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Home > Asian Recipes > The Best Thai Chicken Panang Curry
30 minutes minutes

The Best Thai Chicken Panang Curry

Published: Apr 11, 2024

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Thai chicken curry served with rice in ceramic bowl with text
chicken panang curry in skillet with text
chicken Panang curry cooked in a cast iron skillet and served with rice.
chicken panang curry served over rice on white bowl with text overlay

Thai chicken panang curry is a richly flavored Thai curry that you can make in 30 minutes. Try it once and you’ll be hooked. It’s a perfect weekday meal that the entire family will love. It’s the best comfort meal served with steamed rice or jasmine rice.

Panang Thai curry with chicken and vegetables cooked in cast iron skillet.
Jump to:
  • Why does this recipe work?
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-step instructions
  • Useful tips
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Related curries
  • 📋The Best Thai Chicken Panang Curry

For hearty vegetarian Thai curry try our Thai butternut squash curry or Thai sweet potato curry.

Why does this recipe work?

  1. It’s the ultimate comfort food.
  2. It’s richly flavored and has loads of vegetables and protein in it.
  3. It takes 30 minutes or less to make the curry.
  4. It’s best served with rice. I love this curry with steamed rice, jasmine rice, and plain rice pilaf.

Ingredients

  1. Panang curry paste – Use store-bought or homemade Thai curry paste. Panang curry paste is different than regular Thai curry paste. For an authentic taste, buy Panang red curry paste. You can substitute it with regular Thai red curry paste.
  2. Aromats (onion and garlic) – yellow onion, white onion, or shallots may be used. Use fresh garlic for the best taste. It forms the base of the curry.
  3. Vegetables – I recommend using a mix of red, and green bell peppers. You can switch it up and use different veggies like zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, sweet potato, celery, or mushrooms.
  4. Protein – Chicken or beef is recommended. Fish and shrimp can be used if you opt for seafood. Use firm tofu for vegetarians or vegans. Chickpeas would work too.
  5. Coconut milk – for rich creamy curry use full-fat coconut milk.
  6. Natural peanut butter – peanut is one of the unique ingredients in this recipe. Use good quality, unsweetened natural peanut butter.
  7. Coconut oil – dish tastes best with virgin coconut oil.
  8. Other Thai curry ingredients – ingredients like galangal, lemon grass, and kaffir lime leaves induce strong Thai flavors. If you’re not a big fan of these strong Thai flavors, reduce the amount of these ingredients.
  9. Fish sauce – you’ll need a dash of fish sauce. It makes the recipe, salty with a strong flavor.
  10. Nutmeg – another ingredient that is specific to this recipe is nutmeg. Use a dash of nutmeg powder. I skipped nutmeg.
  11. Palm sugar – use brown sugar if palm sugar is not available.
  12. Thai basil – add it only in the end, it adds flavor to the curry.

Step-by-step instructions

vegetables sautéed in a cast iron pan.

Step 1: Heat coconut oil in a skillet. Sauté finely chopped onions in hot coconut oil until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic and red and green bell peppers. Cook for 2 minutes constantly stirring. Add roughly chopped galangal and lemongrass.

boneless chicken and vegetables cooked for Thai curry in a cast iron pan.

Step 2: Push veggies to one side of the pan. Add cubes of chicken things. Cook until chicken begins to brown.

red Thai curry paste cooked with vegetables in a cast iron skillet.

Step 3: Continue cooking it for a minute. Push the mix to one side, and add the paste. Stir the paste and fry it in oil. It’s crucial to cook the paste in oil first.

Note: Do not skip frying curry paste in oil.

Thai red curry paste is added to vegetables and chicken in a skillet.

Step 4: Stir frequently until oil is released from the paste and turns aromatic. Mix it with veggies and chicken and cook for a minute.

cook Thai curry with peanut butter, kaffir lime leaves, vegetables and chicken.

Step 5: Stir in unsweetened peanut butter, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Crush kaffir lime leaves in our palm and add it to the skillet. Cook stirring frequently for 2 minutes.

Note – If you can’t get palm sugar, substitute with brown sugar or jaggery.  Crushing kaffir lime leaves helps release its wonderful aromatic oil, making it flavorsome.

