curries and with a few ingredients you can have quality Thai restaurant meals right in your home, made by you nonetheless.
There are a few ingredients you’ll need to ensure you get the most flavor out of this curry; coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass. I can find them all at my local grocery store, but I’ve provided you with links below the recipe to get the products on amazon if you cannot find any of these items. I also find the kaffir lime leaves at the farmer’s market.
This dish is so great, you literally only need about 20 minutes to make and you will be so happy you made this. The flavors are out of this world, a creamy sauce which packs some heat from the curry paste, the more curry paste the better, it’s really not that spicy. I used 4 tbsp in this recipe and it flavored the dish nicely giving it just a bit of a spicy kick.
The kaffir lime leaves are a member of the citrus family and they give off a lime-lemon aroma and flavor and they really are a indispensable part of Thai cooking, as well as Indonesian cooking, which is really how I learned about these leaves. There’s a little Indonesian kiosk at my local farmer’s market and I eat there almost every chance I get, their food is so nicely fragrant and delicious. One day I asked them what gives off that nice lemony flavor and they told me all about these Kaffir lime leaves. They’re amazing, however, if you cannot find them anywhere just go ahead and skip them in the recipe. The lemon grass stalks also have a citrus flavor and again they are often used in curries.
For 20 minutes of total time you cannot beat this dish, delicious Thai flavors, not to mention your house will smell incredible.
For more Thai dishes, try these:
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger root peeled and finely grated
- 1 lb chicken breasts boneless and skinless and cut into bite size pieces, about 3
- 13.5 oz coconut milk (1 can)
- 2 to 4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 3/4 cup chicken broth low sodium
- 5 oz snow peas roughly chopped
- 4 leaves kaffir lime
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 stalks lemongrass bruised *
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch Oven or a large wok or skillet until hot. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for about 30 seconds over high heat, until it gets aromatic.
- Turn the heat down to medium-high and add the chicken pieces to the pot and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink.
- Stir in the coconut milk, curry paste, chicken broth, snow peas, kaffir lime leaves, sugar and lemon grass. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass from the pot. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh cilantro.
- Serve immediately over cooked rice.
*To bruise the lemongrass, use a meat mallet to lightly crush it. This will ensure you get the most flavor into your curry.
You can leave the kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass stalks in the dish, and just push them to the side of your plate when eating, since they are too tough to eat.
You can store remaining kaffir lime leaves in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks. You can also freeze them in a sealed ziploc bag or airtight container.
Nutritional information does not include cooked rice.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
This was my first time making Thai Red Curry, and it was awesome! I couldn’t find fresh lemongrass but I found a lemongrass paste – used 1 tbsp of this which seemed to work well. I also added onions with the garlic and ginger, red pepper and mushrooms (which I added shortly before the chicken was done cooking), and pan-fried tofu (cooked in a separate pan, then added at the end). I also used chicken thighs. I think full-fat coconut milk and 4 tbsp of the red curry paste really makes it. Wasn’t watery for me at all. I added Sriracha to taste at the end; love it spicy 🙂 Will never need to look for another Thai Red Curry recipe again, thank you!
My pleasure, Ariane! Glad you liked it!
Spicing this up for my preference and adding some bell pepper for more veggies, but neither of this change this this recipe alone is fabulous! Thank you!
Thank you for a great recipe! All family loved it (children:11 & 14). Added chili and some veggies. Great, great, great!
This was wonderful! I use extra veggies to because I had bought two pints of cut up red and green peppers and red onions and I put that in there.
I want to use red and green peppers and onions too. When did you put them in?
My first time cooking Thai at home, and it turned out amazing! Great recipe – thank you Jo! We wanted extra veggies in it, so I threw in some zucchini, broccoli, and mushrooms in addition to snow peas. Will for sure be making this again.
I think it was suppose to be 3 quarters chicken broth, not 3 to 4 cups of chicken broth. Was able to manage with extra sugar and curry paste.
Hi there, I just checked the recipe and it does say 3/4 cup chicken broth. That means 3 quarters (as a fraction), not 3 or 4.
The curry tasted awesome! The only suggestion I can make is to use Honey instead of sugar.my fiancée lived it! (I did go heavy on the curry paste and it came out a little to spicy for my taste, but he absolutely loved it!!!!)
Thank you!!!!!