Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Potatoes! Chicken, golden potatoes, onion, coconut cream, and an absolutely incredible homemade yellow curry paste sauce.
Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Potatoes
This yellow curry with chicken and potatoes is one of my favorite recipes on the whole site – so comfy and cozy and full of flavor. That homemade yellow curry paste is bomb.com!
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**applause** I have never left a comment for a recipe before, but good GOLLY Ms. Molly this deserves the highest of fives. Make the paste. Just do it.
Jessica
Super creamy and lush, thanks to the coconut cream, level the spice just where you want it and then let your Thai-inspired yellow curry dreams come true. Impeccably savory with a teensy bit of sweet, scooped over a bed of steamy rice. Yes, yes please right now.
Okay, so, there is a tiny 45-minute detour TOTALLY WORTH TAKING here, to make your own yellow curry paste first. Please trust us. Don’t run away! Because here is the thing, it will freeze beautifully and then be ready for you for the next, like, five times you want to make this super easy creamy, silky bowl of yellow chicken curry comfort. And you’re going to want to make it. Like, a lot.
In This Post: Everything For Yellow Chicken Curry
- VIDEO for how to make Yellow Curry
- Ingredients you’ll need
- How to make this curry
- All about homemade curry paste
- Frequently Asked Questions
Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?
Ingredients You’ll Need
You can find everything needed to whip up your very own homemade batch golden yellow curry paste here [link]. After that, the ingredient list is beautifully short! Like, aaaalmost 5-ingredient short.
- curry paste
- boneless skinless chicken breasts (chicken thighs can also work)
- golden potatoes
- onion
- coconut cream
- fish sauce & brown sugar (optional but SO good!) and rice & cilantro for serving! (We just made this all one point so you could see we were *so close* to 5-ingredients)
How To Make This Yellow Curry
Once you’re in curry paste business, this lil’ treasure is so so easy to make. Like, weeknight dinner easy. Yes please, here for it.
- Sauté. Grab a skillet or a large pot and get your onions going first over medium heat until nice and fragrant. Then, toss in your chicken and curry paste and let that do it’s thing. Finally, toss the potatoes in there.
- Simmer. Pour that luscious coconut cream in there with a bit of water and let it simmer away until the chicken and potatoes are cooked.
- Stir. Add in a little splish splash of fish sauce and a sprinkle of brown sugar to really make it sing.
- Serve. On a pile of steamy rice. Fall in love forever.
About Homemade Curry Paste
We don’t know about you, but sometimes that yellow curry paste is hard to find in our go-to stores. Green, red, yep yep…but that beautiful golden deliciousness, where art thou?! Well, homemade yellow curry paste it is then. It takes a little time to come together, but it’s a big batch and then that is on hand for the next time your yellow curry craving strikes. Like, maybe tomorrow for breakfast? (Seriously, don’t knock it until you try it. We’ve been known to scrape a pan or two of cold curry in the morning as, like, a pre-breakfast. Worth it, every time.)
You’ll roast up some aromatics first, like a whole bunch of garlic, some ginger and some shallot. You’ll rehydrate some Thai chilis, you decide on the spice level. And then it’s just blend up and store in a jar and ta-da, curry paste at the ready!
How To Add Extra Veggies
If you want a little nutritious boost to add to this powerhouse, you have options!
- Add some frozen veggies right to the pan with the chicken, potatoes, and sauce – like frozen peas or carrots.
- Roast or sauté some veggies on the side – like fresh green beans or broccoli.
- Serve it alongside a side salad like this one!
We love that this recipe is also pretty flexible. The chicken/potato combo is such a delicious win but you could absolutely sub tofu or throw in any other veg you might have hanging out in the fridge. And if you only have coconut milk on hand, that can totally work, you’ll just adjust the liquid amounts accordingly to get the right consistency. But if you are ready to swim in a sea of lush, rich, unbelievably smooth creaminess – then coconut cream it simply must be! You will not regret it.
Such a beautiful bit of rich, creamy, surprisingly easy, takeout-vibe comfort food which we can get behind any day of the week. Yum.
Thai Yellow Chicken Curry: Frequently Asked Questions
How spicy is yellow curry?
What I love about this recipe is that if you make the homemade curry paste, you have control over how spicy it is. All you’ll need to do is reduce the number of whole dried Thai chili peppers in the paste (maybe doing 5 vs. 20).
What’s the difference between yellow, red, and green curry?
Traditionally, it all came down to the chilies – yellow curry made with yellow chilies, red curry made with red chilies, and green curry made with green chilies. Over time they each have changed to be even further apart (like adding lemongrass and kaffir leaf to green curry, or turmeric to yellow curry), but traditionally, the difference was in the chilies!
Can I use coconut milk instead of coconut cream?
Coconut milk would work fine in this recipe, if you just adjust the amount of water based on the consistency you want for the sauce. But if you can find it, coconut cream will make this REALLY delicious.
What other protein options would work well here?
This beef curry recipe is similar and beef would be great! For a vegetarian-friendly option, you could use tofu or chickpeas.
How could I add more vegetables to this?