Thai curry cooked in coconut milk in a skillet.

Step 6: Simmer flame. Pour in thick coconut milk. Stir well.

Thai chicken curry with coconut milk simmer in a skillet.

Step 7: Let it simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

best Thai chicken Panang curry topped with fresh basil cooked in a cast iron pan.

Step 8: Turn off the heat and add Thai basil leaves.

For best taste serve it immediately hot with steamed rice or jasmine rice.

For hearty vegetarian Thai curry try our Thai butternut squash curry or Thai sweet potato curry.

Useful tips

  1. Fry curry paste – The essential step to make a good curry with great taste is frying the paste until you see the oil separate from the paste.
  2. Kaffir lime leaves – Crushing kaffir lime leaves before adding to the recipe will release all its aromatic oil to the dish. 
  3. Peanut allergy? Panang paste usually has peanuts. If you are allergic to peanuts, you may want to avoid this curry.
  4. Fish sauce – adjust as per taste preference. I didn’t add any salt.
  5. Coconut oil – make the dish taste better. You can substitute with vegetable oil or canola oil, I don’t recommend olive oil.
  6. Spicier curry – The recipe makes medium spicy curry. If you want to make it spicier, use curry paste that is spicy enough, or use 1 or 2 birds-eye chili in the recipe. 
  7. Palm sugar substitute – If you can’t get palm sugar, substitute with brown sugar or jaggery.
best Thai chicken Panang curry served with steamed rice in white ceramic bowl

Recipe FAQs

What is Penang curry?

This red curry originates from an island located off the west coast of Malaysia. This curry is richer, spicier, mildly sweet, and creamier.
It’s usually less spicy as the paste is made with milder red chilies compared to Thai curries. Peanut butter and coconut milk make the curry sweeter than other Thai curries.

What is panang paste made of?

Panang curry paste is traditionally made from chili peppers (birds eye chilies), galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime, coriander root, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, shallot, shrimp paste, salt and peanuts. Grind everything in a mortar and pestle.

Is Panang curry paste the same as red curry paste?

Panang paste is more aromatic than compared to red curry paste. It has cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and roasted peanuts which gives it a rich aromatic taste.

Is Panang curry spicy?

The level of spiciness depends on the brand of curry paste you use. Compared to regular Thai curry, this curry has mild spiciness.

Related curries

  • red lentil curry served over bowl of rice and garnish with cilantro

    Coconut Red Lentil Curry

  • butternut squash curry in a skillet.

    Easy Thai Butternut Squash Curry

  • close up of thai curry with sweet potatoes and chickpeas cooked in pot

    Thai Sweet Potato Curry

  • chicken curry in cast iron pan

    Quick & Easy Chicken Curry

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best Thai chicken Panang curry served with steamed rice in white ceramic bowl
5 from 65 votes

📋The Best Thai Chicken Panang Curry

Jyothi Rajesh
Thai panang chicken curry is a rich curry with complex flavors. You’ll need under 30 minutes to make this bright and hearty curry.
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
Course Dinner
Cuisine Asian, Thai
Servings 6 servings
Calories 460

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ lbs chicken thigh boneless, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 white onion finely chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 green bell peppers chopped
  • 1 red bell peppers chopped
  • ½ inch galangal roughly sliced
  • 1 inch lemongrass roughly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 small jar Thai Panang curry paste measured to about 4 ½ tablespoons
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 pinch nutmeg powder optional
  • Salt to taste if required
  • 2 teaspoon palm sugar or brown sugar
  • 6-8 kaffir lime leave crushed
  • 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
  • ¼ cup Thai basil leaves

