Do you ever have those days where you wake up and think, “I would do anything right now, to be on a sunny island in Thailand, with a big, spicy bowl of curry in front of my face”?
Because I do.
And today was one of those days.
Inconveniently, though, I’m over here in California. And no matter how much I want it to be, going to Thailand just isn’t on the agenda today.
So instead of pouting, I’ve decided to bring Thailand to me.
Today, I’m cooking up a big ol’ pot of Thailand, in the form of some creamy yellow curry, packed with tender chicken, potatoes, carrots, and onions.
I know I can hardly wait to share my Thai yellow curry recipe with you. So let me ask you one thing.
Are you ready for this?!
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This Thai yellow curry recipe couldn’t be easier to make, and it couldn’t be more satisfying either.
It’s one spicy, creamy, flavorful trip to Thailand, packed into one bowl. And it’s healthy, too!
Serve this curry over some rice, and garnish with a pinch of cilantro, and you’ll transport yourself to a faraway land — the Land of Smiles — where the sun is hot, the curry is even hotter, the Asian elephants roam, and the beaches are nothing short of screensaver material.
To make this Thai yellow curry recipe properly and authentically, you need one very important ingredient: Mae Anong Karee Curry Paste.
If you search high and low, you might be able to find yellow curry paste at the grocery store. But if you want your curry to taste just like the curry you’ve had in Thailand — or at your favorite Thai restaurant — you need this curry paste, which is imported straight from Bangkok.
Trust me on this one.
The hardest part about this Thai yellow curry recipe is simply waiting for the mailman to deliver your beautiful parcel of curry paste.
Once you have it, all you need to do is thinly slice your chicken, chop up your vegetables, and let the curry paste work its magic.
And of course, you can’t forget to throw in some of that thick and luscious coconut milk. Mmmmm. Yes, please.
Staycation Eats: Thai Yellow Curry Recipe with Chicken
A staycation never looked so good. Am I right?
Seriously, this stuff is the real deal.
Making this Thai yellow curry recipe is like taking a trip to Thailand, but without the jet lag and the expensive plane ticket. It’s creamy, spicy, and healthy, and it’s everything you’ve been needing in your life.
And if you don’t have all the ingredients, don’t worry! This recipe is very versatile, so you can add in whatever vegetables and proteins you have on hand.
This Thai yellow curry is authentic and absolutely delicious. And now that you’ve seen this post, you know you want to make it! So what are you waiting for?!
Authentic Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken
Craving some authentic Thai yellow curry? Don't have the time to take an island vacation? Well, this simple, spicy, and delicious recipe will take your tastebuds on a journey to Thailand, and you don't even have to leave your own kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- 4 tbsp yellow curry paste
- 2 15-ounce cans of coconut milk
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/8" rounds
- 4 medium-size potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 yellow onion, sliced into wedges, then halved
- 2 chicken breasts, very thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- cilantro, for garnish (if desired)
- serve with jasmine rice (if desired)
Instructions
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Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain and set aside.
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Then, in a large pot, heat up coconut oil.
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Add curry paste to oil, and stir for a few minutes.
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Add in coconut milk and chicken stock, and stir. Bring to a boil.
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Add in carrots and onions.
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Once carrots are almost fork-tender, add in very thinly sliced chicken and cook for two or three minutes. Then remove from heat.
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Add in potatoes.
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Stir in fish sauce, salt, and sugar.
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If desired, serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure to purchase this yellow curry paste from Amazon. While you might be able to find other yellow curry pastes at the grocery store, none of them are as authentic as this one, which comes straight from Thailand!
- If you don't have virgin coconut oil, you can also use vegetable oil.
- You can make this recipe vegetarian/vegan by simply omitting the chicken and fish sauce. Just make sure to salt the curry accordingly.
- We used this mandoline, to cut all of the carrots equally, and to give them that fun, ridged texture.
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Did you try making our Thai yellow curry recipe? Let us know how it went by commenting below and tagging @travelalphas or #travelalphas on Instagram!
