Curries have become a go-to favorite around the globe, but sourcing the ingredients and even executing the cook properly can be quite difficult at times. Thankfully, most grocery stores carry a majority of the ingredients nowadays, including premade curry pastes and sauces that help any home chef recreate their favorite meal in their own kitchen! Thai Red Curry Chicken is one of my personal favorites that is not only simple to make, but also affords ample opportunities for ingredient substitutions and additions to make every batch unique and delicious! Grab a beer and relax as I walk you through an easy version of this classic dish while offering up various options throughout to satisfy everyone's personal tastes and preferences.....Let's Get Cooking!
Since there are so many ingredients and steps to this particular recipe, it is best to begin by prepping everything and having it ready for when the time comes. Take your two bell peppers and roughly break them down into 3/4 to 1 inch square bite-sized pieces. I think using 1 red and 1 green provide a nice balance of color and sweetness for this particular recipe, but feel free to use whatever you have in the pantry. As for the carrots, you can buy some pre shredded carrots and be a bit lazy as I was or grate and shred your own. The onions should be diced roughly the same size as your bell peppers, for cooking time purposes and even bites when the curry is finished. Once all your veggies are prepped, you can go ahead and dice your chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces as well. Chicken breasts can be used, but like I always say, thighs are cheaper and just taste better so why risk ending up with dry white meat when thighs are available!
With the prep out of the way, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the shredded carrots first and let them sauté for about 3 minutes. Speaking of pots, if you don't already own one of these large, enameled cast iron beauties I highly suggest picking one up soon. They are so versatile and are perfect for recipes similar to this where we sauté/brown veggies and meats and later on braise/simmer with liquids!
After 3 minutes, the carrots should have begun to soften up a bit so go ahead and toss in the diced bell peppers. Give everything a quick stir and continue to sauté the 2 veggies for an additional 2 minutes. This would also be a good time to sprinkle a bit of salt/pepper over everything to help sweat the veggies.
Just as the bell peppers start to soften, throw in the onion and continue to sauté all the veggies about a minute or so, until you really get a nice fragrant aroma out of the pot. This initial veggie cook goes quite quickly so prepping everything ahead of time is key to stay on top of the timing.
While the onions begins to cook, get your lemongrass paste, ginger, and garlic ready to add to the pot. You can use the little prepared tubes of these ingredients found in your local grocery's produce section or mince them yourself. I'm a huge fan of the prepared lemongrass and ginger paste so I tend to keep those on hand in the fridge at all times, but don't feel obligated to go out and buy them for this one recipe unless you intend to use them in a different meal within the next week or two. Anyway, add those aromatics and finish sauteing everything for a minute or so until obviously fragrant and wonderful smelling! The onions should just be on the edge of turning translucent.
At this point, scoop out all the veggies and transfer them to a bowl. They will get further cooked later on, but for now they have the start they need so just set them aside momentarily while we attend to the chicken itself. I know it's tempting, but try not to snack on the veggies too much, even if they do smell so damn amazing!
Once you have all the veggies out of the pot, don't even bother wiping it down and just add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. As soon as it warms up, add the diced chicken pieces and sauté them over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Like any other time you're cooking any protein, be sure to season the chicken with some salt/pepper.
While the chicken continues to cook, add some soy sauce and turn up the temperature to medium-high. Let the chicken cook with the soy sauce for 4 to 6 minutes before tilting the pot to the side and scooping out/straining any excess liquids. As long as you don't cover your pot, excess cooking liquids should remain minimal.
Once you have most of the excess liquids removed, go ahead and add the curry paste and stir to coat the chicken. Reduce the heat to medium while the chicken continues to cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the curry paste is fragrant! Be sure to continue stirring so the paste itself doesn't stick or burn on your pot.
Once your curry paste is fragrant and had a chance to cook into the chicken a couple minutes, add back all those veggies we prepared earlier and stir to combine everything. This is also a good time to add the fish sauce without totally stinking up your kitchen, too much. I, personally, love the smell, but also realize it is not everyone's cup of tea, to say the least! Oh, and you can toss in that little bit of sugar and lime juice as well, before we forget.
Maintain the medium temperature and add your unsweetened coconut milk. We actually just want the thick, milky cream itself and not the clear liquid so much. If you place a can in the refrigerator for a bit, the solids will separate and thicken from the liquids, which you can strain off after opening the cans. Once again, this is not absolutely necessary, but will make for a thicker and more creamy curry in the end. Worst case scenario you can put the cans in whole and use a little cornstarch to thicken things up later on...no biggie, eh?
As you can see above, mine was mostly cream so it worked out perfectly. Stir the mixture up and make a judgment call whether or not you want to add any, all, or some of the chicken stock at this point. I went with 2/3rds cup to keep things middle ground between soupy and thick and creamy. It's personal preference so do as you wish! Bring the mixture up to a boil before reducing the temperature back down to low. Let the curry simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring every once in a while, to prevent any sticking or burning on the bottom of the pot. If you like things extra hot, this is the perfect time to add in some hot peppers to permeate the sauce and spice things up.
Let the curry simmer until it reaches the consistency you prefer. Like I previously mentioned, if yours is bit thin, you can always scoop out a little broth, whisk with some cornstarch, and return it to the pot to thicken your curry up. What do you think? Not too bad for a Southern white boy, eh? Fresh cilantro pairs particularly well with this Thai Red Curry Chicken. You can rough chop and add some to the curry itself or simply garnish your bowls and let each person decide whether or not they want to eat it. I know some people, the freaks of life, think cilantro tastes like soap for some reason, so for them it's probably best to let them choose themselves. That being said, like most other Thai dishes, you can always opt for some peanuts or noodles/rice to pair with the curry as well. Make a batch of this Thai Red Curry Chicken yourself and tag me on Instagram at @grubbongrub with pictures of yours hashtagged #ThaiRedCurryChicken so other followers can enjoy as well! Did you add any veggies or change things up much? Those little miniature corn cobs/baby corn sure do make a great addition to this recipe also, but don't need much cooking time so just throw them in at the end while everything simmers. Even somewhat difficult foreign recipes can be broken down into simple steps anyone can accomplish at home as long as you get in the kitchen and try....Just Keep Cooking!
THAI RED CURRY CHICKEN
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