Thai Yellow Curry Chicken and Vegetables

Thai Yellow Curry Chicken and Vegetables is just bursting with flavor! The creaminess and savory flavor will leave your taste buds and tummy satisfied! And it’s super easy to make! Your family and friends will think they’re at a Thai restaurant . . . just be sure they leave you a good tip!

Thai food is known for its depth of flavor because it incorporates so many different ingredients, especially herbs and spices! Thai Yellow Curry Chicken and Vegetables is bold, savory, and creamy! Just the smell of the spice will have your mouth watering way before you even taste it. You can taste the spices coming through in every bite along with the creaminess of the coconut milk!

Making the Yellow Curry Paste

Thai curries are a blend of a number of spices and herbs that have this insane flavor! To make the pastes takes just a few additional ingredients – shallots, garlic, and ginger and some oil. To kick up the heat Thai chili peppers are added. You can adjust the heat by how many peppers are used. But be careful! Thai chili peppers are 10x’s hotter than a jalapeño!!! Ouch!!! My local grocery stores don’t carry Thai chili peppers, so I usually substitute Serrano peppers or jalapeños.

The paste is super easy to make. Basically, just add everything to a small processor or blender and blend until smooth. If you want some spiciness to your meal,  I recommend adding 1 pepper at a time and taste it. You can always add more, but you cannot take it out!

Marinade for the Chicken

Using yogurt is such an awesome way to marinate chicken! It is probably one of my top 3 ingredients to use in a marinade. Because of it’s thick consistency, it absorbs all the spices and clings to the meat. The acid in it helps to tenderize the chicken so it stays juicy and tender!

Why do I use Greek yogurt? I’m really not a huge fan of Greek yogurt, but it does have its place. I love to use it as a marinade because I find it adds another dimension to the flavor of the chicken. But you can certainly use regular plain yogurt.

Grab a mixing bowl large enough to hold all the chicken. Mix the yogurt and curry paste together until they are fully blended. Toss in the chicken, well, not literally, you don’t want it splattering and contaminating your kitchen, but you know what I mean. Make sure the chicken is completely coated and stick it in the fridge. The coldness helps the marinating process. I typically cover the bowl with plastic wrap, just because. You can, but you don’t have to.

Take it out just before you’re ready to cook.

Multitasking: Cooking the Chicken and Vegetables

You will need to cook the vegetables and chicken at the same time, but separately, of course.

If you have a Dutch oven, awesome! Use it. If not, that’s fine, too. Just use a large stock pot. At the same time, grab a skillet large enough to cook all the chicken. If you don’t have one, just cook it in batches.

Don’t let cooking 2 things at the same time intimidate you. If you start heating both the stock pot and skillet at the same time, everything will be done right on time! Once both come to temperature, add the bell peppers and carrots to the stock pot first, toss in a pinch of salt, and give it a stir. Then add the chicken to the skillet. Easy-peasy!

Recipe Note

I know someone is going to look at the recipe and be like, “Hey! 4 tablespoons is 1/4 cup! Why don’t you just say 1/4 cup?” I listed 4 tablespoons because not everyone knows 4 T = 1/4 C. So, since you will use 2 tablespoons for those ingredients twice, to make it easier for everyone I listed them as 4 tablespoons.

Keto Version

This is an awesome Keto meal! Instead of using the typical Thai cuisine Jasmine rice, use cauliflower rice or just skip any kind of rice altogether.

Give this Thai Yellow Curry Chicken and Vegetables a try this week!

You and your family will love it!

Print

Thai Yellow Curry Chicken and Vegetables

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Keyword chicken, coconut milk, Thai, yellow curry

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Marinading Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs or Breasts
• 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt can sub plain yogurt
• 4 Tablespoons Yellow Curry Paste recipe below
• 4 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
• 1 cup Green Bell Pepper, sliced
• 1 cup Red Bell Pepper, sliced
• 1 large Sweet Onion, slices
• 1/2 cup Carrots, sliced thin
• 1 13.5 ounce can Coconut Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
• Fresh Cilantro, torn
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Yellow Curry Paste

• 2 medium Shallots, coarsely chopped
• 3 inch piece Fresh Ginger, coarsely chopped about thumb thick
• 6 cloves Garlic, smashed
• 2 Tablespoon Turmeric
• 1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
• 2 teaspoon Lemon Grass
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
• 1/4 cup (packed) Fresh Cilantro, leaves and tender stems
• 1-4 Jalapenos, rough chopped

Instructions

Marinade

1. Trim the excess fat off the chicken and season with salt and pepper. In a medium mixing bowl, put in the Greek yogurt and 2 Tablespoons of yellow curry paste and mix well. Place the chicken in the mix and coat until all of the chicken is covered.

2. Refrigerate for an hour.

Thai Yellow Curry Chicken

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook thoroughly, about 5-7 minutes on each side. Once the chicken is done, set aside to cool slightly. Cut the chicken in bite-size chunks. You will add these in a bit.

2. Meanwhile, in a stock pot over medium heat, warm up 2 tablespoons coconut oil. If you have a Dutch oven, use it as this works the best. Add the green and red bell peppers and carrots and season with salt. Cook until the pieces become pliable, but not soft, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the onions and season with a pinch of salt. Cook for another 3-5 minute until the onions become pliable.

4. Add 2 tablespoons of yellow curry paste and a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. This will cook the shallots, garlic, and ginger in the paste and release the flavor of the spices.

5. Add the coconut milk and heavy cream and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken, butter, and a pinch of salt and pepper. If the chicken was not fully cooked when you cut it in chunks, you will need to cook it for several more minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Otherwise, you will only need to cook for another 2-3 minutes just to rewarm the chicken.

6. Serve over jasmine rice with torn fresh cilantro leaves. For a Keto meal, serve this over cauliflower rice.

Yellow Curry Paste

1. Jalapenos - add the jalapenos for spiciness as follows: Mild - none; Medium - 1-2; Hot - 3-4

2. Peel and coarsely chop the shallots and ginger.

3. Add all the ingredients except the jalapenos - shallots, ginger, garlic, turmeric, canola oil, curry powder, lemon grass, salt, coriander, and cilantro leaves - to a blender or small processor and blend until the paste is smooth.

4. If desired, add the jalapenos according to the general guide in step 1. Remember, we all have different heat tolerances, so start off with less and gradually add more until you reach your desired heat level.