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YUM! I just made curry last week. Mine is really similar–just add veggies, coconut milk, and curry paste (I prefer red). It’s one of those ridiculously easy meals I forget about, and then when I finally make it again I kick myself for not making it more!
Also, gorgeous photos! Look at you, miss professional food photographer ;)
-Claire
It’s so easy and sooooo good! Thank you, that means a lot — I’m trying! :)
Do you need to “break” the coconut milk? I tried a curry recipe recently and found that it wasn’t the right consistency bc I didn’t wait 7-10 minutes for the break (read this tip in comments section after I cooked) Ended up cheating with corn starch and it was delicious but looking for something more authentic
Hi Beth,
You can do it that way if you choose to.
However, this recipe first calls for cooking your curry paste in coconut oil, which should give you that same rich curry flavor you’re looking for. So if you have coconut oil on hand, follow this recipe and then you will add the coconut milk in at a later step.
If not, you should break the coconut milk.
What does it mean…to break the coconut milk?
How many servings do you get from this recipe? I’m looking to serve it to 4 adults for dinner.
Hi Jennifer! This recipe will serve 4-6, depending on your portion sizes. Please let us all know how it goes. :)
This looks great! One question I have, how is the chicken cooked? Do i boil in a pot and shred? Cook in a pan and cut thin? Or do I put it raw and have it cook in the soup for 3 minutes? Just want to make sure I’m doing this correctly
Take your raw chicken and thinly slice it. Then you’ll add it to the curry toward the end of the process (see the directions) and it’ll cook in there – it should only take a few minutes. Enjoy!
Hi! Can I use curry powder if I don’t have the paste?
Thanks!
You technically could…but I would not recommend it. You won’t get the same result. Curry powders are often Indian, while pastes are usually Thai, so they have completely different flavor profiles. See our Indian curry recipe (it’s my absolute favorite) if you prefer to use your curry powder!
Hi, thank you for this recipe! I just tried it. I bought my paste from an Asian store, so I felt confident with it. The taste was good, but very runny. Any suggestions to get the thick texture? Thank you, Shirley
Hi Shirley,
I suspect it could have been your coconut milk. Some brands are much runnier than others. If possible, try making it with this coconut milk brand next time. Then make sure to cook down the curry to the thickness and consistency you want before you add in the vegetables and chicken. And if all else fails, you can always use corn starch to thicken… However, keep in mind that Thai curries should not be very thick.
I used coconut cream instead of milk and cooked the potatoes in the sauce. It was thicker than with coconut milk.
This is a very good recipe! I followed the advice and bought the recommended coconut milk and paste and it tastes better than that of my favorite restaurant. The second time I made it, I substituted the coconut milk for cream. I also cooked the potatoes in the sauce. I simply added the potatoes before the rest of the vegetables and allowed it to cook until near fork ender. I proceeded to add the rest of the veggies and finished following the recipe. This is a matter of personal taste, the recipe is very good as is :)
Made this last night and it was so so good. I was a little skeptical that the chicken could cook that quickly, but I sliced it really really really thin as directed and it came out perfect. Mine was a tad thin so I add some cornstarch to a cup and spooned some of the coconut curry liquid in to the cup at the end to make a slurry and it helped, but next time I will use the suggested coconut milk which others have said make all the difference. Thank you for this really delicious recipe, it tasted just like the one that made me fall in love with yellow curry to start with :)
Hi Natalie!
Thank you for the report back. We are so happy to hear that you loved the recipe. :)
– Maddy
I have recently fell in love with Thai yellow curry so I am excited to try this. Question though, is the fish sauce absolutely necessary? I hate fish and worry that by adding the fish sauce it will give the fish a fish taste. Will it still come out delicious if I omit it?
You could use salt, but then you won’t get that umami flavor from the fish sauce. I’d recommend not omitting it. Using fish sauce will not make the curry taste “fishy.”
