Thai Curried Chicken with Coconut Milk
Submitted by starbuck3535
Thai-style chicken curry simmered in coconut milk with a homemade paste of bird’s eye chiles, ginger, toasted rice, cashews, and warm spices. Layered, fragrant, and built from scratch.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
60 minREADY
2 hrsThis is Thai chicken curry made the long way, with the paste pounded (or blended) from scratch instead of scooped from a jar. Bird’s eye chiles, fresh ginger, toasted rice, toasted coconut, cashews, and warm spices puree into a fragrant rust-colored paste that doubles as both marinade and sauce base.
The toasted-rice trick is borrowed from northeastern Thai cooking. Browning the rice in a dry pan before grinding gives it a smoky, nutty backbone that adds depth no fresh paste can match. The chicken takes on the spice rub for an hour, then browns in oil with sauteed onions before coconut milk and tomato pull everything into a sauce that thickens as it simmers.
Spoon it over jasmine rice with a wedge of lime and a handful of basil leaves.
Pro Tips
- Toast the rice in a dry pan over medium heat until medium brown, then cool before grinding; uncooled rice gums up the blender
- Bird’s eye chiles bring real heat; remove the seeds for a milder curry or dial back to two or three peppers
- Marinate the chicken for the full hour at room temperature, the rub clings better as the meat warms slightly
- Brown the chicken in batches if your pan is small; crowding steams instead of sears
- Stir occasionally while simmering and add a splash of water if the sauce reduces too fast
Variations
- Swap chicken for cubed pork shoulder or beef chuck; extend the simmer to 90 minutes for tenderness
- Toss in a handful of green beans or thinly sliced bell peppers in the last 10 minutes
- Stir a teaspoon of fish sauce into the sauce at the end for an extra umami punch
Ingredients
Directions
Place the chiles, coriander, ginger, rice, coconut, cumin, cashews, cinnamo nutmeg, and half of the onions in a blender or food processor and purée to make a paste.
Rub the spice mixture on the chicken and marinate for an hour at room temperature.
Sauté the remaining onions in the oil until golden.
Add the chicken, along with the seasoning paste, and brown, adding more oil if necessary.
Add the tomato and the coconut milk.
Simmer until the chicken is done and the sauce has been reduced, about 45 minutes to an hour.
To toast rice: Place the rice along with a little vegetable oil in a frying pan, and heat until the rice turns brown.
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