Tips and Tricks
What is Thai yellow curry? Thai yellow curry is made with yellow curry paste, coconut milk, vegetables, pineapple and is best served over rice. Yellow curry paste has tumeric, curry powder, cinnamon, coriander, lemongrass, cumin, garlic and dried red chiles. Each brand has their own recipe, but these are typical ingredients.
How to make thai yellow curry? First start by making the rice. While the rice is cooking, preheat a dutch oven over medium heat. Chop up the onion and chicken breasts or thighs. Add canola oil into the dutch oven and saute onions for two minutes over medium heat. Next the chicken and yellow curry paste goes into the dutch oven. Stir together well and saute for three to four minutes. The chicken will not be cooked through yet and that’s okay. While the chicken is cooking, cut the baby potatoes in half. After three or four minutes, add in potatoes, heavy cream and coconut milk. Stir to combine and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes uncovered until potatoes are fork tender and chicken is cooked. While the potatoes are cooking, chop up broccoli, red bell pepper and fresh pineapple. Once the potatoes are cooked, add in broccoli and red bell pepper. Cook for three more minutes until broccoli is tender. Turn off the heat and add pineapple, brown sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir well to combine and season to taste. Serve finished sauce over rice.
Is Thai yellow curry spicy? If you are extremely sensitive to spice, I’d avoid this dish. Yellow curry paste is somewhat spicy. Not burn your face off spicy, but there is some heat. It is tamed a bit with the heavy cream, pineapple and lime juice, but you still feel a bit of the heat
Method
What does it mean to julienne peppers? It basically means to cut them into long strips. But if you’re struggling, just chop them up into bite sized pieces and that will be fine.
Storage and Leftovers
How to store Thai yellow curry? The best way to store Thai yellow curry is to store the rice separate from the sauce. When you store them together (which I have done), the sauce gets absorbed almost completely into the rice. So it’s still delicious, but can become a little dry. If you’re at home, adding a little more coconut milk or heavy cream will bring it back. But if you’re at work, this can be disappointing. I suggest to store them separately in airtight container in the fridge for three to four days.
How do you reheat Thai yellow curry? The best way to reheat Thai yellow curry is to reheat together. Pour the sauce over the rice and reheat everything together so that the rice does not dry out in the microwave. Stir to make sure it’s evenly heated and enjoy.
How do you serve Thai yellow curry? I serve my Thai yellow curry over brown rice, but you can easily choose any cooked grain (including quinoa or farro!) or soak it the extra sauce with naan or pita.
Can you use this as a meal prep option? YES!!!! I do it probably once a month and eat it for multiple meals in a row. I’ll eat it for dinner and then lunch for two more days. It tastes even better the next day and heats up really well. The sauce soaks into the rice and makes a delicious lunch or dinner meal prep option.
Ingredients
What kind of rice do you serve with Thai yellow curry? I usually do brown rice but you can use whatever you have or prefer. You just want something to soak up the delicious sauce. I’ve used white rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, quinoa, farro and even cauliflower rice. It depends on what’s in my house.
Where do you find yellow curry paste? I’ve always found it in the international or Asian sections of the supermarket. The one I use is Maesri Yellow Curry Paste and I freeze the rest of the can. Make sure that your curry paste is a paste and not a sauce as it’s more concentrated.
Do you have to use heavy cream? If you’re looking to reduce the fat, you can use milk but the consistency of the sauce won’t be the same. It really isn’t that much heavy cream when you consider this if enough for four portions and is loaded with vegetables.
Substitutions
Can you use chicken thighs? Yes, make sure they are boneless and skinless and proceed with the recipe.
What’s the difference between yellow curry, red curry and green curry? They all contain different spices and therefore have different levels of heat. Thai yellow curry is the least spicy out of the three. You can substitute red curry paste or green curry paste if that’s what you have in the house.
Can you make this vegetarian? Yes you can, you could easily do tofu or just bulk up the veggies. Also you can leave out the fish sauce, but I like the umami it adds. Other veggies that would be delicious are cauliflower, carrots, peapods, various bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini or summer squash. Use what’s in season, what’s in the fridge or whatever you prefer.
Do I need to use fish sauce? If you have fish sauce to use, then yes you should use it. Fish sauce adds a great level of flavor to the dish. It does NOT taste fishy nor is it overpowering, but it brings the flavors together well. If you’re allergic or don’t have any in the house, you can add a little soy sauce (start with 1 teaspoon and taste).
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Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- ¾ pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cubed
- ½ tablespoon neutral oil canola works well
- ⅓ cup yellow curry paste
- ⅓ pound baby yukon gold potatoes halved
- 14 oz coconut milk full fat
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 medium head of broccoli chopped
- ½ red bell pepper julienned
- 1 ½ cup fresh pineapple cubed
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- Juice from ½ lime
- Kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Start your rice as per package instructions. It will cook while the sauce simmers.
- Preheat a large skillet with deep sides or a dutch oven over medium heat.
- Chop the yellow onion and cube up the chicken breasts. Ensure the chicken is in similar sized pieces to ensure they cook evenly.
- Once the pan is preheated, add in the oil and chopped onions. Allow the onions to cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes until fragrant, stirring occasionally. The onions should not be taking on any color.
- Add the cubed chicken and yellow curry paste into the dutch oven. Toss the chicken and onions until covered by the yellow curry paste. Saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. While chicken is cooking, cut the baby yukon gold potatoes in half.
- Next, add in potatoes, coconut milk and heavy cream. Stir well to combine. The sauce should be a pale yellow color and milk like consistency.
- Allow this mixture to come to a boil on medium heat and then reduce to a simmer on medium low heat for 20-30 minutes uncovered until chicken and potatoes are cooked through. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is burning. Potatoes will be fork tender when they are done cooking.
- While the curry is simmering, chop up the broccoli, julienne the red bell pepper and chop up the pineapple and set aside.
- After the potatoes and chicken are cooked, add in the cut up broccoli and red bell pepper. Allow everything to simmer together for 2-3 minutes until the broccoli has softened, stir occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and add in the pineapple, fish sauce and brown sugar. Squeeze the juice from half a lime over the curry and stir to combine. Season with salt and lime juice to taste.
- Portion out rice and add the curry over the top and enjoy.
Notes and Accommodations
- Freeze extra portions of yellow curry paste to save for future recipes.
- Use full fat coconut milk to get the right consistency and flavor.
- Use whatever veggies are in season or you have in the fridge to bulk this up.
- When storing leftovers, store rice and sauce separately.
Originally posted on March 20, 2019. Updated with tips and republished October 26, 2019.
