Thai Panang Chicken Curry

My Panang Chicken Curry is a dish dreams are made from. The ultimate creamy, fragrant, and utterly intoxicating Thai curry you’ll ever taste. It’s little wonder this dish is so loved, and the good news is you can make the entire thing from SCRATCH with this easy-to-follow recipe.

Panang Chicken Curry is just one of the delicious supercharged South East Asian Curries I make on the regular. So full of flavour but without toasting your tastebuds with chilli heat. I always make my Thai Panang Curry milder than say a green or red curry, because it can't always he about hot hot spice - sometimes we need to appreciate the sweeter, more fragrant side of Thailand.

When it comes to Panang curry, one of the most intensely rich and fragrant curries Thailand has to offer, it's all about the sauce for me. It's traditionally thicker and more reduced than other curries so the sauce clings to the meat to create a silky flavour-bomb.

What's Ahead?

What is Panang Curry?

Panang curry is a Thai curry dish known for its rich and creamy texture. It's made with a thick coconut milk base and flavored with red curry paste, kaffir lime leaves, and a blend of spices like coriander, cumin, and lemongrass. Panang curry often includes meat or tofu and is characterized by its slightly sweet and nutty flavor profile, distinct from other Thai curries like green or red curry.

Nyonya cuisine, also known as Peranakan cuisine, originates from the descendants of Chinese immigrants who settled in the Malay Archipelago, including areas like Penang, Malacca, and Singapore. While Penang is not the sole origin of Nyonya cuisine, it has certainly influenced the culinary traditions of the region. Nyonya cuisine combines Chinese, Malay, and other indigenous influences, resulting in a unique and flavorful culinary style characterized by its use of aromatic spices and ingredients.

Why it works?

It's rich and flavourful - in my opinion, this is the most impressive of Thai curries. It has so much flavour and is more fragrant than red and green curry.

Stuff You'll Need

My recipe creates a panang curry paste from scratch. Many people opt for a pre-made paste, which is fine as long as you find a good quality paste, but to truly understand where the flavour comes from you should, at least once in your like, make your own paste from scratch. It's easy. Here's where the key flavours come from:

• Panang curry paste - we blend together (I use a blender these days) dried chillies, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots, coriander stalks, shrimp paste, lime leaves and ground cumin. I'll get it as smooth as I can for the best, silky texture to the curry.
• Coconut oil - to fry the paste in for even more of that quintessential Thai flavour.
• Chicken thighs - I like to use thighs to ensure the meat stays nice and juicy.
• Coconut milk - for the creaminess and sweet fragrance
• Salty fish sauce and sweet palm sugar balance out the flavour.
• Cilantro - is the final garnish for its fragrant herbal flavour.

Serving & Storage Suggestions

I rarely serve this curry with anything other than lots of fluffy Jasmine rice. On the occasions where I've run out of jasmine rice, I might serve it with rice or egg noodles or even Malaysian style with a couple of flaky and buttery roti breads.

• Freezer - This curry is a great contender for freezing. I portion mine into single serves in old take-out containers and freeze. They'll be good for 3+ months. Reheat from frozen in the microwave until piping hot. As a tip, add 1/4 cup water over the frozen curry for reheating to avoid microwave burn and to avoid it drying out.
• Fridge - If you're keeping in the fridge, the curry will be good for up to a week if it's well covered. Reheat in the microwave or pan until piping hot.

Ready to get cooking?

Now that you've seen just how simple this curry is to make, a lot easier than you thought, right? It makes complete sense to try for yourself to see how it compares to take out. I'll rarely order this from a restaurant unless; a) I KNOW it's a good restaurant or b) I'm in Thailand. I know that this recipe creates a superior curry to most Thai restaurants. I'll let you be the judge - hope you enjoy the recipe.

More tasty Thai recipes

If you liked this Panang Chicken Curry, I'm sure you'll love some more of my favourite Thai recipes.

• Thai Omelette (Kai Jeow)
  
• Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Salmon
  
• Thai Crying Tiger Beef with Nam Jim Jaew Sauce
  
• Pad Prik King
  
• Thai Satay and Thai Peanut Satay Sauce
  
• Beef Massaman Curry
  
• Thai Red Curry Chicken
  
• Thai Yellow Curry with Minced Pork
  
• Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nua)
  
• Thai-Style Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)
  
• Satay Chicken Curry

This recipe uses affiliations and may receive a commission based on your activity (link clicks). Learn more.