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. 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. Finally, I found out that the secret to making great tasting Thai curries is to use the right kind of curry paste. The kind I had been using is the one commonly found in most American grocery stores. Changing brands made a BIG difference to the taste of the curries.
There are two brands of Thai curry pastes that I really like: Maesri and Mae Ploy. To take this Instant Pot Thai Red Curry to the next level, do try and find either of these curry pastes at an Asian grocery store near where you live and if you can’t, of course, there’s always amazon.com.
There are two more ingredients you should try and get when you visit your Asian grocery store: Kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil. They add unsurpassed and unique flavors to this Instant Pot Thai Red Curry. One other thing I discovered about Thai food is that Thai curries taste best with Jasmine rice. There’s something about Jasmine rice that soaks up the curry and just enhances the flavors. Regular white rice, basmati rice, and brown rice just don’t taste the same. Here’s my recipe for Instant Pot Jasmine Rice. For the coconut milk in this Instant Pot Thai Red Curry, I use the regular fat content, and don’t opt for the light variety – again, there’s a taste difference.
This recipe is the Instant Pot version of my Thai Red Curry. Thai food purists would say that Thai food shouldn’t be pressure cooked. I’m guessing you’re here because you just want to make a Thai curry in your Instant Pot and don’t care about rules! And pssst, guess what?! This curry is just wonderful cooked in the Instant Pot. I’m not kidding – it’s really tasty. It comes together so quickly, and it’s my go-to dish on really busy days. I always keep coconut milk and curry paste in my pantry and I use whatever meat and veggies I have on hand. I hope you give it a try.
You might also like to try Instant Pot Thai Green Curry with Chicken and Thai Instant Pot Massaman Curry with Beef. They are as delicious as this curry, but with different flavors.
Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken – Ingredients
Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken – Step by Step Instructions
- Press ‘Saute’.
- 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.
- Close Instant Pot lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘4’ (4 minutes) *
* 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 ‘On’.
- 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 ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’.
- To open the Instant Pot, first move the steam release handle to ‘Venting’. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position.
- 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, and lime leaves.
- Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. 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
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 servings
This Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken is delightful (and addicting!) It makes a perfect meal when paired with Jasmine Rice, and comes together so quickly in the Instant Pot. Perfect for a busy weeknight meal.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste (preferably Maesri or Mae Ploy brand)
- 1 14-oz can regular-fat coconut milk
- 1 lb boneless chicken breasts or thighs, sliced into thin bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce, more to taste
- 2 tsp 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 sliced canned bamboo shoots
- 4 Kaffir lime leaves, slightly bruised
- 12 Thai basil leaves
Instructions
- Press ‘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 Instant Pot and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Cook on 'Manual' (or 'Pressure Cook') mode for 4 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release of pressure and open the Instant Pot.
- Add in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, bell pepper, carrots, onions, bamboo shoots, and Kaffir lime leaves.
- Press 'Saute' and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. (Be sure not to overcook. 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
- Use a splatter screen, if necessary, to guard against 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.
Courses Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 246 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 14 g | 22% | |
Saturated Fat 10 g | 50% | |
Sodium 705 mg | 29% | |
Total Carbohydrates 10 g | 3% | |
Dietary Fiber 2 g | 8% | |
Sugars 6 g | ||
Protein 18 g | 36% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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