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Peanut Butter Chicken Curry

Overhead view of round serving bowl with Peanut Butter Chicken Curry with veggies garnished with coriander and chopped peanuts garnish.
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5 from 4 reviews

This Peanut Butter Chicken Curry is easy to make, full of big and bright flavors, and lusciously creamy and rich! It’s made with mostly everyday ingredients, customizable with your favorite protein and veggies, and is incredibly satisfying with steamed rice!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Chicken:

  • 2 Chicken Breasts (about 400 grams / 0.88 pounds), boneless, skinless – cleaned and pat-dried with paper towels, then diced into bite-sized pieces
  • ½ TSP Garlic Powder
  • ½ TSP ground Ginger
  • ½ TSP Onion Powder
  • ½ TSP Turmeric Powder
  • ½ TSP Kosher Salt, to taste
  • ½ TSP freshly cracked Black Pepper
  • 1 TSP ground Cayenne, to taste
  • 1 TBLS Olive Oil (or any cooking oil you prefer)

For the Thai Sweet Chili Peanut Sauce:

  • 4 TBLS (½ cup) Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
  • 2 TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
  • 6–8 TBLS Smooth (Creamy) Peanut Butter (I use Skippy’s. Crunchy peanut butter will work well too. Use more or less depending on your preference.)
  • 1.5 TBLS Distilled Rice Vinegar
  • 1 TSP Sesame Oil
  • 2 TSP Crushed Red Pepper Chili Flakes, to taste

For the Peanut Butter Chicken Curry:

  • 2 TBLS Olive Oil (or any cooking oil you prefer)
  • ½ Red Onion – thinly sliced
  • 8 Garlic cloves – minced
  • 1.5-inch knob of Ginger – minced (about 2 TBLS minced)
  • 2–10 Red Chilies (Bird’s eye preferred), to taste – chopped
  • 1 Large Red Chili (optional) – thinly sliced at an angle
  • ½ Red Bell Pepper – cored and deseeded, thinly sliced, then sliced in half
  • ½ Yellow Bell Pepper – cored and deseeded, thinly sliced, then sliced in half
  • 125 grams (27–28 pieces) Snow Peas (Snow Beans) – ends trimmed and hairy parts removed
  • 6 pieces Baby Corn – cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 1 (14 ounce/400ml) can Coconut Milk
  • 2 TSP Corn Starch + ¼ cup Water (mixed together to make a slurry)
  • 1.5 TBLS freshly squeezed Lime Juice
  • 1 TSP Brown Sugar, more or less to taste
  • ½ TSP Mint Flakes
  • 2–3 TBLS chopped Coriander (Cilantro)
  • Optional toppings: Reserved coriander, chopped unsalted (or lightly salted) oil roasted peanuts, a sprinkle of crushed red pepper chili flakes
  • To Serve: Steamed white rice, lime wedges for squeezing if desired

Instructions

Prep:

  1. Season the chicken: Combine the garlic powder, ground ginger, onion powder, turmeric powder, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Mix with a spoon until the spices are evenly integrated. Dice the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and add them to the bowl. Mix until the chicken is evenly coated in the spices and seasonings. Set aside.
  2. Prepare the fresh ingredients: While the chicken is marinating, prepare the fresh ingredients. Chop the red onion, garlic, ginger, red chilies, large red chili (if using), red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, baby corn, and coriander as indicated in the “Ingredients” section. Trim the ends of the snow beans, and remove and discard any hairy parts.
  3. Make the Thai Sweet Chili Peanut Sauce: Combine the Thai sweet chili sauce, low sodium light soy sauce, peanut butter, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper chili flakes in a bowl or measuring cup. Mix with a spoon until thoroughly combined and a smooth and thick paste has formed.
  4. Make the corn starch slurry: Combine the corn starch and water in a small bowl or measuring cup. Mix with a spoon until combined and a slurry has formed, then set aside.

