This one-pot coconut Thai chicken curry is incredibly flavorful and easy to prepare thanks to delicious time-saving tip: not browning the chicken. After sautéing an onion and making a simple sauce with spices, curry pastes, tomatoes, and coconut milk, you add the chicken to the pot and transfer it to the oven. In just about an hour, it will be done! The sauce is plentiful, so making rice or some sort of flatbread essential.
Are you still browning chicken?
When I was first learning to cook, browning meat prior to braising it, is what all of my favorite cookbooks taught. It’s also what I learned from the chef, Thien Ngo, I worked for at Fork. Before Thien braised anything — chicken, brisket, short ribs — he always began by browning the meat first.
But browning, as far as I can tell, serves only one good purpose: to remove excess fat, thereby ensuring the sauce, in the end, won’t taste unpleasantly fatty. For a braise, browning is not a step that produces crispy skin. And while it creates an appealing color and, in turn, flavor, these two outcomes can be achieved without actually going through the tedious process of browning.
How? In the oven.
Two years ago I made Diana Henry’s Moroccan Chicken and Rice with Harissa and Dates, a recipe that calls for essentially chucking everything into a pan at once and throwing it in the oven. There’s no preliminary browning, and it works: the end product being crispy skin and fall-off-the-bone meat.
I’ve stopped browning chicken ever since, and I’ve been revisiting my favorite braises in the meantime, giving them the chuck-in-the-oven treatment. This one-pan chicken with sherry vinegar sauce is a favorite, and here’s another one: one-pan Thai chicken curry with spinach.
It uses all of the same flavorings as Thien’s Thai chicken curry, but the method is different, simpler.
One-Pan Thai Chicken Curry How-To
- Sauté an onion.
- Add turmeric, curry powder, and Thai red curry paste.
- Add tomatoes, coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, and water.
- Add chicken, transfer to the oven and cook for 1 hour.
- Out of the oven, add a heap of spinach, stir, and serve over rice.
After an hour in the oven, the chicken skins are browned, and the meat has absorbed all the flavors of the sauce. The sauce is plentiful, making rice or some sort of flatbread essential.
A final note regarding not browning:
As noted above, browning meat does remove excess fat. If, prior to cooking, you notice your chicken thighs or drumsticks are particularly fatty, trim the excess fat/overhanging skin. This step usually is enough to ensure the final sauce doesn’t taste too fatty, but if, in the end, you still find the sauce tasting too rich, you can skim excess fat, which will pool to the surface.
5 Favorite No-Browning Chicken Recipes
- One-Pan Chicken and Shallots
- One-Pan Chicken with Sherry Vinegar Sauce
- Chicken legs with white wine, parmigiano, and olive oil
- Moroccan Chicken and Rice
- Spatchcocked Chicken with Za’atar and Lemon
PS: Curried Lentils with Kale & Coconut Milk
PPS: Chopped Thai Satay Salad with Peanut-Ginger Dressing
PPS: Easy Thai Chicken Satay with Coconut Rice
Easy, One-Pot Coconut Thai Chicken Curry
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6 to 8
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I learned to make this chicken curry while working at Fork in Philadelphia many years ago, now. The chef, Thien Ngo, prepared it somewhat differently — he browned the meat first in one pot; browned a ton of vegetables (carrots, parsnips, onions) in another pan; additionally, he deep-fried potatoes; and he cooked everything stove top.
I’ve converted this to a one-pan number, and in place of the carrots, parsnips, and potatoes, I stir in a heap of spinach at the end.
A few notes:
- If your chicken thighs or drumsticks are particularly fatty, trim the excess fat. This will prevent your sauce from being too fatty in the end.
- Thai red curry paste. Maesri is the brand I buy at the Asian market. You can find it online, too. I use half a tin for this recipe (which is about 3 tablespoons), which makes it quite spicy but not outrageous. If you are sensitive to heat, start with a tablespoon and adjust the sauce with more at the end.
- Coconut Milk. I’ve gotten in the habit of ordering it online because I love this brand, and I can’t always find it. Plus it’s cheaper.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- kosher salt
- 8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs or drumsticks or a combination of both
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 to 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (see notes above)
- 3 to 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped, or more or less to taste
- 3 to 5 ounces spinach, optional
For serving:
- cooked Jasmine or Basmati rice (or any rice you like)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400ºF.
