Curry Chicken Chinese food

Ever since I posted my easy red curry recipe (still one of my favorite things to make on a busy weeknight…when all I want to do is sit on the couch in my pajamas with a big bowl of something over rice), I’ve been itching to make a green curry chicken recipe as well.

If red curry is the high school homecoming queen, then green curry is kind of like red curry’s shy best friend. Just as good (maybe better), but a little on the mellower side. I’ll stop anthropomorphizing food now.

I love this green curry chicken, because it’s one of those useful fridge-cleaning recipes. I’ll let you in on a secret. I decided to blog this recipe kind of last minute, and planned on going out to the grocery store to buy ingredients. But…lo and behold, I realized that I already had chicken thighs in the freezer and cans of green curry paste, bamboo shoots, and coconut milk in the pantry.

I dug through the fridge and found a couple of carrots, a lone crown of broccoli, and a couple of zucchini. I quickly realized that I didn’t have to go out and buy ingredients at all––I could cobble something together with what I already had. This recipe is forgiving like that. You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand, and it’ll taste amazing no matter what.

You’ll need:

• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil (divided)
• 2 lbs chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. Toss the chicken pieces in 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon oil until well-combined. Sear the chicken pieces in the skillet until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.

If there are a lot of chicken bits stuck to your pan, deglaze with a ¼ cup of water. Then add the sliced onions to the skillet and cook until translucent. Add the curry paste and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the vegetables and cook for 30 seconds. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, lime leaves (if using), chili (if using), and the seared chicken pieces.

Bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. After the curry has finished simmering, stir in the fish sauce, sugar, and basil.