Servings
Font
Back
5.0 from 195 votes

The Best Thai Chicken Panang Curry

Thai panang chicken curry is a rich curry with complex flavors. You’ll need under 30 minutes to make this bright and hearty curry.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 460 kcal
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian , Thai

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lbs chicken thigh boneless, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 white onion finely chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 green bell peppers chopped
  • 1 red bell peppers chopped
  • ½ inch galangal roughly sliced
  • 1 inch lemongrass roughly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 small jar Thai Panang curry paste measured to about 4 ½ tablespoons
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 pinch nutmeg powder optional
  • salt to taste if required
  • 2 teaspoon palm sugar or brown sugar
  • 6-8 kaffir lime leave crushed
  • 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
  • ¼ cup Thai basil leaves

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Heat skillet or deep bottom pan. Add coconut oil and wait until oil melts.
  2. Sauté finely chopped onions in hot coconut oil until onion is translucent.
  3. Add roughly chopped galangal, lemon grass.
  4. Add minced garlic, red and green bell peppers. Cook for 2 minutes constantly stirring.
  5. Push veggies to one side of the pan. Add washed and cleaned chicken things. Cook until chicken browns a bit and changes colour.
  6. Mix chicken and veggies together. Continue cooking it for a minute more.
  7. Again gather chicken veggie mix to one side of the pan. Scoop out Thai Panang curry paste ( or Thai red curry paste) to empty side of pan. Stir the paste and fry it in oil. Wait until oil separates from the paste. Pro-Tip : Do not skip frying curry paste in oil. Flavors cone out and curry turns delicious with this step.
  8. Stir in unsweetened peanut butter, fish sauce and palm sugar. Nutmeg powder to be added now if using. Take Kaffir lime leaves on your palm and crush it. Add crushed kaffir lime leaves to the pan. Note - If you can’t get palm sugar , substitute with brown sugar or jaggery.  Crushing kaffir lime leaves helps release its wonderful aromatic oil, making Panang curry flavorsome.
  9. Cook stirring regularly for 2 minutes.
  10. Simmer flame. Pour in thick coconut milk. Give it a good stir.
  11. Let it cook for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
  12. Turn off the flame. Add Thai basil leaves. Stir.
  13. It’s great when served with steamed jasmine rice. You can also serve with rice noodles.

Notes

  •  
  • Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
  • Fry curry paste - The essential step to make a good curry with great taste is frying curry paste until you see the oil separates from the curry paste.
  • Kaffir lime leaves - Crushing kaffir lime leaves before adding to the curry will release all its aromatic oil to the curry. 
  • Peanut allergy? Panang curry paste usually has peanuts. If you are allergic to peanuts, you may want to avoid this curry.
  • Fish sauce - adjust as per taste preference. I would skip salt if adding fish sauce.
  • Coconut oil - gives curry a better taste. You can substitute with vegetable oil or canola oil, I don't recommend olive oil.
  • Spicier curry - The recipe makes medium spicy curry. If you want to make it spicier, use curry paste that is spicy enough, or use 1 or 2 birds-eye chili in the recipe. 
  • Palm sugar substitute - If you can’t get palm sugar, substitute with brown sugar or jaggery.

Nutrition Information

Calories 460kcal (23%) Carbohydrates 9g (3%) Protein 21g (42%) Fat 38g (58%) Saturated Fat 21g (105%) Cholesterol 111mg (37%) Sodium 271mg (11%) Potassium 534mg (15%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 860IU (17%) Vitamin C 44.4mg (49%) Calcium 35mg (4%) Iron 3.6mg (20%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 460

% Daily Value*

Calories 460kcal 23%
Carbohydrates 9g 3%
Protein 21g 42%
Fat 38g 58%
Saturated Fat 21g 105%
Cholesterol 111mg 37%
Sodium 271mg 11%
Potassium 534mg 11%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 860IU 17%
Vitamin C 44.4mg 49%
Calcium 35mg 4%
Iron 3.6mg 20%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.