This Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken is just delightful! It makes a perfect meal when paired with Jasmine Rice, and it comes together so quickly in the Instant Pot. To make it a real one-pot meal, cook rice and Thai red curry together using the Pot in Pot method!Ā Perfect for a busy weeknight meal.
Thai cuisine is one of my all-time favorite cuisines. For the longest time, we just went to restaurants to get our Thai fix. And if I ever did attempt to make Thai food, the flavor was not even close to what my favorite restaurants served, and so I just didn’t bother.
If youāre new to the Instant Pot and arenāt familiar with how to use it, please read theĀ Instant PotĀ DUO Beginnerās Quick Start GuideĀ or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken.
Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken – Ingredients
Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken –Ā Step by Step Instructions
- Press āSauteā.
- Stir together red curry paste and 1/2 can of coconut milk and saute until mixture is bubbly, a minute or two. *
* Use a splatter screen if necessary, to guard against splatters from the coconut milk.
- Press ‘Cancel’ to turn off Instant Pot.
- Stir in chicken, remaining coconut milk, and chicken broth.
- Close Instant Pot lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the āSealingā position.
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) Ā and ā+ā or ā-ā until display reads ‘4’ (4 minutes) *
* Ā Note: if your chicken pieces are bigger, then you’ll need to add on a few minutes of cooking time.
- Instant Pot display will change to āOnā.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 4 to 0; it will then switch to āKeep Warmā mode and display āL0:00ā.
- To open the Instant Pot, first move the steam release handle to āVentingā. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position. Remove the towel after turning the handle.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.
- Press ‘Saute’.
- Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, bell pepper, carrot, onion, bamboo shoots, and lime leaves.
- Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Ā Don’t overcook, as the vegetables will continue to cook in residual heat.
- Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar or lime juice.
- Stir in the Thai basil leaves.
- Serve with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste - preferably MaesriĀ orĀ Mae Ploy brand
- 14 oz. (1 can) regular-fat coconut milkĀ
- 1 lb boneless chicken breasts or thighs - sliced into thin bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cupĀ chicken broth
- 2 TbspĀ fish sauce - more to taste
- 2 tspĀ brown sugar - or to taste
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 cup red and/or green bell pepper - cubed
- 1 cup carrots - sliced
- 1/2 cup onion - cubed
- 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots
- 4Ā lime leaves - slightly bruised *
- 12Ā Thai Basil leaves
Instructions
- Select Saute and stir in red curry paste and 1/2 can of coconut milk until mixture is bubbly, about a minute or two.
- Press Cancel.
- Stir in chicken, remaining coconut milk, and chicken broth.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release of pressure and open the Instant Pot. Ā [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, bell pepper, carrots, onions, bamboo shoots, and lime leaves.
- Press 'Saute' and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Ā (Be sure not to overcook. Ā Vegetables will continue to cook in the residual heat.)
- Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar or lime juice.
- Stir in the Thai basil leaves.
- Serve with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
- Use aĀ
splatter screen, if necessary, to guard against the coconut milk bubbling up.
- You can choose to substitute the vegetables with your choice e.g. green beans, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and you can also increase the quantity of vegetables.
- My chicken was thinly sliced. If your pieces of chicken are larger, you'll need to add on a few more minutes of cooking or just do a natural release of pressure.
- * lime leaves also referred to as k-lime, makrut or kaffir lime leaves
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. Ā I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. Ā If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, Ā I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actualĀ ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5 Star rating in the comment section below and/or share on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you!
You might also like to try:
Instant Pot Indian Chicken Curry | How to Cook Rice and Curry Together! | Instant Pot Massaman Curry |
Matt
Flavors are there! Would like the sauce to be a bit thicker and not so runny. I added a bit of cornstarch to help thicken but is was still runny. Suggestions?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Matt, you will probably be able to get away with not adding the broth/water. Also, you could try adding coconut cream.
Justin
Awesome recipe! Iām new to my instant pot and needed some guidance on how to make one of my favorite dishes, Thai red curry! If you have the time and ingredients I recommend sautĆ©ing the onions with garlic and ginger and then moving forward with the rest of the steps. Keep on cooking!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Justin, I’m glad you like it. You’ll love all the other Thai curries as well so do give them a try if you can š
Tisa
Wow! Wonderful recipe! Better than most restaurants! I only had the mae ploy paste and yes a little too spicy for me, I may try 2 tbsp instead of 3 next time.. I used mushrooms and red peppers.. Perfect explanations for a beginner thank you!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Tisa – thank you for your comment and I’m excited you got to try it out.
Miriam
This is tasty, but it is definitely adjusted to typical American tastes. For those who like spice, I would suggest doubling the amount of curry paste, and/or adding a Thai Hot pepper or similar hot pepper (just remember to remove it before serving).
Paint the Kitchen Red
Miriam, since my readers’ (and my family’s) tastes span the gamut of spice tolerance, I go somewhere in the middle. I’m glad you were able to adjust the recipe to suit your tastes.
Tisa
Hi , I’m new to the IP . Can I use this recipe with the duo evo plus? Thai is my favorite, I’m so excited to try! Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Tisa, yes you sure can – I make it all the time. You’ll love the recipe – make sure you get the right ingredients š