- In a large sauté pan over hight heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, and immediately turn the heat to medium-low. Stir every so often, and cook until the onions soften and begin browning at the edges, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the chicken in a large bowl and season all over with kosher salt. Use 1 teaspoon per pound.
- Add the curry powder, turmeric, and Thai red curry paste to the onions, and stir until onions are coated in the spices, about a minute. Add the tomatoes, and stir until they just begin to soften, about a minute. Add the can of coconut milk. Fill up the empty can of coconut milk twice with water and add to the pan. Add the fish sauce and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Note: It’s going to feel like a lot of liquid — just go with it. In the hour in the oven, it will reduce considerably.
- Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat. Transfer pan to the oven and cook for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced considerably, the chicken skin is brown, and the meat is falling off the bone. If the liquid has reduced too much, add more by the quarter cup. Note: If you make this ahead, you may need to add more water upon reheating.
- Add cilantro and stir. Add spinach, if using, and stir. Spoon rice into bowls. Top with chicken and sauce, and serve immediately.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop/Oven
- Cuisine: Thai
Keywords: one-pan, Thai, chicken, curry, coconut, milk, cilantro, dinner
Kim says
Looks great but really don’t like dark meat chicken. (Don’t judge, lol!) Could this be made with boneless chicken breasts, either with skin on or off? I would imagine cooking time would be reduced.
alexandra says
ha! You are not alone, and I meant to address this as I knew I would be asked 🙂 Yes, I would say definitely. I think definitely reduce the time … start checking at 30 minutes maybe. Also: you may need to remove the chicken from the pan after 30 minutes, then allow the sauce to reduce further on the stovetop. If you wanted to do boneless, skinless, you could probably do it all stovetop. Again: just keep an eye on the chicken, and reduce the sauce as needed till it tastes good and reaches the right consistency, then add the chicken back in.
Hope this makes sense. Let me know if there’s anything else!
Robbert Stellingar says
Turmeric is curry powder DING
alexandra says
Turmeric is not curry powder. Turmeric often is included in curry powder (which is a blend of spices), but the two are not the same.
Annette Cook says
This looks great! Can I use green curry paste instead? We don’t care for the red.
alexandra says
Yes! Go for it. I love green curries.
SallyBR says
Absolutely wonderful! I despise the step of browning chicken pieces, so I’m all over this one
on my list to make next weekend for sure!
alexandra says
I love your STRONG feelings about browning, Sally! Hope you love this one 🙂 🙂 🙂
SallyBR says
despise was pretty strong, right? Could be worse, though… I could tell you REALLY how I feel about it!
😉
alexandra says
hahaha, totally 🙂 🙂 🙂 It was PERFECT.
Dana says
Ali, you never fail to make dinner look new and fantastic. You are brilliant!
alexandra says
Awwww, thank you, Dana 🙂 🙂 🙂
Cora says
What would you suggest if coconut milk isn’t a favorite?
★★★★★
alexandra says
Are you opposed to something like half and half or cream? I feel like you need something with some richness here. I found some info on this site, too:
” Cream substitutes
There are many creams you can use as a substitute for coconut milk, including heavy cream, half and half, and sour cream.
If you want to use heavy cream, replace 1 cup of coconut milk with 1 cup of heavy cream. The texture will be the same, and you’ll get a wonderful flavor for your dish.
You can also use half and half and sour cream if you’re allergic to coconut. These two will deliver the same creaminess as coconut milk.
You can even use low-fat cream cheese. For this recipe, use ½ cup of low-fat cream cheese and ½ cup of skim milk to substitute for 1 cup of coconut milk.
Another popular option is to use ¾ cups of condensed milk for 1 cup of coconut milk in your recipe.”
Cora says
Thank you so much!
alexandra says
Sure thing 🙂
Becky says
Hi, do you add any pepper for seasoning?
alexandra says
You certainly can!
