Thai Yellow Chicken Curry is a creamy and flavorful dish with a bright golden color, a classic in Thai cuisine. It's made with smooth yellow curry paste, tender chicken, and fresh vegetables. The tangy tamarind paste and fragrant Thai basil bring a wonderful depth of flavor to the dish.
What You’ll Find On This Page
You can have this curry ready in under 30 minutes, making it great for lunch or dinner. Serve it with jasmine, white, or brown rice for a satisfying meal. The bright yellow color and rich flavors really make this dish stand out. I've also shared a vegetarian and vegan version of the curry below for you to explore and try.
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Ingredients and Substitutions Overview
For this Thai Yellow Curry, you'll need a few basic ingredients that are staples in Asian cooking. You can find most of them at any Asian grocery store. Here's what you'll need:
- Chicken: Use skinless, boneless chicken and cut it into bite-sized pieces so it can soak up all the delicious curry flavor.
- Yellow Curry Paste: I recommend using homemade curry paste for the freshest flavor, made from traditional spices and herbs. But if you're in a hurry, store-bought paste works just fine and still tastes great.
- Tamarind Paste: This adds a light tangy flavor, balancing out the curry with its mild sourness.
- Coconut Milk: Go for unsweetened coconut milk in a carton or can. If you want extra creaminess, making your own coconut milk at home adds a fresh, rich texture.
- Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar: Palm sugar has a caramel-like flavor and is traditionally used in authentic recipes. If you can’t find it, brown sugar is a great substitute.
- Vegetables: I like using a mix of yellow squash, carrots, green bell peppers, and potatoes. But feel free to swap in your favorite veggies to make it your own.
- Fried Onions: Fried onions are a traditional garnish that add a nice crunch and a bit of sweetness.
- Basil Leaves: Thai basil is best for that fresh, fragrant aroma, but if you can’t find it, regular basil works too.
How to Make Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken?
Let's get started and make this delicious Thai Yellow Curry! I've shared step-by-step photos and a video guide below to help you master this flavorful dish. Let's bring the taste of Thailand right to your kitchen.
Explore a Variety of Curry Recipes:
- Thai Green Curry
- Thai Red Curry
- Panang Curry
- Massaman Curry
- Coconut Chicken Curry
- Japanese Chicken Curry
- Jamaican Chicken Curry
- Chicken Curry
Thai Yellow Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 0.75 lb Chicken, boneless bite-size pieces
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 4 Shallots, medium size, sliced
- 4 tbsp Yellow Curry Paste
- Salt, to taste
- 2 cup Yellow Squash, 1 medium size
- ¼ cup Carrot
- ¼ cup Green Bell Pepper, or any color
- ½ cup Potato, medium size
- 1 cup Coconut Milk, unsweetened
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar, or palm sugar for authenticity
- ¼ tsp Tamarind Paste
- ¼ cup Green Onion
- ¼ cup Thai Basil Leaves
Instructions
Making Thai Yellow Curry
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the sliced Shallots and fry them until they turn golden brown. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.
- Remove the fried onions and set them aside on a plate for garnishing later. They’ll add a nice crunchy texture and a slight sweetness to the finished curry.
- In the same pan, sauté the yellow curry paste in the remaining oil. Cook it for about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste becomes fragrant. This step helps release the spices and flavors from the paste.
- Add the chicken pieces and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat the chicken evenly in the curry paste. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken starts to cook through.
- Cover the pan and let the chicken simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes. This helps the chicken to cook evenly and soak up the curry flavors.
- Remove the lid, give the chicken a quick stir, then add the squash, bell pepper, carrot, and potatoes. These vegetables add color, texture, and nutrition to the curry. Make sure to cut them into similar sizes so they cook evenly.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stir gently. Add the tamarind paste, brown sugar, and extra salt to taste. The coconut milk gives the curry its rich, creamy texture, while the tamarind and brown sugar balance the flavors with tanginess and sweetness.
- Cover the pan again and let the curry cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender but still hold their shape. Be careful not to overcook them, as the veggies should retain some bite.
