Peanut Butter Chicken Curry (Easy 30 Minute Recipe)

✅ 5 reasons why you'll love this recipe:

• A tasty chicken curry packed with delicious satay flavour that's guaranteed to leave you wanting more.
• 30 minute meal - this quick and easy recipe is weeknight-friendly.
• No Asian grocery store required - made with easy-to-find ingredients that are available in your local store.
• Versatile - swap out the chicken for pork or shrimp/prawns or add tofu or more veggies for a vegetarian/vegan option. It's a great way to use up leftover veggies that are lingering in your fridge.
• Make-ahead and freezer friendly - store the cooked curry in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

🛒 Ingredients and variations:

This tasty curry is made with everyday ingredients that should all be available at your local store.

• Chicken - I always use thighs because they are more tender and flavourful than chicken breast, but you can use breast if you are looking for a leaner option. You can also use pork or shrimp instead or make a meat-free version of this curry with tofu and or veggies.
• Red peppers - other veggies that would work well include green beans, zucchini/courgette or broccoli.
• Chillies - I always opt for bird's eye chillies. They add a fruity freshness as well as heat, but you can also use standard long-red chillies that are more commonly found in supermarkets. Consider reducing the chillies or omitting them altogether if you are very sensitive to spice.
• Dark soy sauce - this has a richer flavour than light soy sauce and will also deepen the colour of the sauce. The recipe has not been tested with light soy sauce, but you can use it if you need to. Light soy sauce is lower in sodium and is not as sweet as dark soy sauce so you may want to add a little more and add a small amount of extra sugar to compensate.
• Coconut milk - full fat and light/low fat versions both work well.
• Peanut butter - opt for smooth instead of crunchy and try to choose one that has no added salt.

🧑‍🍳 Peanut Butter Chicken Curry in 5 easy steps

1. Season the chicken

Mix bite-size chicken thigh pieces with curry powder, chilli powder and salt.

2. Cook the chicken

Place a wok or medium to large frying pan over a medium to high heat and add oil. Add the seasoned chicken when the oil is hot and cook for a few minutes, stirring regularly to ensure all sides are browned. Remove from the pan and set aside when done.

3. Aromatics

Fry the garlic and chilli for a minute until fragrant, adding a little more oil if you need to.

4. Curry sauce

Reduce the heat to medium/low and add the dark soy sauce, peanut butter and a small amount of coconut milk. Stir to form a paste. Add the rest of the coconut milk gradually while stirring continuously to get the lumps out. Add the red pepper, kaffir lime leaves, and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Chicken

Add the cooked chicken and simmer for 5 minutes more over a medium heat. Stir in the lime zest and juice and serve over rice and fresh cilantro/coriander.

👍 Top tips for perfect Peanut Butter Chicken Curry

1. Brown the chicken pieces first - this seals them and makes them more flavourful and also enhances the flavour of the seasoning. Note that the chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point. It will be simmered in the curry sauce too.
2. Add the coconut milk gradually and stir continuously - to get rid of any lumps of peanut butter.
3. Check the doneness of the chicken - simmering the chicken in the curry sauce for 5 minutes should give it enough time to cook through if it wasn't fully cooked in the browning process. I highly recommend taking out one of the larger pieces and cutting it in half to ensure it is no longer pink, to be on the safe side.
4. Add the lime juice at the end - to bring bright, fresh and zesty flavour that cuts through the richness of the peanut sauce. Adding lime juice and zest too early will mellow its flavour as the sauce simmers.

🙋 FAQs

Do you need to fry chicken before putting it in a curry?While it isn't strictly necessary to fry chicken before adding it to a curry it does enhance the flavour and the texture if you brown it over a medium to high heat first.

Is peanut sauce and satay the same?Satay sauce is a spicy peanut sauce that commonly contains lime juice, ginger and chilli. It originated from Indonesia, although many people associate it with Thai cuisine.

Why is my chicken chewy in my curry?Overcooked chicken has a tough and chewy texture. If you are browning your chicken first, place the pan on a medium to high heat and ensure the chicken is removed from the pan as soon as it is brown. Simmer until the chicken is just cooked and remove the pan from the heat as soon as it is done to ensure your chicken stays succulent.

📦 Storage

The cooked curry can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheated on the stove or in the microwave. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Just portion it into containers or freezer bags and place in the freezer once cool. Remove from the freezer 24 hours before you plan to eat it and defrost it slowly in the fridge before reheating.

😋 Check out my other curry recipes

Curries are warming, delicious and nutritious. They also create tasty leftovers and freeze well. If you enjoyed this recipe, you'll love these other easy curry recipes too.