This dish is a Thai twist on one of my favorite recipes: milk chicken. Instead of roasting a chicken in milk and aromatics, like cinnamon, lemon and sage, I’ve used a basting sauce that is composed of traditional Thai curry ingredients– coconut milk, fish sauce, green curry paste, chiles and kaffir lime leaves. If you can’t find kaffir lime leaves, you can still make the curry without it. You can also switch up the curry paste, it doesn’t have to be green. This recipe makes insanely flavorful chicken and the best part for me is a bowl of jasmine rice covered in that delicious curry sauce in the bottom of the pot!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 cans coconut milk
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 4 tablespoons green curry paste
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 sprigs Thai basil (plus more for garnish)
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 3-5 thai chiles
- grapeseed or vegetable oil
- kosher or sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Season your chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat a glug of oil over medium heat in a large cast iron pot. Sear the chicken on all 4 sides, until the chicken is well browned, about 5-7 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken onto a plate and drain off most of the oil, leaving about 1 tablespoon behind
- Sautee the curry paste in the oil and scoop the solid part of the coconut milk out. Saute until the curry is fragrant. Add the liquid part of the coconut milk and cup of water and bring to a simmer. If your coconut milk didn't separate, you can just add it all in-- this isn't an essential step.
- Add sugar and fish sauce. Season with salt to taste. Add two large sprigs of basil, lime leaves and 2-3 sliced Thai chiles. Place the chicken back in the pot.
- Roast at 375 with the lid uncovered for about 1 hour or until the thickest part of the thigh is cooked through, basting the chicken with the curry a couple times during the roasting. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken.
Just hope that I can do this recipe as nice as your photo is.
Great recipe! I made it today substituting with lime zest, coconut sugar, and coconut oil. Served with steamed veggies and a side of cauliflower rice!
What temperature do we cook the thigh to? This looks amazing!
Thanks so much, Jenni!
oooh, I can’t wait to try this with my family.
Thanks Michsi! I hope you give it a go.
I came across your blog a few weeks back and I simply love it. The recipes are so easy to follow and they taste great every single time. I am a huge fan now. Just customized your Green chicken curry as a vegan recipe subbing tofu for chicken. Turned out delicious. Thanks for posting and keep it coming :).
Aww, that’s amazing Gina. Thank you so much for the kind words. I hope you continue to stop by!!