- Add the green onions and Thai basil leaves. Stir them in gently to combine. The fresh basil adds a fragrant that elevates the flavor of the curry, while the green onions give a bit of crunch.
- Lower the heat and let the curry simmer for a couple of minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Garnish with the fried onions we prepared earlier, and your delicious yellow curry is ready to serve.
Serving
- Enjoy this flavorful Thai Yellow Curry over rice, perfect for a satisfying lunch or dinner.
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Recipe Video
Chef's Notes and Tips
- Maximize Flavor: Start by sautéing the yellow curry paste in oil until it's fragrant. This crucial step releases the full depth of flavors from the fresh ingredients in the paste, making your curry taste even better.
- Vegetable Cooking Times: For mixed vegetables, be mindful of their different cooking times. Start with firmer vegetables like potatoes or carrots, and add softer ones like bell peppers and zucchini later to prevent overcooking. This helps the vegetables retain their texture.
- Coconut Milk: For a richer curry, use full-fat coconut milk. If you prefer a lighter version, go for lite coconut milk. You can also adjust the thickness by adding more coconut milk for a creamier texture or using less for a thicker sauce.
- Balancing Sweetness and Tang: If you're using tamarind paste and palm sugar (or brown sugar), taste the curry as you cook and adjust the balance of sweet and tangy. If the curry feels too tangy, add a bit more sugar, or if it’s too sweet, a squeeze of lime juice can help balance it out.
- Spice Level: If you want to increase the heat, you can add a few slices of fresh chili or crushed red pepper while sautéing the curry paste. This allows you to adjust the spice level according to your taste preferences.
- Versatile Protein Choices: Although chicken is used in the recipe, feel free to substitute it with shrimp or opt for mixed vegetables for a vegetarian or vegan version. Be sure to check the dedicated section below for details on how to make a plant-based version.
- Adding Shrimp: If you're using shrimp, add them towards the end of cooking since they cook quickly. Let the curry simmer for 3 to 5 minutes to cook the shrimp perfectly without making them tough.
Nutrition Info
Disclaimer
We're not nutrition experts, and the nutritional information provided is an estimate. Please use it as a guide. For precise details, it's best to consult a professional. To learn more, please view our Detailed Disclaimers.
How to Make Yellow Curry with Vegetables?
Making Yellow Curry with Vegetables is simple and only requires a few tweaks to the original recipe. It's easily adaptable for vegetarian or vegan diets. Here’s how you can do it:
- Protein Substitute: Swap the chicken for plant-based proteins like cooked chickpeas, tofu, or tempeh. These options not only make the dish vegetarian but also cut down cooking time, as they cook faster than chicken. For tofu, you can use firm or extra-firm tofu and pan-fry it lightly before adding it to the curry for a bit more texture.
- Vegan-Friendly Curry Paste: Traditional yellow curry paste may contain shrimp paste or fish sauce. Look for vegan or vegetarian-friendly yellow curry paste at Asian grocery stores or online. Alternatively, you can make your own curry paste at home using ingredients like lemongrass, turmeric, and chili, leaving out any animal-based products. You can check out my homemade yellow curry paste for reference.
- Vegetable Selection: You can mix and match vegetables depending on what's in season or what you have on hand. You can go with the options like bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, baby corn, or spinach. These veggies hold up well in the curry and absorb the flavors nicely. Just adjust cooking times based on the firmness of the vegetables (e.g., carrots will take longer to cook than zucchini).
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this curry warm over a bowl of jasmine, white, or brown rice. The mild flavors of these rice varieties pair perfectly with the rich and aromatic curry, making it a satisfying choice for lunch or dinner.
Storage Suggestions
Thai Yellow Curry is delicious and you can be enjoy it fresh, but like many curries, it often tastes even better the next day as the flavors have more time to develop. Letting it sit overnight allows the spices and aromatics to stand out more. Feel free to make it ahead and enjoy it later! To store, place the curry in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 2 days.
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