Thai Mango Chicken Red Curry with Coconut Rice {30-Minute Meal}
Ingredients
Coconut Mango Sauce:
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can light or regular coconut milk
- ½ cup chicken broth, low-sodium or regular
- 1 large mango (about 340-454 grams), peeled and pit removed (see note for frozen mango)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (see note)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, optional, only if you want a thicker sauce
Chicken Curry:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped onion or shallots
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger or ginger paste (see note)
- 1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon curry powder (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon salt, I use coarse, kosher salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- Zest of 1 lime
- Fresh cilantro, for garnish
Coconut Rice:
- 1 ½ cups jasmine rice
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk, light or regular
- 1 ¼ cups chicken broth
- ¼ teaspoon salt, I use coarse, kosher salt
Instructions
- For the sauce, in a blender, combine all the ingredients and process until smooth. Set aside.
- For the chicken, in a large, nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until the onion softens, 2-3 minutes.
- Pat the chicken pieces dry and add them to the skillet. Cook, stirring often, until the chicken turns white on all sides but isn't cooked through all the way, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the curry paste, curry powder, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the sauce mixture and stir well. Bring to a simmer, stirring often to make sure the curry paste and curry powder are fully dissolved. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat to prevent burning, until the sauce has thickened slightly (it will thicken faster if you added the cornstarch to the blender with the other ingredients).
- Stir in the lime zest and add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- For the coconut rice, combine all the ingredients in a 5-quart or larger saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often to prevent sticking. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook for 16 minutes. Remove from the heat without lifting the lid and let sit for 5-10 minutes before fluffing with a spoon or fork and serving.
- Serve the curry over the coconut rice, garnishing with fresh cilantro, if desired.
Notes
Fish Sauce: if you aren't sure how you feel about fish sauce or you don't have it on hand, you can try subbing in the same amount of soy sauce (although I will encourage you to try fish sauce at some point for the delicious, unique flavor it adds).
Mango: several people in the comments asked about frozen mango, so I thought I'd give a quick note that yes, I think it would sub just fine for the fresh mango. I'd try to let it thaw first and use about 12 ounces (a cup or so).
Ginger: I mention this tip a lot when it comes to fresh ginger, but here again I'll say it: no need to be intimidated by fresh ginger! Cut the knobby ginger into 1-inch pieces and toss into a quart-sized freezer bag. When needed in a recipe, pull a piece out of the freezer bag and immediately grate it (peel and all) on the small holes of a box grater or on a rasp grater. Super simple! Also, ginger paste in a tube is widely available now, and I usually keep it on hand - tastes just as good as fresh ginger in recipes like this.
Curry Powder: as a reminder, my favorite brand of curry powder is the sweet curry powder from Penzey's spices (not sponsored, just love it). Be aware of the spice level in the curry paste and powder you are using and dial up or down as needed. If you don't have curry powder or curry paste, you can make this dish with all curry powder (2 tablespoons total) or all curry paste (2 tablespoons total), keeping in mind it will change the flavor profile a bit. It's super delicious made with the full amount of curry powder if using the sweet curry powder - yum!
Prep: to really speed up this meal, get the rice cooking before starting the sauce and chicken.
Instant Pot Version: spray the insert of the Instant Pot with nonstick cooking spray. In a 4-cup liquid measure, pour in the coconut milk and add chicken broth to get to 2 cups liquid (total). Add this mixture to the Instant Pot. Add 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice and the 1/4 teaspoon salt. Give a good stir. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes before releasing the rest of the pressure manually. Fluff with a spoon or fork and serve.