Mary says
Do you think this would work with tofu instead of chicken?
alexandra says
I do! I just wonder at what stage you would add the tofu? You could probably simmer the sauce stovetop till it reduces/concentrates to the desired consistency/flavor and add cubes of tofu at some point along the way. My only concern is that they might disintegrate in the oven during. What type of tofu do you typically buy? I feel like something on the firmer side would work best.
Somia Aluwalia says
I have made something similar with tofu and it works wonderfully! Just brown the tofu pieces (or slabs) before and add it in and let simmer on stove top with 1:1 coconut milk to water ratio to desired thickness.
Kisa Nantz says
I am allergic to shellfish and stay away from fish sauce. Will this recipe be ok if I omit? Is there something I can substitute?
Esther says
I didn’t use it, and it still turned out great. 🙂
alexandra says
Yay! So happy to hear this Esther 🙂 🙂 🙂
alexandra says
Just omit it! Or use a tablespoon of soy sauce in its place.
Pat says
Beware, many brands of red curry paste contain shrimp paste!
Alex says
Canned tomatoes in place of fresh? I’m doing it anyway haha, but wanted to know if there is a particular reason to use fresh in this recipe.
alexandra says
Absolutely use canned! I’ll make a note … I still had some plum tomatoes from the farmshare, so I used fresh, but the chef I worked for who made this curry all the time always used canned.
Esther says
This was a hit in my house! So easy and so much flavour. I didn’t have spinach, unfortunately, so I made a garlic Bok Choy side with it. Went perfectly together.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Garlic Bok Choy sounds amazing! I love love love Bok Choy!
Alyce says
This sounds fabulous and I’m keen to try it, but I have several types of curry powder in my pantry. What type did you use for this recipe? Thanks!
alexandra says
Hi Alyce! I use Madras Curry powder. I’ll add a note to the recipe 🙂
Claire Powers says
Oh I can’t wait to make this! I try any recipe that has the name Thai in it. ;-/
Somewhere along the line I also stopped browning chicken unless I saw an absolute need for it. I thought the reason to do it was to create maximum amount of fond. I find that easy to forgo in a recipe that has a lot of big flavors going on.
I like Maseri for both the taste and the small container. For red curry I also like Mae Ploy. (Thai Kitchen–not so much.)
I bet I know how you cleaned your pan after you’d made this! 😉
Claire Powers says
Forgot to say, my local supermarket has an organic “house brand” called Wild Harvest. I don’t know if it’s national or regional in the Pacific Northwest. I love their organic coconut milk. I just stocked up on 12 cans for $1.50 each. Good flavor and not filled with odd ingredients.
alexandra says
Wow!! $1.50 is an amazing price … I’ll look up that brand. I got into the habit of ordering online because I was tired of paying $4.99/can … but I love the idea of using something with good ingredients. Thanks!
alexandra says
Hahaha, you know I used the magic solution 🙂 🙂 🙂
I am the same: I think I bookmark anything that says Thai or Curry (or peanut or noodle for that matter, too :)).
Nice tip on the Mae Ploy, too, which I think is easier to find than Maesri.
Great to hear from you!
Monica says
Hi….I’m wondering if you have to cover this with a lid or cook in oven without the lid?
alexandra says
No cover!
May says
This looks so tasty! If I did want to add carrots to this, should I add it along with the chicken or is that cooking time too long? I love soft carrots so I think it should be fine but figured I’d ask since it sounds like the original recipe used to have it 😉
alexandra says
Hi May! Yep, just add the carrots in right along with the chicken.
Rachel says
I made this tonight, and the flavor was delicious (although I accidentally added way too much salt!). I’m wondering – is this supposed to thicken up as it cooks? I found I still had a lot of liquid at the end. Thank you!
alexandra says
Hi Rachel, What kind of pan did you use? There definitely is a lot of liquid, but it should slickly thickened and flavorful. I’m wondering if my very wide pan allows the liquid to evaporate more. Next time, you can always simmer the sauce stovetop till it reduces to the consistency you like.
Laura says
I used a much deeper pan and mine didn’t thicken up any, but it was still SO GOOD. I think next time I will use just one can of water and see how it goes. Great recipe!
alexandra says
So happy to hear this! I should make a note about pan size in relation to water quantity … glad you liked it even so! But yes, reducing the water is a good idea if you are using a deeper pan.
