Super Easy Vietnamese Chicken Curry Recipe

There might be nothing in the world better than traditional Vietnamese curry served with a giant pile of fresh, warm, and pillowy-soft Vietnamese baguettes.

Curry came to Vietnam a long time ago, and while it’s a little less well known than its Thai cousins, it’s no less delicious and super easy to make.

I grew up with this curry. Sort of. My mom’s “a little of this and a little of that” recipes didn’t really work for me so I’ve had to recreate them all as an adult. Luckily I can check how close my versions are to hers just by asking my mom for a batch of hers. This one hits while not using many special ingredients.

Vietnamese Curry Cooking Notes

• Leaving the chicken out while you marinate it lets it come to temperature for more even cooking. If the idea of this makes you squeamish, you can marinate in the fridge, but then you’ll need to add additional cooking time.
• You can add any kind of vegetables to this in addition to the potatoes. Tradtionally we go with carrots. The optional powders are just if you have these items in your pantry. The chili powder we use is Indian red chili powder, which is very very spicy.
• Because this is dinner & chill, I left out the lemongrass because it’s not too common at the average grocery store, but if you come across some while shopping, pick a stalk or two up, slice into 2” long lengths, and add it to the broth.
• Some of the commenters below noted that you might need more stock, so I’ve changed the recipe to read 2-4 cups of chicken stock from the original 2 cups.

What do you need?

Just a pot.

How do you serve Vietnamese curry?

Serve with rice or baguettes to dip. Bonus points if you can find fresh Vietnamese baguettes from a local Vietnamese deli. It’s also traditional to serve this with pho noodles, in which case you should double the chicken broth and seasoning to make enough for two bowls.

Other Vietnamese recipes to try

• A Very Authentic Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Recipe
• Bun Bo Hue: Maybe Better than Pho?
• Easy Instant Pot Pho
• Spicy Noodles: Vietnamese Garlic Lemongrass Edition
• How to Make Vietnamese Salad Rolls

– Mike

Easy Vietnamese Curry

A super easy dinner & chill weeknight favorite of mine

Serves 2

5 from 12 votes

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Ingredients

• 2 lbs bone in skin on chicken thighs
• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• 3 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp neutral oil plus extra for frying
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp garlic powder optional
• 2 tsp chili powder optional
• 1 shallot diced
• 1 lb potatoes or other root vegetables of choice, cubed
• 2-4 cups chicken stock or as needed, see notes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 can coconut milk 5.6oz/165ml/the small can

Instructions

• Marinate your chicken with half of the garlic, 2 tablespoons curry powder, 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. If you’re using garlic and chili powder, add one teaspoon of each as well. Let sit on the countertop while you to prep the vegetables or for as long as 2 hours.
  
• In a medium-sized saucepan or saute pan over medium high, heat up 1-2 tbsp of oil and brown your chicken on both sides. Remove and set aside.
  
• Reduce the heat to medium and add the shallot and remaining garlic and fry for a minute or two. Stir in the vegetables, the remaining curry powder, and the remaining chili and garlic powder, if using. Fry for a few minutes more.
  
• Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
  
• Add the chicken, bay leaves, and enough chicken stock to just halfway cover the chicken (about 1 cup, but it depends on the size of the pot you use). Cover partially with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
  
• Add the coconut milk and simmer, partially covered, for another 15 minutes, then adjust seasoning and serve.
  

Notes

Several people have said they prefer 1l/4 cups of stock so I've added that here.

Estimated Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Easy Vietnamese Curry

Amount Per Serving

Calories 499 Calories from Fat 324

% Daily Value*

Fat 36g55%

Saturated Fat 2.6g16%

Cholesterol 114mg38%

Sodium 960mg42%

Potassium 1151mg33%

Carbohydrates 37.6g13%

Fiber 5.2g22%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 39.8g80%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.