Dinnertime: Thai Coconut Curry with Chicken

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Chicken Panang - a creamy, rich curry based Thai dish that will make you fall in love with Thailand.

Doesn’t it look yummy? Setting up and taking that photo was harder than preparing this classic Thai dish.

My first experience with Panang Gai (or Chicken Panang for those of us who don’t butcher the Thai language like my husband) was nearly eight years ago … on my very FIRST date with Hubby. He had only been back in the states for a couple of months, following a nine-month stint in Thailand.

He was craving Thai food… and I wanted to impress this boy I liked.

So, I assured him that I LOVED Thai food (which, I’d never eaten in my life) and then ordered the Panang.

Lucky for both of us (and our future marriage), the Panang was DIVINE and became my favorite item off any Thai restaurant menu. But, with 2.5 kiddos, heading out for Thai food just isn’t as easy as it used to be.

(They tend to fling rice. Not on purpose … it just … happens.)

While I finally figured out how to make Thom Kha Gai (our family’s favorite Thai soup), Chicken Panang was elusive … no matter how many recipes and variations I tried, I could never get it “right.”

Then, I realized I had been missing a key ingredient: peanut butter. With this knowledge, my world (and our Thai Dinner Nights) changed forever. The recipes I had tried called for whole peanuts or simply left out the legume all together. But adding peanut butter? NOW we had Chicken Panang.

And, yes — my children (even picky Mr. Boy) LOVE this dish.

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Chicken Panang Curry

Serves: 4-6; Prep Time: 35 Minutes

Ingredients

1-2 lbs Chicken boneless breasts or thighs
3 tbs. of Peanut Butter (preferably natural or unsweetened)
1 can of Coconut Milk
4 tbs. of Brown Sugar, packed*
3-4 tb Red Curry Paste
2 tsp of Fish Sauce
The juice of 1 Lime
2 fresh Kafir Lime leaves, julienne (optional)
1-1.5 Cups of Steamed Fresh or Frozen Green Beans (optional)

Directions

In a heavy-bottom skillet, over low heat, whisk the peanut butter and coconut milk until well mixed.
Add the sugar, red curry, fish sauce, kafir leaves and lime juice stirring well. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Add the chicken and continue to cook at a low simmer until the chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally to avoid burning the sauce. As the curry cooks, you will see a red oil come to the surface — this is a natural reaction of the red curry paste as it cooks.
While the chicken is cooking, use your favorite steaming method (confession — I use the microwave!) to steam the green beans till crisp-tender.
When the chicken is cooked, add the steamed green beans to the pan and stir to incorporate. Serve over your favorite rice or noodle.

Notes

Brown sugar works well in this recipe, but I’ve found that Turbinado sugar (“Sugar in the Raw”) gives a much more authentic sweetness.

Kafir Lime Leaves can be a little harder to find unless one (a) lives close to a good Asian market or (b) has a Hubby who buys and plants a Kafir Lime Tree. While the Kafir leaves definitely add a lovely component to the flavor of this dish, if you can’t find them — don’t stress over it.

Our favorite Thai restaurant adds green beans to their Panang, but they aren’t necessarily a traditional ingredient. Their very “green” flavor, however, does help balance the richness of the curry.

If you like a spicy/hot panang, add Sambal (red chili paste) a 1/2 teaspoon at a time until the desired level of heat has been reached.

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Disclosure: This recipe was originally sponsored as part of an H-E-B recipe challenge; I was provided with products, promotional items and compensation. Any and all opinions expressed are my own.

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