Creamy, spicy, and packed with flavour, you’re going to want to give this melt-in-your-mouth Whole Thai Curry Chicken with Coconut Milk a try!
Whole Thai Curry Chicken with Coconut Milk
Lately I’ve been going through my archive of posts and cooking from there more as I haven’t been feeling very creative in the kitchen. I tend to get a lot of my inspiration for recipes by wandering through the grocery store, aisle by aisle and since we can’t do that right now, I feel a little stuck!
While going through my archive, I saw my Thai Inspired Chili Lime Coconut Chicken meal prep and my stomach immediately demanded coconut curry. I took a survey of what I had in my pantry and fridge and set out to make version of it for lunch (and dinner).
This Whole Thai Curry Chicken with Coconut Milk uses a whole chicken (they were on sale for $7! Score!), swaps Thai chilis (hard to source at the moment) for crushed red chili flakes, and added some extra greens to the dish to add more nutrients to it! The coconut milk makes it so creamy and the green curry gives it such a punch in flavour. You’ll love it! Plus, it’s super hands off after the first 10-15 minutes of active cooking as after you brown the chicken, it’s just simmering it the end!
What You’ll Need To Make This Thai Inspired Chicken Recipe
- olive oil: or butter
- salt
- whole chicken: innards removed
- onions
- garlic
- crushed red chili flakes
- coconut milk: must be full fat coconut milk. If you’re Canadian, the T&T brand is my go-to.
- Thai Green Curry: I really love the Asian Home Gourmet brand for this
- leeks
- lime
- green onion: fun fact – if you leave the white ends with the roots in tact and in water, instead of throwing it out, you can regrown your green onions quickly!
- basil
You’ll also need a 5.5 Qt Dutch oven.
How To Make A Whole Thai Inspired Chicken in a Dutch Oven
- On medium-high heat, add in the olive oil to the Dutch oven, salt and brown the whole chicken, starting with breast side down then flipping it around 5-10 minutes or until the skin has turned golden brown.
- Set aside the chicken and in the pot, add onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Sauté until the onions have softened.
- Add in the coconut milk and green curry paste and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken back in, breast side up, cover, and simmer on medium for 35-40 minutes.
- Uncover the pot, add in the leeks, lime juice + zest, and green onions. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through. The safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165° F (75° C)
- Optional: before serving, to crisp up the chicken skin, I put the entire Dutch oven into the oven and broil for 1-3 minutes and add a bit more lime juice, a handful of basil, more green onions, and a sprinkle of the chili flakes.
Recipe Variations
- swap the green curry paste for red curry to change things up.
- if you have Thai red chili peppers, add 1-2 in, deseeded.
Tips and Notes
- prep tip: I like to put all my ingredients on a small sheet pan to cut down on the amount of prep bowls I have to use to hold things like sliced onions/garlic/etc as pictured above!
- I really recommend an instant read thermometer to accurately check the internal temperature of the chicken to ensure it’s fully cooked. I have this one from Amazon and love it. Make sure to check the thickest spot of the chicken thighs.
- Make sure to have the bird simmering on medium as a low simmer will not provide enough heat to ensure that the whole chicken is being cooked through.
- If browning the chicken is taking a while, add a knob of butter or more olive oil. Don’t move the chicken around in the pot too much as that slows it down.
- I leave the chicken tied up to make it easier to flip.
- To serve, you can either remove the chicken and cut into pieces and serve with the curry poured on top of rice or you can shred the chicken inside the pot and serve it that way.
- If you do not have a Dutch oven, you can use a regular pot but make sure you add enough oil to ensure the chicken doesn’t stick to the pot when browning.
- I tested this recipe in a 5.5 QT Dutch oven. Cook time may have to be adjusted if you are using a different size.
Whole Thai Curry Chicken with Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil, or butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 3.5 lb whole chicken, innards removed
- 1 onions, sliced
- 8 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp crushed red chili flakes
- 2 cans coconut milk, must be full fat (398mL cans x2)
- 50 grams Thai Green Curry
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- 1 bundle green onion
- 1 handful basil
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Instructions
- On medium-high heat, add in the olive oil to the Dutch oven, salt and brown the whole chicken, starting with breast side down then flipping it around 5-10 minutes or until the skin has turned golden brown.
- Set aside the chicken and in the pot, add onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Sauté until the onions have softened.
- Add in the coconut milk and green curry paste and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken back in, breast side up, cover, and simmer on medium for 35-40 minutes.
- Uncover the pot, add in the leeks, lime juice + zest, and green onions. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through. The safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165° F (75° C)
- Serve with your carb of choice. I serve with basmati rice.
- Optional: before serving, to crisp up the chicken skin, I put the entire Dutch oven into the oven and broil for 1-3 minutes and add a bit more lime juice, a handful of basil, more green onions, and a sprinkle of the chili flakes.
Nutrition
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