Coconut Chicken Curry
Published Jan. 5, 2021
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2½pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1tablespoon ground paprika
- ½teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
- ⅓cup canola oil
- 2yellow onions, finely diced
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 1(13-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1½tablespoons fish sauce, plus more as needed
- 1teaspoon Madras curry powder
- ½teaspoon ground cayenne
- Cooked rice or noodles, for serving
- 1cup cilantro sprigs, for serving
- 1lime or lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
797 calories; 50 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 61 grams protein; 1265 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Trim the chicken thighs of excess fat and cut into ½- to 1-inch pieces; transfer to a bowl. Add the paprika, turmeric and salt, and use your hands to mix well. Let the chicken marinate at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients, or cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Step 2
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high. Stir in the onions, lower the heat to medium-low and cook gently, stirring often to prevent scorching, until tender and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring often, until most of the water from the onions has been cooked out and a glossy layer of oil has risen to the surface, about 5 minutes more.
- Step 3
Add the marinated chicken and stir to release the spices into the onion. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a near boil. Let the coconut milk simmer briskly for about 4 minutes to thicken a bit. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the fish sauce. Stir in 1½ cups water and bring to a near boil. The broth will thin out as the chicken starts to release its juices.
- Step 4
Lower to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Droplets of paprika-red oil will rise to the surface. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne, simmer briefly and remove from the heat.
- Step 5
If time permits, let the curry sit for at least 20 minutes before serving. This allows the chicken to soak in more flavors as the curry cools. Bring to a simmer again right before serving and taste, adding more salt or fish sauce if desired. Serve over rice or noodles, with bowls of cilantro and lime wedges.
Private Notes
Comments
A list of ingredients is good, but I also wish recipes were written like this: Trim 2 ½ pounds chicken thighs of excess fat and cut into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces; transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon ground paprika, ½ teaspoon turmeric and 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and use your hands to mix well. ... In a large pot, heat ⅓ cup canola oil over medium-high. Stir in 2 yellow onions, finely diced ... add 4 garlic cloves, minced, and continue to cook ... add 1 (13-ounce) can unsweetened coconut
A Cantonese take on Thai. Very good, very bland. So I doubled & pounded the garlic, grated a 1 1/2" piece of ginger, used 3 tbsp fish sauce, used 2 tbsp of Thai red curry paste (not the cayenne) & 1 full tsp turmeric, added the zest of 1 lime, & sauteed in coconut oil. Also used good chicken stock instead of water, reducing the amount to 1 cup. Served with chopped cilantro & lime wedges. Delicious, though NOT as written.
I also wish that recipe writers were more specific about onions. Yellow onions range widely in size, so cups or ounces or grams would be much appreciated in the interest of following the recipe precisely! Geez!
I had high hopes for this given all the positive reviews. I knew off the bat I would be upping the spices but I don't blame recipes for that - my family likes heat. I didn't like the fish sauce - almost didn't add it, wish I didn't. I subbed broth for the water and didn't add as much as the recipe called for and still broth never really thickened up. Won't make this again.
Step 2 says bring oil to heat then cook for 15 minutes. Step 3 then says bring coconut milk to boil. Let's call that 20 min so far. Step 3 then says simmer for 4 minutes, then stir and let sit, so now we're at 25. Next step says to cook for 45 minutes, which means that the high end of the explicitly mandated cooking time is 1 hr 10m before counting prep on the onions, garlic, and marinade or letting it sit for 20 minutes as suggested. Really wish they'd be honest with total time.
Very tasty but agree with some others that 1.5 Tbsp is too much fish sauce - maybe the brand? (I had Red Boat). I stopped after 1 Tbsp because it smelled very strong already. Final dish was great and packed an umami punch, but for my family I need to go lighter on the fish sauce.