Red Curry Chicken and Rice Bowls

By Ali Slagle

Updated January 27, 2026

  • Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
1 hr
Rating
4(434)
Comments
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This cozy yet reviving rice bowl pairs Thai red curry-stained rice with tender chicken and a citrusy slaw. To fire up the red curry paste, toast it with the raw rice before adding broth. Then, place chicken breasts on top of the rice, where they will steam tender. While the rice rests, mix together a salad with a nuoc cham-inspired dressing, pre-shredded slaw blend, citrus, peanuts and herbs. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1½ cups long-grain white rice

  • 2 tablespoons to ⅓ cup Thai red curry paste, to taste

  • 2 cups chicken broth

  • 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry

  • 3 garlic cloves

  • 2 limes

  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more to taste

  • 4 tangerines or other small, sweet citrus

  • ⅓ cup salted peanuts

  • 12 to 16 ounces slaw blend

  • 1 cup cilantro or mint leaves, or a mix

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

76 grams carbs; 129 milligrams cholesterol; 632 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 701 milligrams sodium; 51 grams protein; 6 grams sugar

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

    In a large Dutch oven over medium, add the rice and red curry paste to taste. Stir until fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. 

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the broth. Place the chicken breasts on top, spread the tops of the breasts with a little more red curry paste, then bring to a boil over high. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 23 minutes. (Make sure to look under the chicken to see if the rice is cooked.) Turn off the heat, transfer the chicken to a cutting board, then cover the rice and let both rest for at least 10 minutes. 

  3. Step 3

    While the rice rests, into a large bowl, finely grate the garlic and zest of the limes. Add the juices of the limes and the fish sauce. Peel the tangerines and thinly slice. Add to the bowl. Coarsely chop the peanuts. Add the slaw, peanuts and herbs to the dressing and toss to coat.

  4. Step 4

    Thinly slice the chicken. Season the rice to taste with fish sauce. Eat the rice with the chicken and slaw.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
434 user ratings
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Comments

Max

I really enjoy Thai food and I have overwhelmingly positive results from the NYT cooking app. But this one was a miss. The chicken takes longer to cook than the recipe states. But cooking the rice longer results in the rice becoming paste. Would recommend cooking chicken and rice separately. The zest of two limes was too much and overpowered the slaw.

Dave Holland

I found this dish to be quite dry. I had to scale it for 6 people but it still could have used more of the lime juice dressing. Would consider some flavor added to the slaw as well otherwise it simply adds another dry factor. Overall taste was quite nice.

Contrapunctus

I'd take a couple of cues from Pailin of Hot Thai Kitchen: 1) use a quality red curry paste such as Mae Ploy; and 2) start cooking the curry paste in a small amount (~2/3 c) of good coconut milk, such as Aroy-D. The coconut milk will emulsify with the curry paste and then eventually the coconut oil will break out of the emulsion and the curry paste essentially fries gently. Use the rest of the coconut milk, thinned out with the chicken broth, for the cooking liquid. Lastly, I'd be inclined to use boneless thighs, as they do cook through in the given time, but failing that, pounding the breasts to a thinner depth seems the way to go.

Amber

I made this last night and followed directions mostly as written. I used more broth than the recipe called for. I used a whole jar of the red curry in the rice and on the chicken breas. My chicken was juicy. I made the slaw as directed but added a bit more of the lime juice to balance the fish sauce. It was a bit one note but that being said, I found it to be tasty when all the components were eaten together.

Amy

Absolutely amazing. So many good flavors cleverly mixed to allow for sweet and savory, soft and crunchy. Immediately added to our regular rotation.

anthony

The flavors here were quite good. I substituted red cabbage in the carrot and some green onion and added everything else. The amount of dressing is sparse you gonna double up on the lime juice and the fish sauce and the rice needs cooked with a little bit more liquid. Everything needs chopped to precision. It’s very light and I love how there is no oil other than in the peanuts.

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