I am just waiting for my amazon package to arrive so I can make this delicious looking recipe! I have one question- it never fails that I mess up any recipes using coconut milk. Whenever I open a can it always has solid substance at the bottom and liquid at the top. So, do I open the can and only use the liquidy stuff? Do I use the solid stuff only? Or do I shake the Can and mix it all together and just use it all?
My first attempt at any curry and this recipie is just wonderful as is, which makes me very happy! My Husband told me he wasn’t very hungry for dinner and then proceeded to eat a big bowl of it and proclaim I can make it again! Thank you!
Hi,
The flavor of this was pretty good, but I had a few observations.
-I always prefer recipes that give me the actual weights of vegetables in addition to the number of vegetables. This makes it easier to scale recipes based on what I have or to make substitutions. I used baby potatoes sliced in half rather than Yukons.
-I like recipes that give me approximate times for various steps. This helps me coordinate preparation of multiple dishes or gives me an idea of the time I’ve got to do something else. In particular, it would be good to have an approximate cooking time for the carrot slices.
-I tried using my mandoline to make wavy carrot slices, and found it to be a potentially dangerous endeavor. I couldn’t use the hand guard to slice the carrots end on, but rather had to do each one by hand, taking great care to avoid the blade. On my mandoline, 1/8th inch slices were hard to do. Further, the 1/8th inch slices overcooked slightly. Next time I’ll make them thicker.
-I agree with other posters that cooking the potatoes in the same pot with the sauce would have been simpler. It took about 4 minutes for the carrot slices to become tender followed by 3 minutes for chicken, so…I would have added the potatoes, cooked for about 3 or 4 minutes, and then added the carrots, onion and chicken.
-I found the sauce to be a little thin and the curry a bit strong. My personal preference would be to cut down on both.
This is truly the best curry recipe that I’ve come across, AND the best food/travel blog. I’ll deeeefinitly be coming back for more :)
My first time making curry, it was good! I added a few more veggies and some bamboo shoots. I would probably cut back on adding 2 cans of coconut milk would probably use just 1 can and a half.
I’m glad I found there’re people love making authentic Thai yellow curry. It looks so good with a variety of vegetables in it. Also, using fish sauce is the key!
Try to make the coconut milk “cracked,” and you will experience a smooth texture of it.
Thanks for sharing:)
Hi! I made this recipe last year and I’m wondering if it changed? The recipe now calls for chicken stock instead of water. Just curious why the change? Just trying to see if i should stick with the original i have here. Thanks!
Made this tonight, followed the recipe exactly. I wouldn’t change a single thing. It was so very good! Loved it! Better than my favorite local Thai food place!
Hi,
I live in the UK and can not buy your yellow curry paste. Can you suggest an substitute brand please.
Could garlic and ginger be added?
Definitely. I believe that those ingredients are already in the paste, but if you wanted to add more, you could.
I live in the UK. Love this recipe, I am a terrible cook but my favourite Thai Restaurant changed owners and the food is not the same so I thought I would try to make it myself and this recipe was so easy to follow and it tastes great.
I went down to our local oriental supermarket but the didn’t have the paste you used but they suggested the Mae Ploy Yellow curry paste instead which I used. I am making another batch this afternoon but will try half coconut milk and half cream as it was a bit too runny with 2 x milk for me.
Thank you x
I want to make the sauce to take to a friend. Would go ahead and add the fish sauce step to the curry and then bottle it? She’d heat up her own veggies and poor it over. Would it ruin the flavor?
That would be fine!
I tried making yellow curry in the past and it was terrible! I’m so thankful for this recipe, it’s amazing and one of my family’s favorites.
We have made this for our prep meal lunches. We use the curry paste suggested on your website and love it! Instead of chicken, we add lots of veggies. It’s so good. Thanks for the recipe and the curry paste link.
Can you make this in a crock pot?
What brand of fish sauce?
Just fabulous!!! Better than our local restaurant. Did add bit more grated ginger and minced garlic with yellow curry paste. Made it with some baked tofu fingers this week. The BEST!