lunch
One-Pan Thai Chicken Curry
Impossibly tender chicken with incredibly crispy skin swimming in a sweet and savory curry sauce. Serve with steamed rice or flat bread to soak up every last drop of the golden sauce. Or go ahead and lick the bowl—we won’t tell.
Servings:
4
Total Time:
80m
Prep Time:
20m
Cooking Time:
60m
Ingredients
- 3 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
- 3 drumsticks, bone in and skin on
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium white or yellow onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, more or less to taste
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 can unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 oz)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- A few handfuls fresh spinach
Preparation Instructions
- Prepare to bake—Preheat oven to 400°F. Season chicken generously with salt.
- Brown the onions—In a large, ovenproof sauté pan, heat oil over high heat. When oil is shimmering, add onions along with a generous pinch of salt, and reduce heat to medium-low. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until onions become tender with brown edges.
- Add the spices—Stir in curry paste, curry powder, and turmeric until onions are evenly coated. Add the coconut milk, then fill the can with water and pour that into the pan. Add fish sauce and brown sugar and stir to combine evenly. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken— Using tongs, place chicken in the pan. Turn to coat all sides of chicken with sauce and finish with chicken skin side up.
- Cook the curry—Transfer pan to preheated oven and cook uncovered for about 1 hour. When liquid has greatly reduced and chicken skin is beautifully browned, you’re good to go.
- Finish and serve—Remove pan from oven, add spinach, and stir gently. Serve in individual bowls with steamed rice or warm flatbread.
Tips
Cut the Fat
Since we’ve skipped the traditional browning step, trim away any excess fat or overhanging skin from chicken so sauce doesn’t become too oily.
Milk
All coconut milks are not created equal—for our curry, use the thick, rich kind in the can and save the liquid kind in cartons for smoothies.