Instructions
 

  • Heat skillet or deep bottom pan. Add coconut oil and wait until oil melts.
  • Sauté finely chopped onions in hot coconut oil until onion is translucent.
  • Add roughly chopped galangal, lemon grass.
  • Add minced garlic, red and green bell peppers. Cook for 2 minutes constantly stirring.
  • Push veggies to one side of the pan. Add washed and cleaned chicken things. Cook until chicken browns a bit and changes colour.
  • Mix chicken and veggies together. Continue cooking it for a minute more.
  • Again gather chicken veggie mix to one side of the pan. Scoop out Thai Panang curry paste ( or Thai red curry paste) to empty side of pan. Stir the paste and fry it in oil. Wait until oil separates from the paste. Pro-Tip : Do not skip frying curry paste in oil. Flavors cone out and curry turns delicious with this step.
  • Stir in unsweetened peanut butter, fish sauce and palm sugar. Nutmeg powder to be added now if using. 
    Take Kaffir lime leaves on your palm and crush it. Add crushed kaffir lime leaves to the pan. 
    Note – If you can’t get palm sugar , substitute with brown sugar or jaggery.  Crushing kaffir lime leaves helps release its wonderful aromatic oil, making Panang curry flavorsome.
  • Cook stirring regularly for 2 minutes.
  • Simmer flame. Pour in thick coconut milk. Give it a good stir.
  • Let it cook for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
  • Turn off the flame. Add Thai basil leaves. Stir.
  • It’s great when served with steamed jasmine rice. You can also serve with rice noodles.

Video

Notes

  1. Fry curry paste – The essential step to make a good curry with great taste is frying curry paste until you see the oil separates from the curry paste.
  2. Kaffir lime leaves – Crushing kaffir lime leaves before adding to the curry will release all its aromatic oil to the curry. 
  3. Peanut allergy? Panang curry paste usually has peanuts. If you are allergic to peanuts, you may want to avoid this curry.
  4. Fish sauce – adjust as per taste preference. I would skip salt if adding fish sauce.
  5. Coconut oil – gives curry a better taste. You can substitute with vegetable oil or canola oil, I don’t recommend olive oil.
  6. Spicier curry – The recipe makes medium spicy curry. If you want to make it spicier, use curry paste that is spicy enough, or use 1 or 2 birds-eye chili in the recipe. 
  7. Palm sugar substitute – If you can’t get palm sugar, substitute with brown sugar or jaggery.
 
Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 460kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 21gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 271mgPotassium: 534mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 860IUVitamin C: 44.4mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 3.6mg
Did you make this recipe?Follow @CurryTrail and tag #CurryTrail to share your creation!

Created by Jyothi Rajesh

Thank you for stopping by.

I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.

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    5 from 65 votes (24 ratings without comment)

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    Comments & Reviews

  1. Susan Dubose says

    January 04, 2021 at 9:49 am

    5 stars
    Unbelievably fast and so delicious!!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      January 04, 2021 at 11:12 am

      Susan so glad you love the recipe. Thank you for sharing

      Reply
  2. Roula Jensen says

    November 05, 2020 at 7:50 pm

    I would love to have made your recipe but there are so many ads I can’t see anything on my screen

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      November 05, 2020 at 11:10 pm

      Can you try clicking on the tab “RECIPE” on top of the post. It will take you directly to recipe card. That way you don’t have to scroll through the page. I hope this is helpful. And sorry you are having troubles with the ads, i’m working on it.

      Reply
  3. Allie says

    June 20, 2020 at 2:40 am

    5 stars
    This is amazing. Frying the red curry paste makes a huge difference!. I added peanuts for an extra crunch. Definitely adding this to our regular recipes. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      June 20, 2020 at 8:47 am

      I’m so glad to hear that you loved the curry.

      Reply
  4. Melissa says

    May 10, 2020 at 1:53 pm

    5 stars
    OMG!!! This was beautiful. Thank you better than some of the take out we have had recently.
    Definitely a keeper 🙂

    Reply
  5. rebekah says

    May 09, 2020 at 11:52 pm

    5 stars
    Spot on but be sure you order authentic ingredients. Helping me get over my lack of takeout in a COVID world.

    Reply
  6. Jennifer Casarella says

    February 11, 2020 at 7:12 am

    5 stars
    I made this with Ma Ploy curry paste. Delicious! I didn’t have lemongrass or galangal on hand fo used a splash of lemon juice and a little ginger.. Added broccoli with the peppers. Otherwise made as directed and a HIT! Loved it. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      February 11, 2020 at 11:38 am

      So glad to hear that Jennifer. Thank you for trying!

