This Coconut Cilantro Chicken is a super-easy Thai-style curry and will immediately satisfy all your cravings for Thai food! There’s no need to go to the restaurant!
Is it me, or is this week just so…dragging? It should have been Friday yesterday!
After the jam-packed event-filled start of February, the rest of the month seems so anti climactic.
I feel like I need an intervention. Like some kind of a challenge. I don’t know.
It could just be me. I do get the case of boredom every now and then. Like I should be doing something other than what I’m currently doing.
Balance is what I’m looking for. Like I should be having 1/4 work and 5/4 play.
What?! Yeah, that’s about right. I know how to count, trust me.
Or maybe I need a vacation. I need to be somewhere on the beach. Listening to and eating some salsa. Sipping margarita.
Or maybe I just need to see a comedy show. That would work, too. Laughter is the best medicine. It’s cliché but it’s true.
Or maybe I just need this bowl of noodly goodness aka Coconut Cilantro Chicken.
I need something vibrant and vivid. Something bright and bold. Something tantalizing and tempting and Thai.
We can easily drive to a Thai restaurant, I suppose, but right now it’s dreadful out there. Wind and deluge.
That’s why we’re dining at home, instead.
And I’m so glad I pulled myself together and managed to find some cooking energy to put this meal on the table. It awakens my spirit. I mean, my taste buds.
And spirit, too, I guess.
Since I’m feeling much better, inside and out.
Basically, this bowl cured my cabin fever.
A little bit. I still want to go to the beach. A nice warm beach, though. And sunny, too. Definitely not right now!
Let’s all pray that the warmth and the sun will get here soon, shall we? Punxsutawney Phil seems to think they will, yay!
Now, can you call this Coconut Cilantro Chicken curry?
At first I hesitated to call this a curry. Can you still call a dish curry if it doesn’t really use curry powder or paste? What is considered a curry, anyway? I’m actually unsure what falls into that category.
The end result, however, resembles and tastes so much like a Thai curry that I decided to call it that. To all Thai cuisine aficionados out there, please don’t hate me!
- 6 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1 bunch of cilantro (stems and leaves separated), chopped
- 1 knob of ginger (2 teaspoons grated)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- Zest from 1 lime
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 can coconut milk
- A handful of multi colored mini peppers, sliced into halves or quarters (or any preferred vegetable)
- Thai basil leaves (optional), chopped
- In a Dutch oven or skillet, brown chicken thighs in one tablespoon of oil. Remove and set aside. Drain the fat that collects in the pot, except for 1 tablespoon.
- Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and cilantro stems. Set the heat to medium low or low. Slowly cook down the vegetables, scraping the bottom of the pot often, until they are well cooked and brown.
- Add cumin, coriander, and paprika. Stir briefly to blend.
- Add chicken broth, fish sauce, and brown sugar.
- Put chicken thighs back into pot, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.
- Add coconut milk, lime juice and lime zest. Reduce heat to simmer. Add the peppers. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add chopped cilantro and basil leaves before serving.
- Serve over rice or noodles.
Angie, just looking at this makes me crave it! Believe me, I feel the same way this time of year and it usually extends into March. Of course this is a curry – you’ve got your coriander and other wonderful curry flavors.
I always say if you’re going to talk “authentic” curry, at least Thai, you’d better be adding bugs…:) In the meantime, I’ll take a bowl of that!!
This looks so wonderfully delicious! and sounds so easy to veganize too 🙂 It has coriander, cumin, ginger, garlic and coconut so definitely a curry I’d say! This might be a winner dinner for the boys I think! Hoping you get some sunshine soon! Thanks for sharing 🙂
It doesn’t matter what you call it, Angie. I call it simply heaven.
Of course I would call it a curry Angie, it has all the curry flavors and the broth as well. To me, the liquid in a curried dish is a curry :). That’s my version anyway, and I’m sticking with it :)Beautiful photography! Roll on spring, I can hardly wait!
This looks absolutely perfect, Angie…bonus points for it’s beauty too! Scrumptious!
LOL I think we are all just over this winter thing except old man winter hasn’t gotten the memo. This dish looks perfect to pull us out of the doldrums. Bright and delicious.
Looking so yummm.. And tempting ?!! Loved it..
I can see how this would have warmed and cheered you up. It looks delicious!
Oh, good golly! This is one of those recipes that I will have to try!
Your recipe looks and sounds amazing, Angie! 🙂
This looks so colorful and delicious. I love curries of all kinds – and this is certainly a curry – so know I’d love this. Perfect this time of year too!
I’d gladly, gladly take this with a good serving of rice!! Sounds so aromatic and delicious, Angie. I also need to do some Thai dish as delicious as this. 🙂
Shhhhh! Don’t hate me, but I live on a beach right now. Well, less than a 5 minute walk from one. And, it’s summer here. But I work most of the time, so I’m not having those margaritas very frequently!
The dish sounds amazing, and I don’t know the technical definition of a curry, but I think the title suits. 🙂 Beautiful photographs as always too!
How pretty Angie! Just looking at it is making me want to eat it! Love the picture!
Thanks so much, Su! I had a hard time taking the photos! The day was just so gray! 🙂
Love Thai food but it’s what I order, not make. Your dish looks so easy to make and has all the That flavors I love. I could handle making this Thai dish at home. I crave bold fresh flavors this time of year too and your colorful dish delivers Angie! Thanks!
This will satisfy your cravings, that’s for sure. It did mine. And I could adjust the heat level to my liking. Lately, even when I order mild, everything seems too hot. Either I’m losing my tolerance for hot foods or these restaurants change their spice levels ?
It sounds delish!
Thanks so much! ?
Noodle goodness works for me, especially in your delicious curry.
Gosh that looks SO good Angie… my kind of flavours combined here, especially with the cilantro! Oh and doesn’t curry just mean a dish with gravy/sauce (at least in India I think it does… not sure if Thailand is different, but it certainly looks and sounds like a curry to me!) 🙂
Angie! This looks AMAZING!! Seriously… I just had something to eat, and I’m already hungry for this! I might make this for my husband some day soon 🙂 Pinned and sharing!
Thanks, Dini! Let me know how you and the hubs like it. I’m sure you can give it your own spin and make it even better. I tend to make my curry on the mild side, but I think additional heat and spice would turn this into a memorable meal! ??
Angie,
Kicking myself for missing this gorgeous curry. Have pinned it and am making it soon as I am drooling over it and it is just 8 a.m and I have just had my breakfast too.
Love, love love all the flavors in this curry!
And it’s very easy to make, too, Sandhya. No need to slave all day in the kitchen! Let me know what you think!
I sure will! Hope mine looks and tastes as yummy as yours.