Adding some frozen peas directly to the pan with the chicken would be delicious, or sautéing some green beans to serve on the side.
Can I make this vegetarian or vegan?
Absolutely! Tofu would be a great substitute in place of the chicken. If you’re going for vegan, omit the fish sauce as well.
Source notes: Kaeng Kari is the yellow curry dish commonly found in Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. It usually incorporates the use of yellow curry powder (“kari” referencing “curry powder”), which came to Thailand via the spice route. It is the result of British military presence bringing the Indian powder spices like turmeric and, according to Wiki, the “Anglo-Indian invention, curry powder.” It’s usually milder and less oily than traditional Thai curries. The bones of this recipe came from The Saveur New Classics Cookbook (affiliate link). The recipe in the book was created and contributed by chef Andy Ricker, who owns the Thai restaurant PokPok in Portland. This version has some adjustments to taste and for some more readily available ingredients for the paste! You can do so many things with this curry paste / method – like the chicken and potatoes that you see here, but the beef version is also super delicious!
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Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Potatoes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Potatoes! Chicken, golden potatoes, onion, coconut cream, and an absolutely incredible homemade yellow curry paste sauce.
Ingredients
Units
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For the yellow curry:
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- half a yellow onion, sliced thinly
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup yellow curry paste
- 10 baby golden yukon potatoes, cut into halves or bite-sized pieces
- one 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut cream or coconut milk (see notes)
- 1/2 – 1 cup water or broth
- a heavy pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce (optional)
- 1–2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)
For serving:
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro for serving
- 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes until the onions are fragrant and softened. Add the chicken and curry paste; saute for 3-5 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir to coat with the curry paste.
- Add the coconut cream and 1/2 cup water or broth to the pot. Season with salt. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are fully cooked, adding more liquid depending on the consistency you want for the sauce. While the chicken and potatoes cook, cook rice according to package directions.
- Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar to really take it up a notch. Add until it tastes amazing. Seriously – so good. Serve over rice.
Equipment
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Notes
For store-bought yellow curry paste, I like the Maesri brand (affiliate link) which I buy on Amazon. If you use this, you likely will only need 2-3 tablespoons rather than 1/4 cup of the homemade paste.
Coconut cream is like a richer, thicker version of coconut milk. I have used both over the years.
If you are wanting a bit more thickness to your sauce after simmering, add 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water to the bubbling pot to thicken it up slightly.
The nutrition label does not include the rice.
Need some tips on how to thinly slice that onion? Check out this guide on how to cut an onion.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sauté
- Cuisine: Thai-Inspired
Keywords: yellow curry recipe, yellow curry chicken, chicken curry, thai yellow curry
More Delicious Curry Recipes
- 5-Ingredient Green Curry (simple, vegetarian, and so delicious!)
- Red Curry Lentils (high in protein and high in weeknight ease!)
- Creamy Thai Sweet Potato Curry (a comforting, creamy, and sweet twist on curry)
- Coconut Curry Salmon (one of the most popular recipes on the site!)
- Instant Pot Cauliflower Curry (packed with lots of nutrition and ready in just a few minutes!)
Filed Under: All Recipes Dairy-Free Dinner Gluten-Free Main Dishes Meat and Chicken Most Popular Quick and Easy Recipes Rice
January 25, 2022
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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I used Mae Ploy curry paste and it was great. I used a bit less than half a cup of the paste (almost twice the recipe amount) and the flavor wasn’t too strong, though it probably was spicier because of it. The only other change I made was adding 4 kaffir lime leaves that I sliced into very thin strips. I am adding this recipe to my Pinterest “Go To Recipes” board.
This recipe is phenomenal – flavorful, healthy and complex. I make the paste in advance, and as the recipe says, it lasts for 4-5 batches of the curry. Easy to make the rest once you have the paste ready. I am proud to serve this dish to guests – it is a winner!
I’m upset because I didn’t read that the 1/4 cup curry paste was for homemade curry. I could e fixed it but used a half cup with two cans coconut milk and it was so spicy and way too much paste obviously. I fixed it by adding a bunch of half and half and it mellowed the spice, but now I know better to read that next time I guess. I do wish it said it in the ingredient list and not before, I never read anything on online recipes… haha
If it was your fault for not following the recipe correctly, why punish the recipe’s author with a poor review/stars? Your failure to follow the recipe and then to leave a 2/5 star review affects the overall rating of this recipe unfairly.
This is like leaving a 2 star review for a restaurant “I ordered a burrito but didn’t know there was chicken in it. I didn’t read the description and I didn’t want chicken.” Or for a aesthetician “I made a reservation for a facial, but didn’t get the massage that I wanted too. The appointment reminder said what services I’d receive, but I didn’t have time to read it” Or an auto shop “I brought my car in for an oil change and they used regular oil. I wanted synthetic and no one asked me if I wanted synthetic.”
It’s your own fault you didn’t follow the directions. 1/5 stars for you!
Right? Lady makes a mistake and gives a two star rating. Between not following directions and this faux pas, she’s probably just that dense. I’m leaving a 5 star comment to hopefully offset because it’s absolutely delicious!
