Panang Curry
Updated May 29, 2024
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼cup/1 ounce dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts
- 2 to 4tablespoons red curry paste, to taste (see Tip)
- 1pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2teaspoons fish sauce, plus more as needed
- 1(13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk (do not shake)
- 8makrut lime leaves, deveined, 6 torn and 2 thinly sliced, or 1 teaspoon grated lime zest, for serving
- 1½teaspoons palm, granulated or brown sugar, plus more as needed
- 1small, mild, thin-skinned pepper, such as a Fresno, Anaheim or banana pepper, or ½ small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- Thai basil, thinly sliced, for serving (optional, if makrut lime leaves are not used)
- Rice, for serving
For the Panang Curry Paste
For the Curry
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
479 calories; 28 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 32 grams protein; 364 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
Prepare the curry paste: Heat a medium sauté pan over medium. Add the coriander and cumin. Swirl the pan around, or toss the seeds with a wooden spoon, and gently toast until fragrant, about 1 minute, taking care not to burn the spices. Transfer to a small plate and cool, then place in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, and grind to a fine powder.
- Step 2
Add the peanuts and finely grind until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, add the red curry paste and stir until mixed.
- Step 3
Thinly slice the chicken into 1½-inch-long pieces. Place in a medium bowl, drizzle with the fish sauce and mix until coated.
- Step 4
Heat the same pan over medium-high. Scoop 4 tablespoons of the thick cream off the top of the coconut milk and add it to the pan; it will immediately sizzle. Stir until thickened and bubbling on the sides, about 30 seconds. Stir in the curry paste, to taste. Reduce to medium, and cook the paste, continuously stirring, until a thick paste forms and the coconut oil separates (the sauce “breaks”), 2 to 3 minutes. If it starts sticking, add a splash of coconut milk and scrape up anything from the bottom of the pan.
- Step 5
Add the torn lime leaves or zest and sugar. Cook, continuously stirring, to dissolve the sugar and infuse the flavors, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk, increase to medium-high, bring to a boil and cook, continuously stirring, until the curry has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon and has a layer of bright red oil on top, 4 to 8 minutes. The curry should be at a lively simmer; adjust the heat as necessary.
- Step 6
Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. If using, stir in the peppers, saving a few for serving, and cook until just incorporated, about 1 minute. Taste and add more fish sauce and sugar, if needed. (Be mindful, this is not a sweet curry; the sweetness should hit a back note, not lead with it.)
- Step 7
Garnish with the sliced lime leaves or Thai basil and reserved peppers. Serve alongside rice.
- Different brands of curry paste vary in spice levels. Taste a little first and determine how much to use.
Private Notes
Comments
These are my suggestions if you are buying pre-made paste. 1) Don't buy American brands of Curry paste or coconut milk. I buy Maesri curry paste, Chaokoh coconut milk and/or Mae Ploy coconut cream. 2) I like lots of sauce, so I combine one 4oz can of curry paste with one 19oz can coconut cream and one 13.5oz can of coconut milk. 3) for sauce, first combine the fatty portion of coconut cream and milk with the paste until it begins to look like peanut butter, then add remaining ingredients.
If you only have ground cumin and coriander, halve the measurements the recipe calls for
Here's two more tips. 1) serving on top of rice can dilute curry flavor. serve on the side instead. 2) I use pre-cooked meat. Buy a Costco chicken and shred, then dice. I prefer pork, so I buy a big pork shoulder, slow cook it, shred it, dice it, divide into multiple servings, and freeze them. When it's time to make curry, I pull a bag of pork out of the freezer and use that. Buying a big pork shoulder also saves money. I use the shredded pork for many different recipes: curry, tacos, BBQ.
Boy, was this awesome!! 1.) I subbed pressed cubed tofu for chick, pan browned it, remove to plate. 2.) sauted sm purple onion, scallion, red pepper, anaheim, slightly microwaved froz green beans, remove to plate 3.) make sauce (3 T panang Maesri) , add fish sauce, lime zest, etc. 4.) when sauce done, add tofu and veg. taste and adjust seasoning (a bit of lime juice or additional zest). Cilantro. (dried makrut lime leaves were a bust even aft rehydrating--tough texture. Steep? Remove?)
This was so good. Two of us ate it all! I used lime zest, and only had cocktail peanuts on hand so I added them to the Mae Ploy Panang Curry paste I had, since the ingredients didn't list peanuts. I did add a TBSP or so of peanut butter too, just to amp it up a bit. I didn't add any the hot peppers as I find Mae Ploy hot enough. I did add sweet pepper strips and white onion. I velveted the chicken with fish sauce and cornstarch, which affected the thickness of the sauce, but we didn't mind!
Have cooked it a few times with chicken and it's wonderful. I have an H-Mart nearby, so as recommended in quite a few of the comments, I was able to find and use Maesri Panang Curry Paste, which is so much better than the run-of-the-mill supermarket stuff. Also, make sure you get good quality coconut milk with lots of cream to skim off and put in at the beginning. It makes a huge difference. Question: has anyone made this recipe with shrimp instead of chicken? If so, please say how it was...