A few weeks back we got yellow curry from a local Thai restaurant. I was pretty excited about it as I hadn’t had yellow curry for a long time. We used to sell a lot of yellow curry in my old restaurant. To be honest I was a bit disappointed by what we got. It was lacking flavor and somewhat watery. To me, a good Thai curry should be slightly creamy, spicy, tangy, and with a touch of sweetness.

Since I wasn’t satisfied with my yellow curry I decided to try making my own later that week. I always stock my pantry with store-bought curry pastes and coconut milk, so making it wasn’t that much trouble. When I make any type of curry at home, I don’t like to rely on curry pastes by themselves, but like to add a few other spices to enhance the flavor of the curry. Otherwise the “standard” curry paste will be a bit boring. If you look at my ingredient list I add cumin, coriander, turmeric, and more lemon grass. Some of these ingredients you may find in the curry paste, but not enough to make the curry rich in flavor.

I also like to add red Thai chilies that I get from an Asian grocery store. They are pretty spicy so I leave them whole. Yellow curry itself is pretty mild compare to red or panang curry.

I always use full fat coconut milk from a can when I make curry at home; it makes the curry creamy and rich. You can use light coconut milk but you will sacrifice flavor. I added potatoes, carrots, and onions to my yellow curry since that’s how I remember having it from the restaurant.

My homemade version of the curry was far richer and more flavorful than the restaurant’s. I hope you try give this one a try and let me know your experience!

Ingredients

• 6 pieces boneless skinless chicken thigh
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tbsp. yellow curry paste
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground fennel
• 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh lemon grass
• 3 or 3 cups Yukon gold potatoes peeled, cut into large chunks
• 1 1/2 cup or 5 small carrots peeled, trimmed, cut into large chunks
• 2 small or 2 cups yellow onions, peeled, trimmed, cut into large chunks
• 3 cups full fat coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tbsp. palm sugar
• 11/2 tsp. salt or to taste
• 5 red whole Thai chilies (optional)

Garnish

• Fresh basil leaves (1/3 cups)
• Fresh lime slices

Instructions

Cut chicken thigh into two pieces, then slice it into 1/4-inch thick strips and set aside. Prepare all veggies and set aside.

Heat oil in a large, heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Add the curry paste, cumin, coriander, fennel, salt, and lemon grass. Fry for 40-60 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add potatoes and carrots, stirring well. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring and keeping an eye so the spices don’t burn. Add coconut milk, then stir well, turn down the heat to medium low, then cover and cook for 10 minutes. Be sure to check in between and stir.

Add fish sauce and sugar, then stir. Add chicken pieces, give it a good stir, cover, and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are cooked.

Add the red whole chilies and onions to the pot. Gently stir every thing together, then cover and cook for 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning, then stir in the fresh basil leaves. Tear the larger leaves in half. Remove the whole chilies before serving. (I like to keep the chilies and eat it with rice, as I like curries really spicy). Thai red chilies are pretty spicy, so keep that in mind!

Serve over cooked rice and pass along some fresh basil leaves and lime wedges!

Serves 6

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post, share, and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would like to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!