Easy Weeknight Chicken Panang Curry Recipe
This Easy Weeknight Chicken Panang Curry is a flavorful Thai-inspired dish featuring tender chicken thigh fillets simmered in a rich, creamy coconut curry sauce infused with roasted peanuts, aromatic spices, and traditional red curry paste. Ready in just over 40 minutes, it’s a perfect comforting meal for busy evenings with a balance of sweet, savory, and mildly spicy flavors.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients
Scale
For the Curry Paste Mixture
- 1 tbsp blanched peanuts
- 1/2 jar (about 100g) Marion’s Kitchen Thai Red Curry Paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
For the Curry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 500g (1 lb) chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup (180 ml) coconut milk
- 1½ tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
- 1½ tbsp finely shaved palm sugar, or to taste
- 2 tbsp coconut cream
- Finely sliced makrut lime leaves, to serve
- Sliced fresh red chilli, to serve
Instructions
- Toast and Grind Peanuts: Heat a small frying pan over medium-high heat and add the blanched peanuts. Toast them until they turn lightly golden, making sure not to burn them. Immediately transfer the toasted peanuts to a mortar and use a pestle to grind them into a fine powder.
- Mix the Spice Paste: Transfer the ground peanuts to a small bowl. Add the Thai red curry paste, ground cumin, and ground coriander. Stir well to combine all the ingredients thoroughly into a fragrant spice mixture.
- Cook the Curry Base: Heat vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the prepared curry paste mixture and cook while stirring continuously for about 2 minutes until the spices release their aroma. Then add the thinly sliced chicken thigh fillets and stir-fry until the chicken pieces start to brown.
- Simmer the Curry: Pour in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and let the curry simmer gently for 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld and the chicken to become tender.
- Season and Finish: Taste the curry and add fish sauce and palm sugar gradually, adjusting to your desired balance of salty and sweet. Transfer the curry to a serving plate. Drizzle with coconut cream over the top and garnish with finely sliced makrut lime leaves and slices of fresh red chili for a hint of heat and aroma.
Notes
- Use blanched peanuts to avoid skins that can alter the texture and color.
- Adjust fish sauce and palm sugar to taste for balanced seasoning.
- If makrut lime leaves are unavailable, kaffir lime leaves can be substituted.
- Serve the curry with steamed jasmine rice or rice noodles to complete the meal.
- To make it spicier, add more sliced fresh red chili or a pinch of chili flakes during cooking.
Keywords: Chicken Panang Curry, Thai Red Curry, Easy Chicken Curry, Weeknight Dinner, Coconut Curry, Spicy Thai Curry
