When you’re craving something vibrant and comforting, One-Pot Thai Curry Chicken and Rice is the perfect dish to satisfy your hunger. This aromatic, flavour-packed meal combines the rich taste of Thai curry with tender chicken and perfectly cooked rice – all in one pot.
The balance of creamy coconut cream, fragrant makrut lime, and a bit of spice from the curry paste creates a satisfying harmony that is nothing short of comforting. Whether you’re cooking for a family dinner or looking for a quick meal to impress your friends, this one-pot wonder is sure to deliver both in taste and convenience.
Table of Contents
- Ingredient Breakdown
- Why Chicken Thighs Are the Best Choice
- Marinating the Chicken
- Coconut Cream in Thai Cooking
- Tips for Fluffy Rice Every Time
- Want more One-Pot recipes?
Ingredient Breakdown
- Dried red chillies: Imparts heat and a mild smokiness to the curry paste.
- Garlic cloves: Adds depth and savoury flavour to the curry base.
- Echalion shallot: Lends sweetness and complexity to the dish.
- Makrut lime leaves: Brings a bright citrus flavour, infusing the curry with a zesty freshness.
- Fresh coriander stems: Offers an earthy base flavour, helping to round out the curry.
- Lemongrass: Adds a refreshing, citrusy flavour with a slight herbal note.
- Galangal root: A fragrant, earthy root, similar to ginger, providing a unique flavour.
- Ground white pepper, coriander, cumin, sea salt: These spices form the base of the curry paste, adding warmth and depth.
- Shrimp paste: A traditional ingredient in Thai cuisine, providing a rich umami flavour.
- Vegetable oil: Used to cook the curry paste and sear the chicken.
- Chicken thighs: The juicy, tender meat provides a delicious contrast to the rice.
- Chicken stock: Helps to create a rich and savoury broth for the rice.
- Lime zest: Adds a bright, aromatic element to the dish.
- Coconut cream: A luxurious, creamy base for the curry sauce.
- Fish sauce and sugar: Balances out the flavours, bringing saltiness and a touch of sweetness.
- Basmati rice: Absorbs the delicious coconut broth, becoming soft and flavourful.
- Thai basil and lime wedges: Fresh garnishes that add a burst of colour and additional flavour.
Why Chicken Thighs Are the Best Choice
When it comes to chicken in a curry dish like One-Pot Thai Curry Chicken and Rice, using chicken thighs over breasts is a game-changer. Chicken thighs have a higher fat content than breasts. This translates into more flavour and moisture during cooking. As the thighs simmer in the aromatic coconut broth, they soak up all the spices and herbs, resulting in tender, juicy meat that is full of flavour.
The skin, when left on, adds a crispy texture if seared before cooking. This provides an extra layer of contrast to the smooth rice. Plus, the bone-in option adds depth to the broth, enriching the flavours of the curry. While chicken breasts can dry out faster, especially in a one-pot meal, thighs stay juicy and tender, ensuring that every bite is succulent and satisfying. For these reasons, chicken thighs are a go-to choice for curries and stews.
Marinating the Chicken
While One-Pot Thai Curry Chicken and Rice can be made with a quick marinate, giving the chicken time to soak in the curry paste overnight will enhance the dish’s flavours significantly. Marinating the chicken allows the spices to penetrate deeper into the meat, making every bite more flavourful. The marinade also helps tenderise the chicken. In particular if you’re using bone-in thighs, making them even juicier and more succulent as they cook.
The longer marinate also lets the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass infuse their essence into the meat. Even a 15-minute marinate will provide a noticeable flavour boost, but if you’re preparing the dish ahead of time, you can let the chicken sit in the fridge for several hours or even overnight. This added step ensures that each bite of chicken is packed with flavour and perfectly complements the coconutty rice.
Coconut Cream in Thai Cooking
Coconut cream is a hallmark of Thai cooking, and in One-Pot Thai Curry Chicken and Rice, it’s responsible for the dish’s rich, velvety texture. Unlike coconut milk, which is thinner, coconut cream offers a luxurious, thick consistency that gives the curry base its creamy mouthfeel. This creaminess balances out the heat from the chillies and the saltiness from the fish sauce, creating a smooth, well-rounded curry sauce. It also helps the rice absorb more flavour, infusing each grain with a hint of coconut.
