Best At Home Curry Chicken Recipe for Beginners (30 minute, one pot meal)
Curry Chicken is one of my favorite comfort foods. The warm and fragrant curry sauce mixed with veggies and chicken is like a warm hug when you need it most.
I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count because it’s easy, made in one pot (except for the side of rice), flavorful, and full of veggies.
Go ahead and let your family know now, that dinner will be ready in 30 minutes.
What’s curry chicken?
There are two types of curries — Indian and Jamaican. Indian dishes use more chili powder while Jamaican curry uses the actual peppers. The spices give Indian dishes their distinctive rich color. Both curries are usually marinated in a mix of spices for the ultimate, bold flavors.
What does it taste like?
Indian curry usually includes turmeric, coriander, cumin, ginger, and pepper. We’ll use some of those aromatic spices in this Curry Chicken Recipe. Curry chicken spices make this dish unique with sweet, savory, earthy, and bright flavors, all in one recipe.
Is curry chicken spicy?
Not in this recipe. I love spicy food but unfortunately, I can’t have it anymore. So we won’t go overboard with the spices or add anything with a kick. There aren’t any chillis or peppers in this recipe so even your kids will love it too.
Of course, if you want spice, you can add some of your favorite peppers or chili powder to your curry sauce. (That sounds pretty good, actually.)
Curry Chicken or Chicken Curry
It seems to be up to you, what order of words you use. Everyone seems to have their own reason why they call this dish Curry Chicken or chicken curry. Some say it differently if they are using curry to talk about the flavor or the type of curry. Others say one or the other if there are larger or smaller pieces of chicken or more or less of the curry sauce.
Feel to call it Curry Chicken or chicken curry. If there’s any confusion, you can always explain what you’re making for dinner. I’m sure you’ll still hear silence when everyone is devouring your food.
Curry Chicken for Beginners
You know that I love easy, simple, and quick recipes. That’s what we’re all about around here. Here are a few things you don’t want to skip so your Curry Chicken comes out tasty.
Chicken
Be sure to brown your chicken before you start making your curry. This makes sure that your chicken is cooked through when you add it to your sauce later. If you cook your chicken in the sauce, you are basically boiling it. When it’s covered in spices and sauce, it’s very hard to tell if it’s cooked all the way through. Plus, boiled meat doesn’t sound very appealing.
Curry
Move your onion and garlic to the side so you have space in your pan to make your curry sauce. Traditionally, spices are fried whole, in oil, and then you add ground spices for extra flavor. Since we’re doing the under 30-minute version, make the sauce directly in your wok so your ingredients mix well together. This also cooks the curry and releases the aromatics before you coat your veggies and chicken.
Paste
Use a whisk to mix your cornstarch and water to make a paste. If you add these ingredients separately into your wok, you may end up with little white chunks of cornstarch in your curry sauce. And they can be a pain to fish out. It’s much easier to make the paste and then add it to your wok for thickening.
More Easy Dinner Ideas
Well, I’m hungry now. Are you?
Let’s start cooking.
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Curry Chicken
Equipment
- Wok
- Wooden Spatula
- Small Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breasts cubed
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tbs curry powder
- Pineapple juice see instructions
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 banana mashed
- 1 can baby corn
- 1 small can water chestnuts
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 T soy sauce
- 1/2 can coconut milk
- 1 T Cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Heat the oil in your wok or deep frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add your chicken and cook until it's brown on the outside. Remove the chicken from your wok and set it aside on a plate for later.
- Add the onion to your wok and sautee it until it's translucent. I like to create space in the wok so the garlic browns. Then mix the garlic with the onion.
- Push the onion and garlic mixture to the side as much as you can. Put the curry powder on the empty side of the wok, add some pineapple juice, and mix them with your wooden spatula. Slowly add your chicken broth and continue to stir the mixture until it thickens to create a sauce. Then stir the onion, garlic, and sauce together.
- Next, add the mashed banana. Use your spatula to break up the banana so it combines with the sauce. Add your corn, water chestnuts, spices, soy sauce, and chicken in as well. Give your curry another stir to make sure the ingredients are all mixed in wth each other.
- Cover your curry with a lid and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. It should stay at a low boil but you can watch it at the beginning if you want to be sure it doesn't boil over. Add the coconut milk and stir your curry again.
- Mix the cornstarch and water in a small mixing bowl to make a paste. Then add the paste to your sauce and bring it to a quick boil so the curry sauce thickens.
- Serve with a side of rice and top with chopped, fresh chives for some extra color and flavor. Enjoy!