Chicken Panang

If you’ve never made Thai curry at home, this Panang is the place to start. It’s fast, it’s forgiving, and it’ll fill your kitchen with the most intoxicating aroma.

Panang curry paste gets stir-fried in oil until it blooms and turns deeply fragrant (fair warning: crack a window). Then coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, sliced chicken breast, and green peas all go in together. Ten minutes of simmering and you’ve got a thick, creamy, slightly sweet curry with a kick of heat.

Serve it over steamed jasmine rice with sliced red chili on top. Twenty-five minutes, start to finish.

Kitchen Tips

• Fry the curry paste in oil before adding anything else. This step blooms the spices and transforms the paste from raw and sharp to fragrant and complex.
• Use full-fat coconut milk. Light coconut milk makes a thin, watery curry that won’t coat the chicken properly.
• Fish sauce smells intense on its own but adds a salty, umami depth that makes the whole dish sing. Don’t substitute soy sauce. It’s not the same.
• Panang curry is thicker than other Thai curries. If yours looks soupy, simmer uncovered for a few extra minutes to reduce it.