Beyond this dish, coconut cream is incredibly versatile. It can be used in soups, curries, desserts, or even in smoothies for added richness. If you prefer a lighter dish, you can substitute coconut milk, but it will result in a thinner broth. For the fullest flavour and the richest texture, coconut cream is the ideal choice in this recipe.
Tips for Fluffy Rice Every Time
A key element to perfect One-Pot Thai Curry Chicken and Rice is the rice. It’s important to rinse the basmati rice thoroughly before cooking to remove excess starch. This helps achieve the ideal texture: fluffy, separate grains, not sticky. When you add the rice to the simmering coconut broth, make sure it’s evenly distributed and covered with the liquid. Allow the rice to cook undisturbed, as stirring too much can break the grains and result in a mushy consistency. The rice will absorb the flavours of the curry as it cooks, and the coconut broth will infuse each grain with rich flavour.
If you’re using a different type of rice, such as jasmine or long-grain, you may need to adjust the cooking time and liquid ratios. Basmati rice, however, works wonderfully because of its long, fragrant grains that absorb flavour without becoming soggy.
Want more One-Pot recipes?
Sometimes, simplicity is exactly what we need. This One-Pot Thai Curry Chicken and Rice is just one of many one-pot recipes that make life easier. Whether it’s for a fuss-free midweek dinner, a standout yet effortless centrepiece, or meal prep that actually excites you. There are plenty more where this came from, so why not explore a few?
- One-Pot Nduja and Chicken Rice: Spicy, smoky, and packed with flavour, this easy one-pot dish combines Nduja, a soft Calabrian sausage, with tender chicken and sweet bell peppers.
- One-Pot Saffron Chicken Rice: With a handful of ingredients and minimal prep time, this dish brings vibrant flavours and satisfying comfort to your table. Saffron, the star ingredient, infuses the rice with a beautiful golden hue and a subtle floral aroma that pairs perfectly with the rich, tender chicken thighs.
See how I make these recipes and more over on my Instagram!
One-Pot Thai Curry Chicken and Rice
Thai curry meets paella? This dish is a tasty, easy one-pot chicken and rice recipe that’s bursting with flavour. It comes together in 45 minutes, making it a great midweek, last minute dinner. If you’ve got the time, marinate the chicken overnight – it’ll help the flavours penetrate through to the bone.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Chicken, Rice and Risotto
Ingredients
- 10 dried red chillies, chopped into 1 cm pieces, seeds shaken out
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 echalion shallot, finely chopped
- 6 fresh makrut lime leaves, finely chopped
- 10 g fresh coriander stems, roughly chopped
- 1 stalk lemongrass, tough outer layer removed, finely sliced
- 10 g galangal root, grated or finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil
- 8 chicken thighs (skin on or off, it’s up to you)
- vegetable oil
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 1 lime, zest only
- 4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
- 250 ml coconut cream
- 2 tsps fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 400 g basmati rice, rinsed thoroughly
To garnish:
- Thai basil
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Add all the curry paste ingredients to a blender or high-powered food processor and blitz until smooth (or smooth-ish). Set aside.
- Place your chicken thighs in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add half of the curry paste and toss to coat. Let sit at least 15 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
- Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven or non-stick heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Sear the chicken, cooking it for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate, leaving the oil and juices behind.
- Add the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, lime zest, kaffir lime leaves, coconut cream, fish sauce and sugar and stir to combine.
- Season with salt, to taste. You want the coconutty cooking liquid to taste as seasoned as you want the finished dish to taste. Stir to combine.
- Add your rinsed rice to the coconutty broth and stir to combine. Nestle the chicken thighs into the rice so only the bottom half is submerged.
- Bring everything to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is cooked through, around 25 minutes.
- For crispy skin, remove the chicken thighs and grill separately once the rice is cooked.
- Top with chopped Thai basil and serve with lime wedges.
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