Absolutely flavorful Thai yellow chicken curry is another level of comfort food – it’s not only full of refreshing flavors, but also a hearty meal with all-natural goodness!
Who doesn’t know about Thai curries! Even the most uninitiated do! Thai curries are so popular all over the world and all for very good reasons.
Thai curries are the ideal examples of the perfect use of sweet, sour and heat in the right balance to make something incredibly mouthwatering.
You will see for yourself how the Thai curry paste brings together all the freshness in one simple curry paste which is super easy to make but power packed with Thai flavors!
Today I bring to you Thai yellow chicken curry – one of the 3 most popular versions of Thai curries – ‘Red’, ‘Green’ and ‘Yellow’.
The vibrant yellow color of this Thai yellow chicken curry comes from turmeric, one of the most used spices in Indian cuisine. This Thai yellow chicken curry has the lovely fresh aroma from lemongrass and mellow sweetness from coconut milk.
If you haven’t yet seen my Thai baked chicken, I insist you must take a look and feel the wonders that coconut milk could make. The base of the Thai yellow chicken curry is that same miraculous coconut milk which is infused with my homemade Thai yellow curry paste.
You can use the store-bought yellow curry paste too, but I would prefer the homemade version where you can control the quality as well as quantity of each of the ingredients. Also, no fishy ingredient which you don’t understand goes into your dish.
Thai yellow curry paste is primarily flavored with the most popular Thai ingredient and that is lemongrass, which has huge contribution in Thai cuisine.
The fresh aroma of lemongrass instantly invigorates our senses and brings in a happy feeling to even the most depressed souls. Thanks to lemongrass, this Thai yellow chicken curry is a true pick-me-up!
We grow our own lemongrass in our tiny kitchen garden; if you can’t find fresh lemongrass in your local supermarket, try to get your hands on a bottle of lemongrass paste which is a concentrate of lemongrass stalk and can be used as a replacement.
The amount of each ingredients mentioned in my recipe of curry paste makes enough for the Thai yellow chicken curry with 1 kg of chicken serving 6 to 8 people. You can double the amount and make a big batch of curry paste and freeze it for up to a month.
Indian chicken curries are generally devoid of veggies; except some curries like Kadhai Chicken are usually accompanied with loads of green bell peppers. Thai curries take that extra step and is usually full of fresh vegetables which makes it a complete meal.
My version of Thai yellow chicken curry has cute little baby potatoes and crunchy baby corns. There is no rule of what you can add to your Thai yellow chicken curry and what not. Feel free to add some green peas, green beans, zucchini, assorted bell peppers or whichever veggies you love.
Veggies will load your Thai yellow chicken curry with additional nutrition as well as more crunch. Thai curries are best served with plain white rice. Being Indian, we are very fond of rice too!
So, when I discover such recipes which are served and enjoyed best with rice, I can’t be happier enough and same goes for this flavorful Thai yellow chicken curry.
This rice-curry meal turned out to be the perfect combo for our Sunday family lunch and everyone, including my picky pa-in-law, freaked out on it!
Adapted from Pinch of Yum!
- Chicken – 1 kg (I used the skinless, bone-in pieces of a full bird)
- Baby potatoes – 250 gms, cooked
- Baby corn – 200 gms, cooked
- Onion – 1, large, thinly sliced
- Green chilli – 4 to 5
- Coconut cream – 400 ml
- Fish sauce – 1 tbsp
- Brown sugar – 2 tbsp
- Vegetable oil – 4 tbsp
- Lemon wedges to serve
- Onions – 2, large
- Ginger – 2 inch piece
- Garlic – 15 to 18 cloves
- Dry red chilli – 6 to 8 (if possible get the Thai red chilli for the classic flavor)
- Turmeric powder – 3 heaped tsp
- Mild curry powder – 4 heaped tsp
- Roasted coriander powder – 1 tsp
- Lemongrass – 8 to 10 thin stalks, chopped (or replace with 1 tbsp lemongrass paste)
- Fresh coriander leaves and stalks – ¼ cup
- Salt – ½ tsp
- First to make the Thai yellow curry paste, roughly chop the onions, ginger and garlic and put them into the grinder. Add the dry red chillies, turmeric powder, curry powder, roasted coriander powder, chopped lemongrass (or lemongrass paste) and fresh coriander stalks and leaves. Grind them together to get an almost smooth paste. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large wok. Add the sliced onion and saute until golden brown.
- Then add the green chillies and the Thai yellow curry paste which you prepared and saute it until oil re-surfaces. It would take about 10 minutes on medium heat.
- Then add the chicken and saute it in the curry paste until the chicken are well browned all over, for about 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat.
- Next add the coconut cream and about 1 & ½ cups of water. Stir well and bring it to boil. Season with salt to taste.
- Cover and cook the chicken on low heat until cooked through which would take about 10 to 15 minutes more.
- Then uncover the wok and add the baby potatoes and baby corn. Check and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Finally add the fish sauce and brown sugar and give a final mix. Boil off some excess water and bring the curry to your desired consistency.
- Sprinkle fresh coriander leaves, drizzle some lemon juice and serve hot Thai yellow chicken curry with plain Basmati rice and lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!
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