Homemade Thai red chicken curry features tender chicken strips and lots of veggies simmered in an aromatic coconut red curry sauce.
There’s nothing I love more than a pan of curry simmering happily away on the stove! This red curry is truly one dinner I’ll never tire of having on my rotation.
While my local Thai restaurant has a very special place in my heart and I’ll never be able to make a curry as good as those folks do, this homemade version is the second-best option for when I get a curry craving and don’t want to leave the house!
My favorite part? You can load it up with a variety of veggies, meats, etc and it will turn out stellar EVERY time.
Lots of aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, Thai basil, and an entire jar of red curry paste are the secret weapons behind a curry with lots of flavor and I’m sharing all my curry tips I’ve picked up over the years with this recipe!
While I can’t claim it’s 100% authentic Thai curry, we’re getting pretty dang close with common pantry ingredients and only 40 minutes of your day.
This Thai Red Curry Features…
- A rich and aromatic coconut red curry sauce
- Tender chicken, sweet peppers, bamboo shoots, and green beans
- Ready in 40 minutes entirely in one pan
Making the Thai Red Curry
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Chicken thighs
- Cornstarch
- Fish sauce
- Vegetable oil
- Yellow onion
- Sweet pepper
- Green beans
- Bamboo shoots
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Red curry paste
- Coconut milk
- Chicken broth
- Thai basil leaves
- Baby spinach
- Cilantro
- Lime
- Rice
Choosing Your Red Curry Paste
I made this curry with Thai Kitchen red curry paste which is a bit more on the mild side. Because of this I recommend using the entire 4-oz jar for the most flavor in this curry. If you choose to use another brand, start with 4 tablespoons curry paste and work your way up to taste.
Tips for Perfect Thai Red Curry
- Cut chicken and vegetables in uniform size – aim for thin 1-inch slices for the chicken, beans, and pepper and 1/2-inch cubes for the onion. Uniformity will ensure that everything cooks at the same rate.
- Marinate chicken – a quick 20-minute marinade in fish sauce and cornstarch will ensure the chicken cooks up tender.
- Use fresh garlic, ginger, and Thai basil – this is where a lot of the amazing flavor comes from. I highly recommend using these ingredients fresh.
- Simmer curry – a 10-15 minute simmer is where a lot of the flavor is built in the curry and it also finishes cooking the vegetables. Don’t rush the simmering process.
- Use full-fat coconut milk – this adds an unmatchable richness to the sauce that you can only get from using full-fat.
- Add spinach and Thai basil after simmering – this will prevent these ingredients from overcooking and the basil adds a lovely fragrant flavor to the curry.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this curry.
- Try different vegetables – carrots, kale, zucchini, or summer squash will also work great in this curry.
- Use another protein – try shrimp, tofu, or beef in place of the chicken.
- Adjust heat level – this curry is fairly mild as is, but you can easily dial up the heat by adding red pepper flakes or a minced jalapeno or other chili pepper.
Dinner just doesn’t get any better than this, friends! The flavorful coconut curry sauce soaks into every inch of the steamed rice while the vegetables and chicken cook up perfectly tender and packed with aromatic flavor.
I’ll take that second bowl now.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More curries to cook up next!
Thai Red Chicken Curry
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Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into thin 1-inch long strips
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons fish sauce, divided
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small sweet pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 (4 oz) can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 (4 oz) jar Thai red curry paste
- 1 can (13.5 oz) full-fat coconut milk
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup loosely-packed Thai basil leaves (or torn regular basil)
- 1/2 cup firmly-packed baby spinach
- Steamed jasmine rice for serving
- Fresh cilantro and lime zest for topping
Instructions
- Combine chicken, cornstarch, and 2 teaspoons fish sauce in a medium bowl. Allow to marinate 20 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and swirl to coat bottom. Add chicken in a single layer and sauté 3-5 minutes, tossing frequently until chicken is cooked through.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to same pan and swirl to coat bottom. Add onion, sweet pepper, green beans, and bamboo shoots to pan and sauté over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add garlic, ginger, and curry paste to vegetables and cook 1-2 additional minutes until fragrant.
- Add coconut milk, chicken broth, seared chicken, and remaining 2 teaspoons fish sauce to pan. Season curry with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow curry to simmer uncovered 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove curry from heat and fold in basil and spinach until wilted. Season curry with additional salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve curry warm over steamed jasmine rice with fresh cilantro and a few sprinkles of lime zest. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 3/4/26.
Susan says
I made this tonight and it was bomb.com!!! So easy to make and such great flavors!!! Glad I found this recipe today ! Thanks ! ?????
Sarah says
I’m glad you loved this curry, Susan! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Melissa says
This recipe is my favourite by far , family loved it
Christina from Tennesser says
I made this today.
Pros: 1) it tastes very good.
Cons: 1) it took me 2 hours to make. Chopping all the vegetables, trimming and chopping the chicken, and gathering all other needed ingredients took the first hour. 30 minutes?? Hah! 2) It didn’t work for me to cook the chicken, onions and garlic in “a large skillet” at the same time. Just cooking the chicken completely filled up the large skillet. Plus, chicken and onions have different cooking times. So I cooked the chicken, removed from pan, then cooked onions and garlic. Removed from skillet and then cooked the veggies in a Dutch oven and then added the chicken, onions & garlic to Dutch oven with cooked veggies., then added rest of ingredients to Dutch oven.
As I said above, it tasted good. I used an entire can of chicken broth to keep it sufficiently liquid. I also added extra curry and some gram masala. Next time, I’ll use chicken breasts instead of thighs.
I will make this again when I have 2 hours to cook and time to clean up the Ken tchen afterwards.
Christina from Tennessee says
Clean up ‘kitchen’ afterwards. No way to edit my comment. And I’m from Tennessee, not Tennesseer.
Trudi gittlein says
I was wondering about the time stated. Thanks for the heads up! Sure had to scroll a long way to find an actual review.
Lucy Askew says
Thank-you for sharing this recipe! It was absolutely delicious! Even my fussy 2 year old couldn’t get enough! X
Sarah says
Awww yay! Thanks for letting me know, Lucy!
Rebecca says
Hi there – sounds delicious thanks! I’m needing to make large batches to send on a school camp and wondering if it can be frozen and reheated? Thanks for your help 🙂
Sarah says
Yes! This curry freezes well for up to 2 months. 🙂
Rebecca says
Perfect thank you!
Blaky says
Do curry, Cajun, and Italian seasonings really all go together? Thank you.
Sarah says
We find that they do in this curry! Feel free adjust them based on your preference. 🙂