Thai Red Curry & Crispy Skin Chicken

27 January 2025Saffron

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 2 people

Thai Red Curry & Crispy Skin Chicken is everything you want in a Thai-inspired dish—creamy, coconutty, spicy, zingy, and perfectly crispy. This easy weeknight curry combines the best of both worlds: golden, pan-fried chicken with crispy skin, finished in a rich, fragrant Thai red curry sauce. What’s not to love?

The secret to this dish is all in the balance of flavours. I boosted the classic Thai red curry paste with extra lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, and sugar, creating a beautifully sweet, spicy, savoury, and tangy sauce that coats every bite. Served with steamed jasmine rice and broccoli, it’s a complete, comforting meal that’s as easy to make as it is delicious.

The beauty of Thai Red Curry & Crispy Skin Chicken is that you can adjust it to your taste—crank up the heat, add more lime for zing, or sweeten it slightly for balance. And if you’re in the mood for fish instead of chicken, try my Thai Red Curry with Crispy Fried Cod for a seafood twist!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

✔️ Crispy & creamy combo – Pan-fried chicken with crispy skin in a rich Thai curry sauce.
✔️ Bold, balanced flavours – A perfect mix of spicy, savoury, sweet, and tangy.
✔️ Quick & easy – A fuss-free weeknight curry that feels special.
✔️ Customisable – Adjust the spice, sweetness, and zing to your taste.
✔️ Perfect with rice & veg – Serve with steamed jasmine rice and your favourite greens.

This Thai Red Curry & Crispy Skin Chicken is a must-try for Thai food lovers—easy, flavourful, and absolutely satisfying. Let’s get cooking!

This recipe for Thai Red Curry & Crispy Skin Chicken is inspired by the ever amazing @jasminseats

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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Thai Red Curry & Crispy Skin Chicken

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

An easy weeknight curry recipe with crispy skin chicken thighs and a creamy coconut sauce

Ingredients

2 chicken thighs, skin on
3 tbsp (50 g) Thai curry paste, Panang, red, green or massaman curry paste will work
pinch salt
3 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
2 400 ml cans coconut milk
1-3 tsp brown or palm sugar, to taste
3 lime leaves
1 tsp fish sauce, to taste
lime juice, to taste
2 medium tomatoes, cubed (optional)

To serve

1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
vegetables of choice like steamed broccoli or cucumber
1-2 tbsp crushed peanuts
1 small bunch koriander leaves, roughly chopped (I was out so couln't garnish with it)

Instructions

1)
Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season well on all sides with salt. Let it rest out of the fridge for another 10 minutes and pat dry again. This wil help the chicken to crisp up more.
2)
Preheat a heavy based skillet until very hot then pour in the oil and add the chicken thighs skin side down. Turn the heat down to medium and let them cook without moving for ± 7 minutes until the skin is nice and browned. Then flip the chicken thighs over and repeat. Don’t move them around just let them cook, don’t worry if they stick, once they’re nice and browned they will let go of the pan. The chicken will be almost cooked through but will continue to cook in the sauce, so don’t worry if not all the way done yet. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3)
To the hot pan add a can of coconut milk and straight away the curry paste as well. Stir well to mix. Let it simmer for 4-5 minutes. Once the oils start to separate from the sauce add the 2nd can of coconut milk and half a can of water (you can add more water later if you’d like it to be more liquid).
4)
Flavour the curry with the lime juice, sugar, lime leaves and fish sauce. (Don’t over-do it, you can always add more later if needed.) Also add the tomatoes (if using).
5)
Add the chicken back to the pan and let simmer on low heat for another 8-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
6)
In the meantime you can cook the rice according to the packaging and prepare your vegetables.
7)
Serve the curry with steamed rice, crushed peanuts, koriander leaves and a slice of lime on the side. Enjoy!