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Creamy Chicken Curry Pasta with Thai Curry Paste

Creamy chicken curry pasta garnished with basil on a plate.
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Tender savory chicken pieces, penne pasta, aromatics and veggies get tossed in a delectable coconut milk curry sauce in this easy Creamy Chicken Curry Pasta!

Ingredients

Scale

Chicken Marinade:

  • 8.8 ounces / 260 grams Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless – thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
  • ¼ TSP ground White Pepper (substitute ground black pepper)
  • ¼ Fine Sea Salt
  • 1 TSP Thai Light Soy Sauce (or any low sodium light soy sauce)
  • 1 TSP Fish Sauce
  • 1 TSP Canola Oil (or olive oil), for cooking

Creamy Chicken Curry Pasta:

  • 5.3 ounces / 150 grams Whole Grain Penne Pasta (or use any small-cut shape regular pasta and gluten-free pasta if needed)
  • ¼ medium / 50 grams Yellow Onion – finely chopped
  • ½ medium / 100 grams Red Bell Pepper – finely sliced
  • 2 cloves / 15 grams Garlic – minced
  • 6 grams / ½ TBSP minced fresh Ginger
  • 9-10 pieces / 30 grams fresh Red Chilies (optional, I used Thai Bird’s Eye red chilies but any variety can be used, omit for milder dish – note 1*) – finely chopped
  • 5 grams / 4-6 Thai Prik Kee Nu Green Chilies (optional, or use any other small hot green chilies – note 1*), to taste – finely chopped
  • 2-3 pieces / 30 grams Baby Corn – sliced through the middle lengthwise, then again widthwise
  • 3 Makrut Lime Leaves (note 2) – destemmed, finely minced into a powder
  • ½ TBSP Canola Oil (or olive oil), for cooking
  • 2 TBSP / 30 grams Thai Yellow Curry Paste (I use Mae Ploy brand – note 3)
  • ¼ TSP Turmeric Powder
  • 7 fluid ounces (½ large can) / 200ml Coconut Milk, full-fat preferred
  • 1 TSP Fish Sauce
  • ½ TSP Brown Sugar Replacement (I use Swerve Brown Sugar – substitute with light brown sugar or coconut sugar – note 4)
  • ¼ TSP Thai Chili Powder, to taste (substitute with crushed red pepper flakes)
  • 1 TSP freshly squeezed Lime Juice (substitute with lemon juice)
  • To Serve: chopped fresh Italian Basil Leaves or Coriander (Cilantro)

Instructions

Prep:

  1. Marinate the chicken: Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to a medium bowl. Season with ground white pepper, fine sea salt, light soy sauce and fish sauce. Mix well to coat and set aside to marinate.
  2. Prepare the fresh ingredients: Chop/slice the yellow onion, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, fresh red and green chilies, baby corn as indicated in the ‘ingredients’ section. Destem the makrut lime leaves and mince into a fine powder.

Creamy Chicken Curry Pasta:

  1. Cook the pasta: Cook the penne pasta al-dente according to package instructions in a large pot of boiling salted water (or use the same deep nonstick pan you’ll use to make the rest of the pasta dish). Reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water, then drain and set aside. (I like to run water cold water over the pasta to prevent it from sticking and cooking further but this is optional.)
  2. Cook the chicken: Heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in a medium-sized deep edged nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken pieces and spread out the pieces. Allow to sear for 1 minute, then flip and sear the other side for another minute. Stir fry for 30-40 seconds until cooked through. Transfer to a clean bowl and set aside.
  3. Sauté the veggies and aromatics: Heat the remaining ½ tablespoon of canola oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the yellow onion and red bell pepper and sauté for 45 seconds until slightly softened. Add the garlic, fresh red chilies and green chilies and sauté to combine until fragrant – about 30 seconds.
  4. Add the remaining veggies, curry paste and makrut lime leaves: Add the baby corn, minced makrut lime leaves, Thai yellow curry paste and turmeric powder. Mix until everything is combined well and the curry paste has broken down.
  5. Stir in coconut milk and seasonings: Lower the heat and slowly pour in the coconut milk. Add the fish sauce, brown sugar replacement and Thai chili powder. Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer for a minute or so to allow the flavors to meld.
  6. Add the cooked pasta and chicken: Add the cooked pasta and chicken and mix well to combine until everything is evenly coated in the sauce. If the sauce thickens too much, add 1-2 TBSP reserved pasta water to thin it and mix to combine.
  7. Stir in lime juice: Stir in the fresh lime juice and switch off the heat.
  8. To Serve: Divide evenly onto plates and garnish with chopped basil. Serve immediately.

Equipment

Notes

  1. Fresh Red & Green Chilies. Since Thai yellow curry is quite mild, I’ve used plenty of Thai Bird’s Eye chilies and Prik Kee Nu Green Chilies which are both quite spicy. Use any type of hot red and green chili peppers that are easily available to you. Prik Kee Nu chilies are tiny Thai chilies that are fiery hot. They can be found in Thai grocery stores and in some Asian supermarkets. Feel free to leave them out as they might be difficult to find outside of Asia. Adjust the quantity of both red and green chilies to suit your heat level preference or omit completely.
  2. Makrut Lime Leaves. This Thai herb is also known as kaffir lime leaves and has a citrusy aroma. It adds a sweet lime-like scent and flavor to Thai food. Find it in a Thai grocery store, or substitute with the ground dried version or whole dried makrut lime leaves. The latter two can be found in most well-stocked mainstream supermarkets.
  3. Thai Yellow Curry Paste. I use Mae Ploy Thai yellow curry paste in my home because I find the flavors to be more authentic. Other great brands I recommend are Maesri and Nam Jai. If you prefer a milder curry paste, De Siam and Thai Kitchen are both flavorful and good quality options. You can find yellow curry paste in large mainstream supermarkets, Thai and Asian grocery stores and online.
  4. Brown Sugar Replacement. I used Swerve Brown Sugar (made from erythritol and allulose) to balance out the savory and spicy flavors in this chicken curry pasta dish. Feel free to use light brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey or any other sweetener of your choice.
  5. Storing and reheating leftovers. Store any leftovers in an airtight sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat on high in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway through, until hot throughout. I recommend garnishing with basil just before eating. Reheating basil in the microwave can cause it to become black and bitter when it is used as a topping.
  6. How to make this milder. Use fewer hot red chili peppers and prik kee nu green chilies. Or omit them both completely. Thai yellow curry paste is milder than other Thai curry pastes but if you are very sensitive to spice or introducing curry flavors to children, omit the Thai chili powder (or crushed red pepper flakes) too.
  7. See the ‘Variations’ section in the post above to make this recipe for specific dietary needs or if you’d like to customize it with other veggies or proteins, use curry powder instead, etc.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://thatspicychick.com/creamy-chicken-curry-pasta/