If you have never tried cooking Thai food because it sounds intimidating, this is a great recipe to start with. This Thai yellow curry chicken and potatoes is fast, easy, and incredibly delicious.
You can make it with either store-bought curry paste or pull out all the stops and whip up a batch of homemade curry paste to use in this recipe. The thick, creamy curry sauce is mild enough for the kids to enjoy but you can adjust the heat if you like your curry a bit spicier.
Yellow curry chicken and potatoes is comfort food with an Asian flair. The sauce is velvety smooth and rich. It has a very mild spice level with a touch of sweetness from the coconut milk and a pinch of sugar. You’re going to want to lick your bowl clean when you finish eating this meal.
If you like this recipe, you will like our prawns with yellow curry or our yellow curry with salmon.
Why This Recipe Works
- It’s easy to adjust the spice level. Make it mild for the kids or add more spice to your liking.
- Comforting and tasty dish that is good for the whole family.
- Coconut milk adds a creamy, luxurious flavor and balances out the spice.
The Ingredients
Here is a list of the ingredients you will need for this recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
- Coconut oil. Coconut oil complements the Thai flavors but you can use any cooking oil.
- Yellow curry paste. You can use store bought curry paste or you can make your own curry paste if you feel inspired.
- Coconut milk. For the best flavor, use full fat coconut milk.
- Fish sauce. If you haven’t used fish sauce before, don’t be surprised at the smell. It has a pungent odor and strong flavor but a small amount added to the recipe transforms the flavors. Don’t skip the fish sauce.
- Brown sugar.
- Chicken. We used chicken breasts but you can use chicken thighs for even more flavor.
- Potatoes.
- Onion.
- Chicken broth.
Save the carton of coconut milk for your beverages or cereal and use a can of FULL FAT coconut milk. You could back off to a can of low-fat coconut milk but it just won’t be as luxurious.
I have made this Thai yellow curry chicken and potatoes both ways (low fat and full fat) and it is so much better with full-fat coconut milk. However, if you really want to save on the fat calories then it is still pretty good with the low-fat version.
How to Make Yellow Curry Chicken and Potatoes.
Here is a brief overview so you can get an idea of what to expect with the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
- Heat the curry paste. Heat the coconut oil in a saute pan then add the Thai yellow curry paste and a splash of coconut milk. Cook the curry paste until it is hot and fragrant. Don’t skip this step, this is where the magic happens.
- Add the coconut milk. Stir in the coconut milk along with some fish sauce and sugar.
- Add fish sauce and sugar. As soon as you add the fish sauce to the curry mixture, that strong fishy flavor will disappear and you will create an incredible umami flavor and the house will smell like a Thai restaurant.
- Add the chicken. Now that you have the sauce base made and it is nice and hot, add the cubes of chicken. We used skinless, boneless chicken breasts but if you really want to bump up the flavor then use bone-in chicken thighs. If you use the chicken thighs just make sure you cook the chicken for a couple of extra minutes.
- Cook the potatoes and onions. Once the chicken is partially cooked, add the potatoes, onions, and chicken broth. Let all the ingredients cook in that creamy curry sauce until the potatoes are nice and tender.
Now spoon the Thai yellow curry potatoes and chicken over a bowl of rice and dig in! We served this over Jasmine rice but it is also great on black rice or even wild blend rice.
Helpful Tips
- Make sure you use curry paste for this recipe, NOT pre-made curry sauce. Curry paste is a very concentrated mixture of spices and herbs. Curry sauce is made by adding broth, coconut milk or cream to the curry paste. If you use the sauce, you will dilute the flavors too much with the additional ingredients.
- Cooking the curry paste first, releases all the flavors in the curry and makes a tremendous difference in the depth of flavor.
- Use the right kind of coconut milk. Purchase canned coconut milk that is thick and creamy. Don’t use the coconut milk that is sold in boxed cartons. The boxed cartons of coconut milk have so much water added to them that they will not give you the right texture, consistency, or flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yellow curry has turmeric in it which gives it that vibrant yellow color.
Yellow curry goes well with chicken, seafood, pork, and beef. It even goes well with vegetables. Try it on asparagus or in a grain bowl. It even tastes great in soup.
You can freeze this dish for 3 months if you store it in a freezer-proof container. When you thaw it and reheat it, the texture of the potatoes will change a bit and they will be softer.
Fish sauce is an Asian sauce made from fermented fish. It is the special secret sauce in this recipe and adds a savory, umami flavor to the dish. It has an unpleasant odor if you smell it from the bottle but it gives food a delicious flavor.
This recipe was adapted from The Better Than Takeout Thai Cookbook by Danette St. Onge
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Thai Yellow Curry Chicken and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons yellow curry paste
- 2 cups of canned coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 to 2 large potatoes peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 onion peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Place the coconut oil in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add the curry paste and a few tablespoons of the coconut milk. Stir well to break up the curry paste and get it hot and fragrant.
- Stir in the rest of the coconut milk, the fish sauce, and brown sugar. Then stir in the chicken. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes until it is no longer pink then add the potatoes, onion and chicken broth.
- Cover the saucepan and continue to cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
oliv86
Thursday 22nd of December 2022
This recipe is good, but some curry pastes are VERY spicy, even the milder ones. To make the curry to taste, change the amount of curry paste in it. I put one tablespoon of curry paste and three tablespoons of sugar to make this recipe edible for my family.