This is my husband’s favorite dish to order when we go out for Thai Food. Yellow Curry Chicken (gluten free) with a side of steamed jasmine rice.
Seriously, not kidding – he never deviates from this. He likes what he likes!
Now, I am not sure if the whole grape tomato thing is authentic and I have a feeling it’s not, but two of his favorite Thai spots always put them in so when I set out to recreate this dish, I knew that grape (or cherry) tomatoes had to be part of the equation.
I did a bunch of research and reading and it turns out that making a semi-authentic Thai Yellow Curry is actually not very difficult at all. I had conjured up this unrealistic idea that it would include toasting and grinding spices and aromatics and making a homemade curry first but it turns out, that is not the case. What you need to do is find a high-quality prepared curry.
This dish tastes eerily close to the $18 entree that my husband likes to order when we go out. Not only is it a fraction of the cost but can feed the whole family and we can control the quality of the ingredients, which makes me very happy!
NOTES:
- I made a double batch in these photos because the day I photographed this recipe we were having company so if the ratios look a bit larger to you, you are not crazy!
- I used Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste because that is the easiest for me to get at my local store. It is a “Karee” style yellow curry paste which is what you want. I have also read that Mae Anong Karee Yellow Curry is excellent. Just make sure you get a “Karee” style curry paste that is from Thailand and free of Gluten and MSG (these both are!). For this recipe, Thai Kitchen Yellow Curry Paste will NOT work.
- I like to use Yukon Gold Potatoes. You need a boiling or low-starch potato that will hold it’s shape. You don’t want to use a high-starch potato like Russet as it will likely fall apart and change the texture of the sauce. Yukon Gold are my favorite because they are pretty easy to find where I live and relatively inexpensive.
- You can substitute chicken breast but I recommend boneless, skinless. Be sure to tweak your cooking time so the chicken doesn’t dry out.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Yellow Curry Chicken. Gluten Free Yellow Curry. Take Out Style Thai Yellow Curry.
- 14 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup yellow curry paste see NOTES
- 1 pound Yukon Gold or other low-starch potatoes peeled and cut into 1" cubes (see NOTES)
- 1 large yellow onion cut into 1/8's and roughly choppped
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, visible fat trimmed and cut into 2" long strips
- 1/2 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons coconut palm sugar
- 1/2 cup grape or sugar plum tomatoes washed
- handful cilantro leaves for serving
- Serve with steamed rice
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Peel potatoes and cut into 1" cubes. Place in a large bowl of cold water until ready to use (to prevent browning). Make sure to strain before adding to recipe!
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Peel onion and cut into 1/8's. Roughly chop.
- Trim any visible fat from chicken and slice into 2" long strips.
- Wash grape tomatoes. Pull cilantro leaves off stems, rinse and dry.
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Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add coconut cream. The coconut cream is the solid fat that is present when you open the canned coconut milk. Do NOT shake or stir the coconut milk prior to using if you want the coconut cream to be separated. Scoop off the cream and leave the watery coconut milk behind to use later in the recipe.
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Add curry paste and stir into coconut cream until well combined. Heat until oil begins to separate from coconut cream.
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Add cubed potatoes, onion, watery coconut milk left behind in the can and water. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil.
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Once boiling, cover and lower to a simmer. Continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes.
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Remove lid, add sliced chicken pieces and raise heat to high to bring back to a boil. Once boiling, cover, lower heat to a simmer and continue cooking for an additional 8 to 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender.
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Add fish sauce, palm sugar and grape tomatoes. Cook for an another 2 to 3 minutes. Serve topped with cilantro and Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
Great recipe!
To make this, I had to take a leap of faith and buy 2 lbs of yellow curry paste online. So glad I did! Tasty, easy to make. I used sweet potatoes instead of white. The second time I added spinach for an extra boost. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Cindy! Yay – love hearing this!! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know and hope you have a great holiday weekend!
Alyssa, just discovered your site and am beyond excited to try your recipes! I have two small daughters – 3 yrs and 15 months respectively- and my husband and I are doing WW right now. To see PP values with recipes is just awesome; saves us the calculating! I also am a bit of a foodie and really have searched for clean food WW recipes…mostly to no avail. Low cal WW recipes are easy enough to find, but not necessarily whole food ones. So THANK YOU thank you…THANK YOU!
Hi Sarah! So glad you found my site and I hope that my recipes are a great help for your family! 🙂
This was yummy. But my curry didn’t have enough liquid. Would you add more water or more coconut milk?
Strange! How long did it cook for? Did you add extra vegetables? If you add more water, it may mess up the sauce by watering it down and if you add more coconut milk, you need to add more curry, etc. to balance it out so it’s not bland.
I too like MaeSri curry paste. I use chopped eggplant with skin on instead of potatoes and add fresh Thai basil leaves at the very end of the cooking for extra flavor. Thank you for sharing your recipe and remind your readers to make sure the curry paste and coconut cream is really boiling and you can see the oil is separating before continuing on with the next steps, or the curry could be bland. Thai food is a favorite at our house too.
Love the idea of chopped eggplant Diane – I’ll have to try that next time!
I am trying this tonight. I too plan to use eggplant as I am a T2 Diabetic (plus I have an extra eggplant from the farmers market). I was proud of myself for navigating the Oriental Market to find the right ingredients. First time I made it through there without asking for help!
I hope you love it with the eggplant Ron! 🙂
Oh my! It turned out awesome (if I do say so myself)! Of course your fine instructions and flawless recipe were 100% responsible!
Awesome!!! 🙂
Congratulations on your success in recreating your husband’s favorite curry recipe, a great feeling, isn’t it?
Yukon gold is also my favorite potato.
He was really happy and excited about it! When I told him it was easy to make, he said, “Can we have this once a week?” lol
I wish my hubby liked curry recipes. He thinks curry tastes like soap. No problem for me, it just means I get the whole batch to myself. I hope you’re doing well. 🙂
More for you for sure Kristi!
I know this was years ago…but might help someone else. If your husband thinks curry tastes like soap…its probably the cilantro. Make your own curry sauce make sure you leave out all cilantro!
This was so delicious! You have to love the ability to make high-quality restaurant food at home. 🙂 For curry pastes, I really like MaeSri — so spicy and intense!
I’ll have to look for MaeSri Eileen – thanks for the tip! 🙂
I flat out love curries and always order them at my local Thai restaurant. And Thai food is my favorite Asian food to cook at home. Simply because it’s easier and more doable. I’ve made two Chinese recipes over the past couple of weeks and what an ordeal. And the number of pots and pans … let’s just say I needed a clean up crew. With all that said. I’m pinning this recipe and sticking to Thai at home.
I do love to make Chinese food at home because it’s hard to find good Chinese food that is free of MSG and all the other additives but it is so much more time consuming than Thai! This curry is so quick!