Thai Red Chicken Curry

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by Heidi Larsen Published: March 4, 2026

Canned coconut milk mixed with red curry paste, ginger, and garlic makes the perfect base for this 30-minute Thai red chicken curry.

Thai Red Curry Chicken and Rice is my dish

Why Order Takeout When You Can Make Chicken Curry in 30 Minutes?

With a silky smooth coconut curry sauce, a rainbow medley of veggies, and delicious chicken strips, this red chicken curry is what weeknight dreams are made of.

Like Thai Turkey Meatballs in Coconut Red Curry Sauce and Thai Green Chicken Curry, this recipe comes together in 30 minutes but tastes like it’s been crying all afternoon.

My secret? A combination of mild spices deepens the flavor of the red curry paste, with high-quality fish sauce and a few spoonfuls of sugar balancing all the umami flavors.

Feel free to mix and match veggies to use whatever is in your ingredient drawer. This is a flexible recipe that is easy to adjust as needed.

Enjoy!

Heidi’s Tips for Cooking Success

A good quality fish sauce makes all the difference. Not all brands of fish sauce are created equal! If you buy a cheap or bad bottle, it will taste very salty and fishy. It’s the only type I use in my curries in Red Boat, which has a deep double flavor that adds the umami flavor we’re going for.

Sauté the curry paste in hot oil to stir the flavors. The (most) spices in the curry paste dissolve, and when it comes into contact with the hot oil it “blooms” and its flavor becomes deeper and more complex. This is a simple – but often overlooked – way to make store-bought curry paste taste a million times better.

Dice the chicken for extra juiciness. If you’ve ever had red curry at a Thai restaurant before, you’ve probably noticed the thin slice they cut their chicken into. The reason they do this is that the chicken cooks evenly in a short time. If you cut the chicken breasts into large pieces, it will crack more tightly and dig out from the cooking time.

Essential Ingredients

What's in Thai Red Curry Chicken and Vegetables?

The full recipe, with quantities, can be found in the recipe card below.

Chicken — Since we cut the chicken and cook it for only 5 minutes or so, we can get away with using lean chicken breasts instead of thighs.
Fish sauce — If you have never cooked with fish sauce, don’t let the name scare you. It doesn’t make the chicken curry taste fishy in the slightest, it just adds that deep umami flavor that Thai curries are famous for.
Fresh aromatics – This is one of the recipes where dried herbs and spices do not work. You need garlic and ginger to be fresh to make a more nuanced flavor curry.
Milk coconut milk – Check the ingredients list to make sure it contains only coconut milk and water as a second ingredient. Avoid any coconut milk that has a long list of ingredients including thickeners, preservatives, etc.
Brown sugar — It doesn’t make the curry tasty, it just balances out all the salty, umami from the fish sauce and curry paste.
Vegetables — You can use any veggie you like, but I used a mix of bell peppers, potatoes, beans, and carrots. Curries are a great way to soak in those veggies!
Lime juice + Thai basil — When you taste coconut curry after cooking, it seems that something is missing. That “something” is a hit of acidity from fresh lime and herbaceousness from Thai basil.

Ingredient Swaps and Substitutions

Swap the red curry paste for green to green chicken curry
Add chicken and a can of drained and drained chickpeas or crispy tofu
Mix and match vegetables using whatever you have (white potatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, pumpkin, etc. can be used)

How to make Thai Red Chicken Curry

Sauté the aromatics. Heat oil in a large skillet and add curry paste, garlic, and ginger. Stir constantly for two minutes to thoroughly stir everything and create a fragrant curry.
Make coconut curry sauce. Add the coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, and a little water. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

Thai Red Curry with chicken and vegetables cooking in a skillet

Add the vegetables, then the chicken. You want to add dry carrots and potatoes first as they need more time to soak, then the beans. Add the chicken last to avoid accidentally overcooking it.

Thai Red Curry Chicken in a skillet with vegetables

Make and serve. A final squeeze of lime juice and a few torn Thai basil brings everything together.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.

Thai Red Curry with chicken

Canned coconut milk mixed with red curry paste, ginger, and garlic makes the perfect base for this 30-minute Thai red chicken curry.

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Course Main course

Cuisine Thai

Keyword chicken curry, Thai curry

Preparation Time 10 minutes

Cooking Time 20 minutes

All the time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 246kcal

Ingredients

2 spoons vegetable or canola oil
3 spoons red curry paste
2 garlic clove, pressed or minced
1 a spoon roasted fresh ginger
1 (14-ounce) can of full-fat coconut milk
3 spoons brown sugar
2 spoons fish sauce
⅓ cup water
2 carrots peeled and cut
1 red red pepper seeded and thinly sliced
1 sweet potato peeled and cut
4 ounces green beans chopped and diced (about 1 cup)
6 ounces skinless skinless chicken breast thinly sliced
½ lime juiced
½ cup Thai basil it was torn
1 red chile or jalapeno he was cut
White rice to serve

Instructions

Cook the spices so that their flavors bloom. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add 3 tablespoons of red curry paste and 2 crushed garlic cloves, and 1 tablespoon of fresh roasted ginger. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add hot cereal. Add 14 cups of coconut milk, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and ⅓ cup of water. Mix well and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the vegetables and chicken to the sauce. Add 2 diced carrots, 1 diced bell pepper, and 1 cubed sweet potato. Cook for five minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add one cup chopped green beans and six ounces chopped chicken breast. Simmer until the chicken is cooked, 3-5 minutes.
Add the final touch. Add the juice of ½ lime, and ½ cup torn Thai basil leaves. Taste and add more lime juice if needed. Serve with white rice and chopped red chile or jalapeño if desired.

Nutrition

FAQs

Can I use chicken stock?

I think you could! You want to brown it in another skillet and then add it to the curry at the end of the cooking time to prevent it from being dry or chewy.

How spicy is this recipe?

It’s not too spicy, don’t worry! I always like my Thai curries to have a hint of heat to them, but nothing that will make your eyes water.

What to Serve with Thai Chicken Curry

Care tips

You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Curry is like cream, in that it tastes best after it has been refrigerated overnight. The vegetables have time to soak up the delicious coconut curry sauce and add a wonderful flavor.

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