I tasted Thai food for the first time when I was in college. I remember having Thai iced tea and loving how sweet and refreshing it was. Then I had tom kha gai and thought how unusual (and delightful!) it was to be sipping a spicy, tangy, coconut milk based soup. And I finished the meal with a bowl of yellow curry with chicken, which was so similar in some ways to stews that I had growing up, but was really so different.

The similarities were in the ingredients - chicken, potatoes, and onions - that form the base of a lot of western-style stews. The thickness of the curry is also similar to many stews and the spiciness of yellow curry is more subdued than many other Thai curries. I think this is why some Thai people say that yellow curry with chicken is a good dish for "farang" (the Thai word for foreigners) to start with.

Yellow curry is made in the same way that many other Thai curries are made. You start with thick coconut cream and heat it until the oil starts to separate from the milk. Then you add the curry paste and cook until it's nice and aromatic. You cook the chicken in this curry paste, then add more coconut milk, water, and the vegetables, and adjust the seasonings.

You're welcome to make your own curry paste, but the boyfriend and I have found that pre-made pastes generally work pretty well. Just be sure that you get a brand that's made in Thailand (our current favorite is Mae Anong, but you can see the full curry paste taste comparison here!). With a good paste like this, you should be able to produce a respectable restaurant-quality bowl of yellow curry.

I imagine that many "farang" are introduced to Thai food with yellow curry like I was. And it's a great place to start. It can open the doors to many other types of curries - some fragrant, some peanuty, some sour, all spicy - and from there to other combinations of flavors that Thai food is so famous for. So if you haven't made Thai yellow curry with chicken at home before, I hope you give it a try!

For some other great Thai curries, check out these recipes:

And lastly, here is a simple tutorial for how to make Thai curries that covers everything from the most basic to the more complex. Happy curry making!

Recipe

Yellow Curry with Chicken and Potatoes | Gang Garee Gai | แกงกะหรี่ไก่

This yellow curry features chicken, potatoes, and baby corn for a simple, yet delicious Thai meal.

4.75 from 8 votes

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Course: Curry

Cuisine: Thai

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 45

Servings:

Calories: 397kcal

Author: Rachel

Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare your ingredients. Slice the onion, baby corn, and chicken into bite-sized pieces. Peel, cut, and parboil the potatoes for ~5 minutes. Set aside.
Open the can of coconut milk and scoop the top thicker cream part into a pan (approximately ½ cup). Heat this cream over medium heat until the oil just starts to separate from the milk. Then add the yellow curry paste and saute with the cream until it becomes fragrant.
Add the chicken, coat in the curry paste, and cook until it's done. Then add the rest of the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil. Let cook until the consistency of the curry is what you prefer. You can use less water if you want a shorter cooking time.
Add the potatoes, onions, and baby corn and cook until just done, but still firm. Adjust seasonings with fish sauce and sugar to taste. Some curry pastes will not need any sugar or fish sauce, and others will need more than the amounts specified here.
Garnish with thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves and red peppers, if you like. Serve with jasmine rice.

Nutrition

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Ashley

January 15, 2016 at 1:55 am

@Jake - I agree that the recipe leaves out some details. It seems to be geared toward people with a bit of cooking experience, but I fit that category and can offer some advice so you can try out this recipe. I've made it a few times now and it is DELICIOUS. The thing with cooking is you just have to dive in and go for it, and figure things out as you go when it's unclear.
-Slicing is the right term. For the chicken I like to follow the technique in this video. After slicing the chicken I saute it in olive oil over medium-high heat until it's cooked through and light brown. I also season it generously with pepper.
-Parboil: It's a common cooking term but I wasn't familiar with it so I googled it. What I do is heat a pot of water to boiling, add the potatoes, and boil for 5-6 minutes. Then drain and rinse with cold water right away.
-Step 3 "cook until it's done" -- If you use my approach and cook the chicken as I described, then for this step all you have to do is stir it around for a minute or so until it's nicely coated in sauce.
-Step 4 "cook until done" -- Cook until they reach a consistency you like. For example, you don't want the onions to be completely crunchy, but you don't want them mushy either. This step is all about personal preference-- it's not like cooking meat where you have to reach a certain point for things to officially be done.
-Consistency of the curry - This is also a personal preference. I don't know how to describe a typical curry consistency-- maybe like Naked Juice if you've ever tried that? It should be thicker than water but not as thick as a creamy soup.
-"Use less water if you want a shorter cooking time" -- This doesn't change the consistency of the dish because the water will evaporate and the sauce will thicken. I prefer to use 1 cup.
-Amount of seasoning - you have to just taste it, add a little bit of something, and if you like how it changed then either keep it as is or add more of it. As Rachel said, it depends on the brand you use. I use Mae Ploy curry paste and I like to use 2 T curry paste when I mix it with the chicken and I add another 2 T at the very end. I also add 3 t of coconut palm sugar and a pinch of salt.
-Other tips: I like to add 1 cup of peas and corn.

Comments

4.75 from 8 votes (6 ratings without comment)