Easy Thai Red Curry Chicken with Coconut Rice
For a last minute stay-in movie dinner night with my sister, I’m making this Easy Thai Red Curry Chicken with Rice Cooker Coconut Rice. This low-effort recipe uses Thai Curry Paste and coconut milk to make a fragrant, rich red curry that does more in less steps. In fact, most of the cooking time is leaving it to simmer! Paired with creamy, fluffy coconut rice, this rich, creamy curry has complex restaurant-quality flavor will definitely impress all your guests!
Speedy Red Thai Curry Chicken with Fluffy Coconut Rice
I’m inviting my sister over for a movie dinner night, and tonight’s’ theme is cozy Southeast Asian! Our menu tonight includes this Speedy Thai Red Chicken with coconut rice and Jeow Som Steak Salad. Then, we have a yummy apple crumble for dessert. Red Curry Chicken is a home-style coconut-based Thai curry dish often cooked as part of a family-style lunch or dinner.
Hosting today’s dinner was more last minute. When I can plan ahead, I actually love making my more traditional One Pot Thai Red Coconut Curry. It uses less ingredients, is an “add and simmer” recipe, and makes a full meal in one go with proteins, veggies, and carbs. I’m pairing my curry today with a rice cooker coconut rice. By the time the curry is ready, the rice will be as well, and it’s ready to enjoy! The best part is, this meal is amazing for meal prepping!
Ingredients For Thai Red Curry With Coconut Rice
- 2 cups of jasmine rice
- 1 can whole fat coconut milk
- ~1 cup of water
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 75-100 g green beans
- 1 can whole fat coconut milk (halved)
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2-3 whole lime leaves, optional
- Fish sauce
- sugar
- Fresh Thai Basil
Rice Cooker Coconut Rice
This fluffy coconut rice makes the house smell so good while I’m cooking! This is the easiest coconut rice I make to enjoy with some of my favorite Southeast Asian main dishes. With this rice, every bite has that creamy, light fragrance of coconut. It’s so good with anything that goes well with rice, but I particularly enjoy pairing this with spicy or sour food. The creaminess of the coconut milk is a great balance to these bolder flavors!
And, it’s easy to make in a rice cooker! Just combine jasmine rice, coconut milk, and a little water, and use the standard cook button on your rice cooker. Make extra, so you can pair it with other delicious dishes like Thai Lemongrass Pork Chop or Jeow Som Steak Salad.
Coconut Red Curry
In a traditional Thai Red Curry, you start with marinating the chicken, sautéing the aromatics, making the curry, and adding the chicken and vegetables back in. This low-effort version of Coconut Red Curry is a more convenient way to get to similar flavors. It skips marinating the chicken, and adding the extra aromatics. Instead, it simply relies completely on the flavors of coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, and Thai Red Curry Paste.
Thai Red Curry paste is a concentrated base made from dried red chilies pounded with a range of other spices like garlic, shallots, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime peel, cilantro root, white pepper, shrimp paste, and salt, depending on the brand. Rather than blooming the aromatics in this recipe, we’re blooming the curry paste itself directly in coconut milk to wake up the spices inside. This way, we’re cooking off the water so the curry paste can fry in the coconut oil inside the milk. Trust me, this brings up so much flavor without extra ingredients.
How To Make Speedy Thai Red Curry
- In a rice cooker, add jasmine rice, coconut milk, and water. Stir to combine, and press the “cook” button.
- In a pan on medium, add 1/2 of a can of coconut milk.
- When the coconut milk starts to simmer, add Thai red curry paste and mix together. Let it cook uncovered for about 3-5 minutes, stirring often until it thickens and you start seeing bubbles of oil around the edges.
- Add chicken thigh in the pan, mix well and make sure every piece is covered in the curry paste.
- Mix in the 2nd half of the coconut milk, and season with fish sauce. Optionally, add whole lime leaves into the pan.
- Cover and let it simmer gently for about 15-20 minutes.
- Add green bean, bell peppers, and any other veggies you’d like to add.
- Adjust the flavors with a little fish sauce and sugar if needed. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
- Finish off with fresh Thai basil and serve with coconut rice.
Cool Down The Spice with These Tasty Fruity Drinks
Thai Red Coconut Curry with Coconut Rice
By Tiffy Cooks
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
Coconut Rice
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 1 can whole fat coconut milk
- 1 cup water
Thai Red Curry Chicken
- 2 bell peppers sliced
- 75-100 g green beans
- 1 whole fat coconut milk halved
- 3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2-3 whole lime leaves optional
- Fish sauce to taste
- sugar to taste
- Fresh Thai Basil
Instructions
- In a rice cooker, add jasmine rice, coconut milk, and water. Stir to combine, and press the “cook” button.
- In a pan on medium, add 1/2 of a can of coconut milk.
- When the coconut milk starts to simmer, add Thai red curry paste and mix together. Let it cook uncovered for about 3-5 minutes, stirring often until it thickens and you start seeing bubbles of oil around the edges.
- Add chicken thigh in the pan, mix well and make sure every piece is covered in the curry paste.
- Mix in the 2nd half of the coconut milk, and season with fish sauce. Optionally, add whole lime leaves into the pan. Cover and let it simmer gently for about 15-20 minutes.
- Add green bean, bell peppers, and any other veggies you’d like to add.
- Adjust the flavors with a little fish sauce and sugar if needed. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
- Finish off with fresh Thai basil and serve with coconut rice.
