Pad Prik King (Red Curry Chicken and Green Beans)

Recipe from Nuit Regular

Adapted by Alexa Weibel

Published May 27, 2025

Pad Prik King (Red Curry Chicken and Green Beans)
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.
Total Time
30 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(995)
Comments
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There are very few ingredients that can electrify a dish the way a spoonful of curry paste can. In this recipe, which is adapted from “Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand” (Penguin Canada, 2020) by Nuit Regular, store-bought red curry paste and lime leaves season sliced chicken and long beans in a salty-sweet dry curry. At her Toronto restaurant, Ms. Regular makes the curry paste from scratch, and in Thailand, you can purchase fresh curry paste by weight, but stateside, you’re more likely to find it in shelf-stable cans or jars. Salt and heat levels vary widely, so start with a little, then add more gradually, as desired. Citrusy, herbal Makrut lime leaves are essential to classic pad prik king (see Tip 2), but rest assured, this recipe is still delicious without them. —Alexa Weibel

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1teaspoon cornstarch
  • ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ½-by-2-inch strips
  • ¼cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 4teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3 to 4tablespoons red curry paste (see Tip 1)
  • 8ounces long beans or green beans, cut into 1-inch segments (about 2 cups)
  • 2teaspoons oyster sauce (preferably Thai)
  • 1½teaspoons sugar
  • 12makrut lime leaves (see Tip 2), thinly sliced crosswise
  • Cooked jasmine rice, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

375 calories; 20 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 412 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

  1. Step 1

    Marinate the chicken: In a medium bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons water with the cornstarch and salt. Add the chicken and stir vigorously to combine.

  2. Step 2

    Add the oil to a wok or large nonstick skillet and heat over medium. Add garlic and stir until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the curry paste and mash it into the oil until fragrant, darkened and starting to crumble, about 3 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Add the chicken mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the long beans, oyster sauce and ¼ cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 3 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Add the sugar and lime leaves and cook for 1 more minute. Serve over rice, or with rice on the side if serving with additional items.

Tips
  • Curry pastes range in intensity as much as palates range in their heat tolerance. If your curry paste is particularly thick and concentrated — and you don’t like a lot of heat — you might want to take it down a notch to 3 tablespoons. If your curry paste is somewhat wetter and looser — or you like this quite spicy — you can increase to taste. With any spicy item, it’s best to start with less and add than aim to reverse the flame.
  • For the brightest flavor, fresh lime leaves are ideal, but thawed frozen lime leaves work well, too. You can find fresh and frozen leaves at Thai or other Asian markets , and dried leaves online. (If using dried lime leaves, you can skip slicing them, for ease, and increase the amount, as their flavors are muted.)

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Ratings

5 out of 5
995 user ratings
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Comments

Tracy Pepatphong

Maseri or Mae Ploy curry paste are great options here. Also punch up the paste with more garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric if you have it accessible. Would also suggest a splash of Red Boat fish sauce or other higher quality to finish.

David Hays Buckley

Do you by chance recommend a brand or brands of curry paste to look for?

OV

The best is definitely Mae Ploy brand. If you can't find that then the next best is Aroy-D. Both are from Thailand. Any American brand pales in comparison.

Homegrown

The quality of the red curry paste makes or breaks this dish. I used Blue Dragon as that is what I had on hand and even with a very generous application it did not provide the flavour we hoped for. I will definitely be making this again, but with a good Thai brand of red curry paste. As suggested by some of the comments, I added some fish sauce to the chicken marinade; I will do that again.

Ash

I made a version of this with ground turkey. I added fish sauce and coconut milk at the end to create a saucier dish. It was a hit!

Eric Halvorson

Definitely steam the beans first! Otherwise by the time they’re cooked everything else will be overcooked. Unless you like super crunchy beans. I think you can use less oil, maybe 75%. I’d also add a little less water when tossing the beans in. The photo makes the dish look less saucy than it was for me. In fact the NYT photos almost NEVER look like what I make. Who wants to write a cookbook with me where all the photos are actually what the food looks like when humans make it???

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