The Weeknight Kitchen · Thai

Coconut Curry Chicken Thighs

Name: Coconut Curry Chicken Thighs
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 700 g boneless skinless chicken thighs; 5 g Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 15 ml neutral oil; 100 g shallots; 3 garlic cloves; 15 g fresh ginger; 50 g Thai red curry paste; 400 ml full-fat coconut milk; 15 ml fish sauce; 8 g brown sugar; 150 g red bell pepper; 15 ml lime juice; 10 g fresh Thai basil or cilantro

Golden-seared chicken thighs simmered in a fragrant red-curry coconut sauce — one pan, deeply forgiving, and on the table with a bowl of rice in about 35 minutes.

~35 min total 10 min prep 25 min cook

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Time ●●○○○ Some Doing

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Ingredients

Fry the curry paste, and let the thighs finish in the sauce. Cooking the curry paste in the hot pan for a full minute before the coconut milk goes in is what turns it from flat to deeply fragrant — don't skip it. And thighs are forgiving: in a gentle simmer they're nearly impossible to overcook, and the time in the sauce melts the connective tissue so dark meat comes out silky instead of dry — no thermometer required for a braise like this.

Before you start

Get these into the state the recipe asks for first — the steps that use them won't wait.

Slice the shallots, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger before you start — once the pan is going, the sauce comes together fast.
Shake the can of coconut milk before you open it, so the thick cream and the thin water are combined.

Method

Cook's notes

Thighs are hard to overcook — that's exactly why they're perfect for a forgiving weeknight curry. A few extra minutes in the sauce only make them silkier — no thermometer needed for a braise (why thighs are so forgiving).

Bone-in, skin-on thighs work beautifully and bring more flavor — sear them skin-side down first, and give them a few extra minutes until cooked through and tender.

Curry paste is the shortcut that isn't a compromise — a good canned paste (Maesri, Thai Kitchen) is how Thai home cooks do it too. Heat varies a lot by brand, so start with the 3 tbsp and stir in more at the end if you want it hotter, or drop in a sliced Thai chili.

Make it green: use green curry paste instead of red, and stir a couple of handfuls of spinach in at the end.

Serve over rice to catch the sauce — jasmine is classic, but any steamed rice is great. In the mood for more? The Goan Shrimp Curry is this dish's seafood cousin.

Easier, if you like

Skip the sear with a store rotisserie chicken: make the sauce (steps 3–4, minus the raw thighs), then fold in the pulled meat at the end and simmer 2–3 minutes just to warm it through and soak up the sauce.
Frozen stir-fry vegetables — a bag from the freezer aisle — can stand in for the bell pepper; add them straight from frozen with the coconut milk.

Make it gluten-free or vegan

Gluten-free: it already is, as long as your curry paste and fish sauce are — Maesri red curry paste and Red Boat fish sauce both are; just glance at the label.

Dairy-free: already dairy-free — all the richness comes from the coconut milk.

Vegan / vegetarian: swap the chicken for a drained can of chickpeas plus extra vegetables (or cubed firm tofu), and use soy sauce or tamari in place of the fish sauce.