This dish is absolutely tasty.!!!!
I was in a hurry but still put the
“ aromatics” in foil in the oven….wow what a difference!!
Very happy that I’ve found a new favourite
Thank you
This is a great recipe! For the curry paste I used store bought Golden Curry Japanese Curry Mix and then added one tablespoon of Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste. I also added 1 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper to give it more heat. I’ll try making my own curry paste next time but this is worthy of serving for guests in my opinion.
Made this with a malaysian curry paste i had, added peas and carrots… delicious!
This recipe is fantastic! I added a thai chili pepper to give it some heat. Best curry recipe I have made. Restaurant quality! Thank you so much for sharing it!
I’ve made this many times using the Yellow Curry Paste recipe you’ve provided (made paste in bulk and then frozen in portions) and it is delicious every time. Thanks!
This is really good! It has been on repeat in our house for a few months now. My sister visited and ate all our leftovers lol.
How spicy is this? And how can I make it spicier?
Not super spicy! You could add some crushed red pepper flakes when cooking, or if you make the paste, use more dried chiles.
We gobbled this dinner up and it was easy to put together. I used cubed tofu instead of chicken, and Massaman curry rather yellow. Yum!
I am new to cooking with Asian flavors. I love eating Asian food but just have never worked with the ingredients. I found this recipe simple to follow – even with adjustments I made to fit my needs. The flavor is 10/10. I would say I used the recipe as a basic guide, but i will 100% be making it again.
For reference, my changes were made to increase protein and decrease carbs, along with use what i had on hand. So I did not include potatoes, i added more chicken, added peas and carrots. And then I used oyster sauce in place of fish sauce. In addition, I added more curry paste and did not use the whole can of coconut cream.
Absolutely delicious! Did not have yellow curry paste, so I used green curry paste and it was still delicious 😋 Will definitely make again!
Very bland, not sure if it’s because I used cauliflower as a substitute for chicken, but very disappointing. Completely followed the recipe other than that. Don’t know what all the other reviews are tasting.
Is there a pressure cook way to do this dish?
I made this over the holidays and loved it! I’d love to make it again soon but I’m curious- any suggestions for doing it in the Instant Pot? I’d love to use it to keep the kitchen cooler given the summer heat! I just perused the comments to see if anyone has tried it, and I only found a few slow cooker suggestions. I know PoY loves the IP, so I figured I’d ask!!
We haven’t tried it so can’t say! I’d probably try to find a similar Instant Pot recipe on the web and just use those directions!
We cook this in the instant pot often–chicken thighs, broth, sweet potatoes, and yellow curry paste on manual mode for 20-30 minutes (until chicken thighs are cooked); shred the chicken, add the coconut cream remaining ingredients + spinach, and enjoy!
I used Thai Green Curry Paste instead of yellow. Whoops! It’s spicy! Good recipe though!
I have made this recipe *many* times and only NOW am getting around to say “Thank you so much” for the recipe~It’s a keeper♥️ The homemade curry is amazing and definitely a fun activity for a rainy day.
The YUM factor is 5-star🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you for sharing this curry chicken recipe because my son loves Thai curry, and he is visiting!
Tahnee
I have made this so many times. It’s a part of our family rotation and it’s my husband’s favorite. My kids love it as well.
I usually make it with coconut milk and lately I’ve been adding chickpeas. I love how it’s easy, fast and so delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Fantastic post! ONE OF THE BEST ONE I thoroughly enjoyed reading your insights. The points you’ve raised about are particularly thought-provoking and align well with my experiences in the industry.
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Wow, we *loved* this! We added carrots, snow peas, and thinly sliced green bell pepper. We also used store bought curry paste but missed your note about perhaps adding a little less if using store-bought, so it was… very spicy!! 🙂 But also delicious. Thank you for another great recipe!
Wow! This dish is so simple and packed with flavor! Definitely making again. I put a little lime juice in at as well to add a depth of flavor only because I had some on hand. 🤤
This was yum! I love that the curry paste made extra to make another meal! It looks like more work that it is to make the yellow curry paste and put it all together with the chicken and sauce ingredients. I used the mild amount of chilis and it was still a bit spicy.
I absolutely love this recipe! It’s one of my all-time favorites. I’ve always wanted to make this for my boyfriend, now my fiance, but unfortunately, he is allergic to coconuts (and tree nuts). Any thoughts on what could be used to substitute the coconut cream?
Unfortunately there is no replacement for coconut milk. It’s the key ingredient in standard Thai curries. While you can get away with using dairy cream in certain Indian recipes(by using cashew cream, oat cream, coconut cream) you can’t substitute coconut milk in Thai cooking.
This was an easy and flavorful meal for a chilly winter night. I added some froZen broccoli because I like extra veggies and subbed in Trader Joe’s curry sauce since it was what I had on hand. I suspect it’s even more delicious when made as written with the yellow curry paste. We topped with a splash of lime juice, plain Greek yogurt, and cilantro. Delicious! I’ll definitely make this one again!