E says
Hi! This looks great, but I don’t eat chicken. I appreciate the suggestions re tofu, and I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on how to adapt this for fish. Would you just simmer the fish in the sauce on the stovetop? Would anything be lost by not baking the sauce? Thanks!
alexandra says
Hi E. Nothing would be lost, but I think you will have a lot of liquid … I would either fill the empty coconut milk can up with water only once, or simmer the sauce for a bit until it tastes good, before you add the fish, because the fish will cook very quickly.
E. says
Thanks! Will try it.
Arlo says
I plan on making this soon – it sounds really good. Can I assume the pan should be uncovered in the oven? It seems that’s the only way all the liquid will be reduced.
alexandra says
Yes, uncovered!
Lisa says
Hi Alex,
Could I add other vegetables to this, like red bell peppers or aubergine? I’m just wondering at what stage of the process they should be added?
alexandra says
Definitely! I Think you could add them to the pan right before you transfer it to the oven.
SYA says
Just made this yesterday and I can’t get enough! I love it! I wasn’t able to get the chicken to brown in the oven, however, and I’m wondering if it’s the pan size? I used my a dutch oven and not all the thighs were exposed but even the exposed ones didn’t brown. It’s still so delicious so i didn’t care but would love to know what I did wrong.
alexandra says
Hi SYA — It sounds as though the shape of the pan is preventing the browning … bummer! Wide and shallow-ish is ideal. I have a feeling that the pan is also the cause of the thighs that are exposed not browning — you’re just not getting the air circulation you need. Do you have a 9×13-inch pan? One thought is to make the sauce stovetop, and transfer everything to the 9×13-inch to cook in the oven, so that the thighs/sauce get that air circulation. Glad you liked it even so!
Justin says
Browning is not done simply to make a crispy chicken skin, it’s main purpose is to develop flavor. Research the Maillard Reaction for the details. Cooking food improperly just makes for a boring, unexciting meal. If you want cheap and easy without any effort, just hit up the drive-thru.
alexandra says
Thanks, Justin. I’m familiar with the maillard reaction. Just doesn’t always seem necessary and definitely not here.
Kristen says
I’m guessing this has already been asked so I apologize. How about using bone-in, skin on chicken breasts? My guess is it will work and I’d just have to monitor the temp of the chicken for doneness and then potentially remove and let the sauce reduce a bit further as mentioned for other options above. Sound reasonable? Thank you!
alexandra says
Hi Kristen! Yes, exactly as you suggest … remove the chicken when done; reduce the sauce further stovetop till it reaches desired consistency.
Stephanie says
Made this tonight with some fresh naan, loved finishing it in the oven to get a crisp on the skin. It’s delicious as is, but was definitely missing something. I realized after looking at my other curry recipes, it’s missing ginger. Mixed in some ginger paste and it’s perfect.
★★★★
Claire says
I keep coming back to this recipe and am looking forward to making it soon! Following up on your response about using boneless chicken breasts, is there any reason to brown the chicken before adding it to the sauce, or should I be adding the raw chicken breasts to the curry sauce (and then proceeding on the stovetop until the chicken is cooked through)?
alexandra says
That’s honestly up to you! Without skins on the breast, there will be no browning. So if you like your chicken to be a little brown/crisp on the exterior, you may want to brown it first. The timing will just be different because the boneless skinless breasts will cook so much more quickly than bone-in meat. So again, you may need to reduce the sauce stovetop till its the thickness/flavor you like while your cooked or nearly chicken breasts rest at room temperature. Then you can add the chicken back in at the very end to finish cooking/get back up to temperature. Hope that makes sense!
Claire says
It does make sense — thank you for such a comprehensive reply! I am making an effort in 2020 to cook much more, and your recipes have already been helping with that. I made your curried chickpea and red lentil soup for dinner (and lunch!) the other night, and it was delicious. As delicious as it was two years ago, as an old comment of mine on Food52 reminded me the other day. 🙂
alexandra says
Oh wonderful! So happy to hear this, Claire. And how funny re Food52 🙂 I’ve got to make this one again soon.