Easy Thai Yellow Curry Chicken

Thai Yellow Curry Chicken is one of the easiest and fastest curries you can make at home. This recipe is super simple and uses only a few ingredients with minimal steps. The gold potatoes used here add a deliciously savory flavor to the already creamy coconut milk and cream mixed in the flavorful yellow curry paste.  This Thai yellow curry is one of the fastest weeknight dinners you can whip up for yourself and your family.

Is Yellow Curry Spicy?

This Thai Yellow Curry Recipe is a good curry I like to use to introduce Thai curries to my non-spicy eating friends. It’s the first choice for those who love Thai curries because it is not as spicy as the other curries like green and red curry. Plus, you can easily control the spice level of this dish since I’m using a store-bought yellow curry paste from Mae Ploy.

What is Thai Yellow Curry?

Thai Yellow curry is one of the more popular Thai curries outside of Thailand. The curry paste is made from several ingredients that include herbs, spices, dried peppers, shrimp paste, and curry powder. The color yellow is from turmeric, a bright yellow rhizome herb that belongs to the ginger family.  Those ingredients are either mixed together in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor to form a pastel color paste-like consistency that is then used to make curry dishes.

Home Made or Store Bought Yellow Curry paste?

Like all the other Thai curry pastes, yellow curry pastes can be made from scratch or bought in Asian markets. Both options are wonderful and I do both. During the summer months though, I like to make my own pastes when ingredients are the freshest then I freeze them for the winter months. But like a few other staple ingredients, store-bought yellow curry pastes are always in my pantry for a quick and easy curry meal. If you are somewhat new to Thai cuisine, I highly recommend starting out with store-bought pastes until you are familiar with the flavor profile and the ingredients used. Try a few different brands as well to see which ones you like best. Some of my favorite brands are Mae Ploy, Aroy D, and Maesri- all are Thai brands and can be found in most Asian markets.

How to make Thai Yellow Curry Chicken Recipe

This delicious chicken yellow curry is super easy. The added gold potatoes, which you can find pretty much in almost all western grocery stores, adds that extra creaminess to the already savory sauce from the coconut milk and cream making it a perfect blend of sweet, salty, and slightly spicy curry. You can use any protein of choice.  Beef, pork, or chicken meat are recommended for this recipe. I used chicken for this recipe. I also added bamboo strips to my recipe, since I love bamboo and it adds just a tiny soft crunch to the creamy recipe. Bamboo slices or strips both work for this recipe but if you prefer, you can omit it if they are hard to come by. Let's make this recipe together!

Here is your step by step instructions in photos: 

In a soup pan, heat the oil, when hot, add the yellow curry paste, quickly break it up like the above picture.  

Add the coconut cream to the pan and stir it well together. Wait for the sauce to boil before adding more to the pot.

Add chicken, potatoes, onion, bamboo, stir together well and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the coconut milk to the pan.

Add the brown sugar and the water. 

For the water part, I filled up the empty coconut milk can half full just to help scrape off the rest of the coconut milk from the can. You can use about 1 cup of water too. This method just makes sense to me. (: 

Stir everything together well and let the curry cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. 

You can adjust the flavor towards the end here. If your curry is too salty, add a small amount of sugar and stir in well. If too sweet, add a touch of salt or fish sauce to your liking. Remove from the stovetop and let cool for 10 minutes before serving over rice. 

That's it! Enjoy!

Check out another delicious curry recipe HERE. 

Easy Thai Yellow Curry Chicken

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★★★★

4 from 2 reviews

• Author: Suwanee

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Description

Thai Yellow Curry Chicken is one of the easiest and fastest curries you can make at home. This recipe is super simple and uses only a few ingredients with minimal steps. The gold potatoes used here add a deliciously savory flavor to the already creamy coconut milk and cream mixed in the flavorful yellow curry paste.  This Thai yellow curry is one of the fastest weeknight dinners you can whip up for yourself and your family.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 Tbsp oil
• ⅓ cup yellow curry paste, tightly packed
• 8.5 Coconut cream (1 small carton)
• 1 lb chicken cubed into thumb size pieces
• 2 cups gold potatoes, diced small 1x1 inch
• 2 cups yellow or sweet onion, diced small 1x1 inch
• ½ cup bamboo strips or slices
• 1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)
• 3 Tbsp light brown sugar
• ½ can of water in empty coconut milk can

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Instructions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or soup pan over medium heat, when hot add the yellow curry paste, break up the chunks, add the coconut milk.
2. Stir and continue breaking the paste until creamy. Wait for the sauce to boil, then add the chicken, potatoes, onion, bamboo and mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes
3. Add the coconut milk and water and bring it all to a boil, stirring a few times.
4. Add the brown sugar and stir it in, let cook for 8-10 more minutes or until the potato is soft. Taste the flavor, if too salty, add a dash of brown sugar. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve over rice!

Notes

*Water* I used the emptied coconut can to fill up with water halfway full and use this water to add to the curry.

* Bamboo* Often hard to find fresh, so be sure to drain the liquid and soak the strips or slices in hot water for 5-10 minutes before adding it to the soup pan.

*Curry Paste* Each brand has a different flavor profile, some saltier than others. You can moderate the salty flavor by adding sugar to balance out the saltiness. Also, the more curry paste you use, the saltier your curry will be, so make sure to adjust flavor towards the end to your liking.

*Better with time!* Yes, I find that with all my curry recipes, the flavor seems to be more balanced and creamy the longer it sits. Even after refrigeration, the curry will taste almost better the following day. Here’s a secret for you. My family eats curry for breakfast or brunch the next day with a bowl of rice and a sunny side up egg, it is one of our favorite breakfasts EVER! Try it!

*Freeze Well* This curry recipe will freeze well and for a long time, up to 3 months! I suggest separating the curry into small serving sizes before freezing. When ready to eat, let it thaw out for a few hours and reheat in medium to medium-low heat in a soup pan until completely thawed into a creamy curry sauce.