For the Peanut Butter Chicken Curry:

  1. Cook the chicken: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large wok or large deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the marinated chicken and spread out the pieces evenly in the wok. Cook undisturbed for a minute, then toss and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken has browned and has fully cooked through. Transfer to a clean bowl and set aside.
  2. Sauté aromatics: In the same wok (no need to wipe out), heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the red onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
  3. Stir-fry chilies and veggies: Add the chopped red chilies and thinly sliced large red chili and stir-fry for a minute to combine. Toss in the red and yellow bell pepper, snow beans, and baby corn and stir-fry for a minute until slightly softened.
  4. Simmer: Lower the heat to low and pour in the coconut milk and add the Thai Sweet Chili Peanut Sauce. Give the corn starch slurry a quick stir with a spoon (the corn starch will have settled at the bottom) and pour it into the wok too. Give everything a good stir to combine, then add the cooked chicken and stir. Cover the wok and simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring once in between to make sure the peanut butter isn’t sticking to the bottom of the wok.
  5. Stir in the lime juice, brown sugar, and coriander: Uncover the wok and turn the heat back up to medium-high. Stir in the freshly squeezed lime juice, brown sugar, mint flakes, and half of the coriander. Simmer for a minute, then switch off the heat.
  6. To Serve: Transfer to a serving bowl/dish and garnish with the remainder chopped coriander, chopped peanuts, and a sprinkle of crushed red chili flakes. Serve immediately with warm steamed rice and extra lime wedges for squeezing if desired.

Equipment

Notes

Ingredient Notes, Cook’s Tips, and FAQs

  1. Chicken: You can use boneless and skinless chicken thighs if you prefer. In fact, thighs are more juicy and flavorful so they’ll work great in this curry.
  2. Thai Sweet Chili Sauce: Depending on your heat level preference, you can use a mild Thai sweet chili sauce such as Thai Kitchen’s Thai sweet chili sauce. If you love your spicy, I recommend using Hot & Spicy Sweet Chili Sauce Pantainorasingh Brand or Mae Ploy’s Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. They both are hotter than most other brands out there.
  3. Peanut Butter: I use Skippy’s smooth (creamy) peanut butter, which has salt and sugar added to it already. Feel free to use a crunchy peanut butter instead if you like. While you can use a natural peanut butter, it will result in a less creamy and thick sauce so I do not recommend it.
  4. Adjust the spice level to taste. Feel free to make this curry as mild or as spicy as you prefer by adjusting (or omitting entirely) the amount of ground cayenne, fresh red chilies, and crushed red pepper flakes. If you are very sensitive to spicy foods, I recommend using a mild Thai sweet chili sauce and also using less of it.
  5. Don’t simmer the curry too long. This is a quick cooking curry and doesn’t need a lot of time to simmer. Simmering too long may cause the chicken to dry out and the veggies to lose their crunch and flavor.
  6. Can I use different veggies? Absolutely! You can use potatoes, sugar snaps, green beans, mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, capsicum, or any other curry friendly veggies you have in your fridge!
  7. What can I serve this curry with? Steamed white or brown rice, vermicelli, rice noodles, linguini, or even quinoa, zoodles, or cauliflower rice for low-carb options would all taste great with this curry.
  8. How long will this curry keep? This curry will keep for 3-4 days in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in a wok or pot on the stovetop. Alternatively, you can reheat in the microwave for 1 minute, then stir and heat for 1-2 more minutes or until hot throughout.
  9. Can I freeze this curry? Yes. This curry freezes beautifully. Transfer to freezer bags or freezer friendly containers once it has cooled. Freeze for up to three months. Then when you would like to have this curry, thaw in the fridge overnight (it won’t thaw completely, but that’s okay). Add the curry to a wok or large stockpot and heat over medium-high heat for a few minutes or until fully heated through.
  10. See post above for more tips on variations. 

Nutrition

Find it online: https://thatspicychick.com/peanut-butter-chicken-curry/