      Reply
    • Jennifer Casarella says

      February 16, 2020 at 6:34 am

      5 stars
      That’s what I did and we loved it!

      Reply
      • Jyothi Rajesh says

        February 16, 2020 at 4:34 pm

        YAY! So happy to hear you loved the curry Jennifer!

  7. Gaby says

    November 23, 2019 at 4:15 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe! It was amazing!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 23, 2019 at 11:15 pm

      Thank you, glad you liked it

      Reply
  8. Shiloh says

    August 29, 2019 at 7:14 am

    5 stars
    This is a solid Panang curry recipe. We like it super spicy so I added about a tsp of dried Thai chilis. Also added an extra bell pepper and less chicken because we prefer more veggies than meat. It has a really great strong flavor – glad we tried this recipe out!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      August 29, 2019 at 12:02 pm

      So glad you tried and liked the recipe. Spicy curry always scores with me too. Thank you for sharing your feedback.

      Reply
  9. Audra says

    April 25, 2019 at 2:35 am

    Hello, this looks amazing! All that I have been able to find is dried kaffir leaves. Will this work as a substitute? Would I still crush them and use the same amount? Thanks!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      April 25, 2019 at 9:08 am

      Note that dried lime leaves are not as aromatic or flavorful as fresh. So you won’t have the curry taste the same with dried one. I haven’t used dried leaves instead of fresh ones in my Thai curries, so it’s hard for me to give you exact quantity for substituting fresh kaffir lime leaves with dried ones

      Reply
      • Bea says

        September 24, 2019 at 8:44 am

        Hi! Where do you buy the leaves? Whole foods? They are hard to find

      • jyothirajesh says

        September 24, 2019 at 4:43 pm

        Where are you from Bea? Can you check Amazon, usually they have most things? Or you can check any online suppliers of Thai food. If you are from the USA, you can check for any Asian or Oriental market nearby.

  10. Natalie says

    March 03, 2019 at 10:11 pm

    5 stars
    What a vivid colour. What a beautiful flavors. Oh I absolutely love this recipe. I’m putting it right away on my menu. My family will enjoy this very much. And it’s super easy to make for me.

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      March 04, 2019 at 9:27 am

      We loved it too. So easy and fast for weeknight dinner

      Reply
  11. Emmeline says

    March 03, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe! I love love love Thai curries and while red is my absolute fav with green a cloe runner up, there’s something so comforting & cosy about a panang curry! Looks like this is a very authentic version as well – so I wil definitely try it!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      March 04, 2019 at 9:30 am

      Thank you

      Reply
  12. Kylee from Kylee Cooks says

    March 02, 2019 at 5:42 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you for explaining the difference between panang and thai curries! Super useful and helpful. I am definitely going to try this – it looks incredible!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      March 04, 2019 at 9:30 am

      Glad you find it useful Kylee

      Reply
  13. Mahy Elamin says

    March 02, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve been seeing so many curry dishes lately. This one looks amazing! Love the addition of the coconut milk.

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      March 04, 2019 at 9:32 am

      Thank you Mahy. The curry has coconut milk as one of the main ingredients

      Reply
  14. Danielle Wolter says

    March 02, 2019 at 12:51 am

    5 stars
    so many amazing flavors in this curry. i always order panang every time i’m at a restaurant, but have never made it at home. #goals your photos are so gorgeous as well!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      March 02, 2019 at 8:19 am

      Thank you Danielle. Do try it

      Reply
  15. Claudia Lamascolo says

    March 01, 2019 at 9:54 pm

    5 stars
    I love how fluffy the rice is and the flavors in this sounds fabulous. I have never used fish sauce and surely that must make one delicious sauce.

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      March 01, 2019 at 10:08 pm

      Thank you Claudia. Hope you try this curry

      Reply
Newer Comments »

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Jyothi - Author of Curry Trail.

Welcome, I'm Jyothi

My food philosophy is simple, fresh and full of flavors! I love ‘spicy’ food. In fact so much so that I can skip dessert for extra spicy savory food!

More About Me
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