This is a guest post by my good friend and assistant, Vanessa Dionne. She is a Proverbs 31 woman who I respect so much! She is a true “home engineer” and loves experimenting with ethnic recipes.
A few years ago I was inspired by a friend to venture into learning more about cooking Asian Food, specifically Thai and Indian. We had always loved ethnic food from that side of the world but up to that point I had been intimidated to step foot into an Asian grocery store. I am SO glad I got over that (very silly) fear. This Panang Curry recipe is a simple and delicious meal you can make from scratch.
For the Love of Curry
I love making curry for 3 reasons.
1) It is very budget friendly. After you have a few staples (which are all inexpensive and last a long time), all you really need for each meal is a meat, vegetables, and rice.
2) I can use “curry night” as an opportunity to clean out my fridge or freezer. Frozen chicken breasts? Sure. Vegetables that need to be used up soon? Add them in! Meatless meal? Use lentils or chickpeas in place of meat.
3) My family LOVES curry. It has become everyone’s favorite dish of the week.
After trial and error, and a few years of making some sort of variation of a curry dish almost weekly, I am now proud to share my go to easy peasy, beginner friendly curry dish!
Panang Curry Recipe
with Chicken, Broccoli, and Onion
(You can use a different kind of meat & veggies in the same quantities as listed below to meat your preferences)
Add both cans of coconut milk to a large saute pan and cook over medium heat until fragrant and slightly steaming, stirring occasionally. (2-3 minutes)
Add 1-2 tablespoons of Panang curry paste (depending on spice preference) and cook until completely dissolved (2-5 minutes). If your having trouble getting your curry paste to dissolve grab a whisk!
Getting closer…
There we go!
Panang curry paste can only be found at an Asian Grocery store. You will also find that fish sauce and coconut milk are also MUCH cheaper there as well. Just make sure you check the ingredients on the coconut milk cans to make sure you know what your getting.
Add cubed chicken thigh and cook until done. The chicken will be lightly colored all the way through when cooked (5-7 minutes). Be sure to avoid over cooking. As mentioned above you can also try different types of meat in place of chicken!
Once the chicken is done, add remaining ingredients: curry powder, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice & zest, and chopped veggies. Continue to simmer until veggies are crisp tender (3-5 minutes). Again, use this as an opportunity to get rid of excess veggies in your fridge. Other ideas: peppers, mushrooms, and spinach.
Finish with Basil and serve hot over hot white or jasmine rice.
This is such an easy, inexpensive, family friendly meal. It also makes for a fun (and slightly impressive) meal to make for company!
Some of the included links are affiliate links, meaning I would make a tiny commission off the sale should you click through and make a purchase.
Panang Curry Recipe
Author: Vanessa Dionne
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients
- 12 oz Cubed Chicken Thigh
- 2 Cans Full Fat Coconut Milk
- 1-2 TB Panang Curry Paste (depending on spice preference)
- 2-3 Tsp Mild Curry Powder
- 2 TB Sugar
- ¼ Cup Fish Sauce
- Zest & Juice of 1 Small Lime
- 2-3 Cups Broccoli Florets (You can substitute this with other vegetables)
- 1 Onion chopped into bite sized pieces
- ½ Cup Loosely Packed Minced Basil
- Cooked White or Jasmine Rice
Instructions
- Add both cans of coconut milk to a large sauce pan and cook over medium heat until fragrant and slightly steaming, stirring occasionally. (2-3 minutes)
- Add Curry Paste and cook until completely dissolved (2-5 minutes).
- Add Chicken and cook until done. The chicken will be lightly colored all the way through finished cooking (5-7 minutes).
- Add remaining ingredients: curry powder, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice & zest, and chopped veggies and cook simmer until veggies are crisp tender (3-5 minutes).
- Finish with Basil and serve hot over white or jasmine rice.
- Notes:
- **Don’t be like me. Use a microplane and zest your lime before you juice it. It will make life much easier for you.
- **If you don’t have Panang and don’t have time to go to an asian grocery store you can substitute any other kind of curry in it’s place. Just be mindful of how hot it is!
- **If your curry is too spicy you can add more coconut milk, heavy cream, or whole milk.
- **This is meant to be a brothy curry that is served over white rice. If you prefer less broth, cut your coconut milk down to 1-1.5 cans.
- **If you have never used fish sauce, don’t freak out. It is probably in almost everything you have ever eaten from a thai restaurant. It is one of those ingredients you wouldn’t want to taste by itself but it really does enhance the over all flavor of the dish. Don’t be a chicken. Buy the fish sauce and use it! It’s cheap and makes the dish more authentic!
- Enjoy!
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