Red Curry Chicken and Rice Bowls
Updated January 27, 2026
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
- Ready In
- 1 hr
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
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
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Step 4
Thinly slice the chicken. Season the rice to taste with fish sauce. Eat the rice with the chicken and slaw.
Private Notes
Comments
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.
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.
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.
This seems like a recipe that could work being made directly in a rice cooker. I generally have luck with proteins and rice being done at the same time within the rice cooker. Going to test it out. Has anyone already tried?
This recipe was a bust. The flavors were poor together. I like garlic cooked rather than raw so my mistake.
The slaw is the star of this recipe! Truly inspired. My chicken was juicy and tender but needed salt. Other than that, a nice, easy, and delicious dish.