A simple Panang chicken curry that you can throw together in under 20 minute! The perfect weeknight dinner recipe!
20-minute weeknight dinners are my love language!
And this Panang chicken curry hits all the high marks. Creamy, smooth, tangy yet sweet curry loaded with tender chicken, peppers, and Thai basil. Keep it simple and server it over a bowl of steaming rice and just add it to the weekly rotation because the crowds gonna go wild.
We’ve had nothing but rain here in our part of Houston lately, and come September, all I want is comfort food. Bring on the Texas-style chili, the Mexican chicken noodle soup, and now, my Panang chicken curry.
How to make Panang Chicken Curry:
Thai food is some of my favorite things to make because:
Today’s Panang chicken curry is loosely based off of the one from our favorite Thai restaurant in Houston. They keep it pretty straightforward (just meat and curry) but I like to add red bell pepper and a sliced shallot into the mix because the flavors work so well with the sweet and spicy, peanut-flavored curry.
I’ve been making Panang curry for years but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how they got it to have this deep, rich and tangy flavor. I tried everything! Lemon juice, lime juice, lemongrass but time after time, I couldn’t make it like theirs. Until now. The number one ingredient that gives Panang curry it’s classic tang? Tamarind paste. It’s the stuff we use when we’re making pad Thai, so I thought, huh, why not add a smidge to our Panang curry as well? And it did the trick. It gives the curry a nice and dark, slow-simmered, tangy flavor one that lime juice wasn’t providing.
What you need to make panang chicken curry in 20 minutes:
There are a variety of Panang curry pastes available on the market, the one I use it called Mae Ploy. Keep in mind that traditional Thai brands of curry paste will always stretch further than brands like Thai Kitchen which are readily available in mainstream grocery stores.
If you use a curry paste from an Asian supermarket, I suggest starting with 1-2 tablespoons of curry paste (2 if you can really handle spicy food.) Brands that are more readily available in most grocery stores seem to be less potent, so you’ll want to use 2-4 tablespoons of curry paste depending on your spice preference.
How to make Panang Chicken Curry at home:
You’ll notice we’re not using any oil in today’s Panang curry recipe. Grab your coconut milk, without shaking the can, skim a couple of tablespoons off the top and add that to your hot skillet or saute pan. This is the coconut cream; it’s loaded with oil so we’ll use it to cook our curry paste. Then add the curry paste and peanut butter and allow the flavors to wake up. Make sure it doesn’t burn though! Then we’ll add the chicken and mix it so that everything is coated well. Add the rest of the coconut milk along with the fish sauce, tamarind, sugar, veggies, and let it all just simmer until the chicken cooks through and the curry thickens, that’s it!
What do you serve with Panang Chicken Curry?
In the past, I’ve shared a Panang curry noodle bowl with you so you can certainly serve this over rice noodles or egg noodles. Steamed white or brown rice is my favorite though way to eat Panang curry though!
Hope you enjoy this quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe!
1 teaspoon tamarind paste concentrate (or more for more tang)
1 shallot, thinly sliced (or ½ red onion)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 kefir lime leaves, optional
¼ cup basil leaves
Instructions
PASTE:Without shaking the can, skim off two tablespoons of the coconut cream and add it to a sauté pan set over medium-high heat. Add the Panang curry paste along with the peanut butter and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and stir to coat, cook for 1-2 minutes. If at any point the sauce begins to stick to the pan, add a couple tablespoons of water to deglaze. Stir in the remaining coconut milk, starting with 1 1/2 cans (adjust with more later if desired.) Add the kefir lime leaves, fish sauce, brown sugar, sliced onion, and red bell pepper.
SIMMER: Allow the curry to come to a simmer, lower the heat and let simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the chicken cooks through. Taste and adjust with additional coconut milk, sugar, tamarind, or fish sauce as desired. Turn off the heat and stir in the basil. Serve warm with rice or cooked rice noodles.
Notes
leftover coconut milk can be poured into an airtight container and frozen for up to 6 months.
Have you made this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!
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In a large saucepan, add jar of paste and either half a can of coconut milk (250 mls approximately), or a can of chopped tomatoes. Simmer on low to medium heat until the mixture had slightly thickened. Add the chicken and continue to cook until meat is tender.
While it has similar ingredients, Panang curry is a bit stronger, richer, sweeter and thicker than Red Curry, as well as slightly nutty thanks to the addition of ground peanuts in the paste. The curry paste is a quick 30 second stick blender blitz!
The main difference is that Panang Curry has a little less chilli and slightly more mellow flavour, and also has roasted peanuts mixed through (which we do with good old peanut butter). Meaning – if you can't find Panang Curry paste, just get Red instead.
Panang curry isn't traditionally an overly spicy curry dish, though spicy food lovers can easily up the heat with the addition of spicier chili peppers. Most recipes call for red bell peppers, though I often include either spicy Thai chilies, or bird's eye chilies to satisfy that zesty craving.
Use fresh ginger and garlic: Fresh ginger and garlic add a lot of flavour to curries. You can add them to the sauce while it's cooking. Add a touch of sweetness: Some store-bought curry sauces can be quite sour. Adding a touch of sweetness, such as a bit of honey or s.
In the case of panang, the paste starts out with many of the same components as a basic gaeng phet (red curry)—chiles, lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime zest, cilantro roots, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste, white pepper, coriander, and cumin seeds.
Usually, the Panang curry also includes a bunch of various vegetables. While very similar to red curry, Penang is usually seasoned to be less spicy than red curry and has the added ingredient of peanuts that gives it a sweeter flavor.
It is healthy and delicious and packed full of flavor. Panang curries are from Thailand, where they use curry pastes that come in green or red, making this one of the easiest curry with chicken recipes out there. Thai food has a special place in my heart, and Thai Panang curry recipes are a comfort food like no other.
Quick-cooking, lean cuts of beef such as sirloin or strip steak are a popular choice for panang, with the meat sliced thin and simmered briefly until cooked through with the curry paste and coconut milk. For this version, I use thick, bone-in short ribs that are browned and braised with water and coconut milk.
Red curry is the most versatile. Red curry is also typically made with shrimp paste, garlic, and salt. Panang curry is very similar to red curry, but it is less spicy and has the addition of ground peanuts.
Adding dairy is an ideal way to dull down the heat in hot spicy food. Try serving spicy curries with a dollop of plain yoghurt or serve that spicy soup with a hearty pour of cream or sour cream. Another method to counteract spiciness in a dish is to add a squeeze of acid such as lime or lemon juice, even vinegar.
Panang curry paste starts out with the same ingredient as red curry paste but cumin is what sets it apart from others. To cook Panang curry, you will need Panang curry paste since it plays a big portion of your final flavor.
The most universal way to use Thai curry paste is to make a curry. With homemade or store-bought Thai curry paste (my family swears by Maesri brand), the first step to use the paste in a curry is to heat about one to two tablespoons of oil with about two tablespoons of curry paste.
The paste is mixed with coconut milk or water plus vegetables, meat or seafood, then served up on a bed of jasmine or sticky rice. You can also use Thai curry paste in warming soups and sizzling stir fries.
Indian style pastes team with diced tomatoes and stock and enriched with a dollop of plain thick yoghurt. They can also be cooked with coconut milk. Team Indonesian style rendang curry paste with coconut milk. Combine Thai red or green curry pastes with coconut milk and stock.
Because the spices are added raw, the paste needs to be fried in hot oil when it is used. The moisture stops the spices from burning until all the water has evaporated out and the oil separates. Once this happens, the liquid base and the main ingredients can be added, just like cooking a curry from scratch.
Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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