Best Thai Panang Chicken Curry
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jul 14, 2025 
The Best Thai Panang Curry we’ve ever made! It’s an authentic curry recipe, straight from our Thailand travels. Cancel your takeout order and give it a try!
Our Favorite Panang Curry Recipe
Thai Panang Curry is a dish I swoon over. It’s rich and spicy with a distinctly unique flavor from the addition of kaffir lime leaves and panang curry paste. I could eat this every day of the week and never get tired of it!
To top it off, the fragrance of a good Panang curry is so intoxicating, it should be bottled in my humble opinion.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
I have ordered Panang chicken curry numerous times at Thai restaurants, and experimented with homemade versions nearly as many times.
After much testing, I have finally come up with a recipe I feel is The Best Thai Panang Curry I’ve ever made, and possibly the best we’ve ever eaten.
I know that sounds braggy, and I do apologize, but this recipe is flipping amazing! Just taste it and you’ll forgive me.
Find a Local Asian Market
Our Best Thai Panang Chicken Curry is extremely simple to make. The catch is, that you will most likely have to go to an Asian market to gather the ingredients. But trust me, this Panang Curry recipe is worth the trip!
If you live in a large multicultural city, your standard grocery stores may have everything you need. If not, map-search Asian markets… Even small towns usually have one.
Once there, hand your grocery list over and ask the clerk to help you find the best brand of panang red curry paste, thick coconut milk, and fish sauce. Be sure to also pick up Thai basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves.
You can substitute other types of basil; however, the kaffir lime leaves cannot be replaced. The flavor is too unique to swap another ingredient or to leave it out. The Panang curry paste has some kaffir lime leaf in it, but it’s not enough.
Fresh kaffir lime leaves can be frozen for longevity. They do turn dark in the freezer, but retain their vibrant flavor, so you can use it again.
Panang Curry Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs (or chicken breast)
- Sweet onion
- Red bell pepper
- Orange bell pepper
- Garlic cloves
- Coconut oil
- Panang red curry paste – made with lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, coriander seeds, lime zest, cumin seeds, and chilies
- Peanut butter
- Kaffir lime leaves
- Thick coconut milk (or coconut cream)
- Fish sauce
- Thai basil leaves or sweet basil
How To Make Panang Curry
Ready to make The Best Thai Chicken Curry you’ve ever tasted?
- Chop – Start by cutting chicken thighs, onions, and bell peppers into bite-size pieces.
- Smash – Then crush the kaffir lime leaves to help release their oils. They are tough little leaves so smash and twist away, until they smell very strong.
- Sauté – Sauté the onions, peppers, and garlic in a large skillet. Then add the panang curry paste and a spoonful of peanut butter to the center of the pan. Sauté the curry for a couple of minutes to intensify the flavor.
- Simmer – Then add the kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, fish sauce, and chicken to the pan. Simmer the curry until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens. Stir in Thai basil leaves and you have a dish worth drooling over.
Bold, fragrant, and oh-so delicious! Your local takeout joint has nothing on our Panang Curry recipe.
Find the full Chicken Panang Curry recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this fabulous curry with jasmine rice, sticky rice, or even Thai Fried Rice!
Or serve alongside other Thai Recipes like…
- Thai Pad Kee Mao
- Chicken Satay
- Thai Pumpkin Curry (Vegan!)
- Nam Sod Lettuce Wraps (or Salad)
- Easy Chicken Pad Thai
- Tom Yum Soup
- Thai Larb Rolls (Keto)
- Thai Baked Turkey Meatballs
- Thai Mango Sticky Rice Recipe
- Thai Crab Fried Rice
- Spicy Thai Chicken Soup
- Thai Shrimp Curry Noodle Bowls
- Thai Quinoa Salad Recipe
- We also love Vietnamese Bun Cha Gio Bowls and Korean Bulgogi!
Thai Chicken Panang Curry Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4 ounces Panang red curry paste (1 can)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 12 kaffir lime leaves, crushed
- 13.5 ounces thick coconut milk, unsweetened (1 can)
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1/4 cup Thai basil leaves or sweet basil
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Chop the onions and peppers into rough 1-inch pieces. Mince the garlic. Then crush the kaffir lime leaves to help release their oils.
- Place a 14-inch skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat. Add the coconut oil. Once the oil melts, add the onions. Sauté for 1 minute, then add the peppers and garlic. Sauté another 2-3 minutes.
- Move the veggies to the sides of the skillet and add the panang red curry paste and peanut butter to the center of the pan. Sauté the curry for 2-3 minutes to intensify the flavor, moving around the pan. Then add the kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, and fish sauce. Stir to blend.
- Stir in the chopped chicken and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the basil leaves. Serve with rice, quinoa, or noodles.
Notes
Nutrition
Panang Chicken Curry FAQ
Panang curry paste is a type of red curry specific to Thailand and Laos.
It is less spicy and more aromatic than standard red curry paste. In a pinch you could substitute red curry paste, but the flavor will not be quite the same.
As mentioned above, you will need to make a stop at a local Asian market. However, this recipe is worth the trip… And Asian markets are tons of fun to explore!
Yes! As long as the curry paste and fish sauce you buy are gluten-free, the entire recipe is as well. Most are, but be sure to check the ingredients. P.S. This recipe is dairy-free as well!
This recipe will keep well for 5-7 days in the refrigerator. Keep in an airtight container. That makes this a fabulous MEAL PREP dish!
I have been waiting for this recipe all my life! Thank you!!! I actually used Massaman paste as I find that a little less spicy and only used about 3/4 of a tin, but it was amazingly delicious!!!
Awesome. Made my own curry paste but fantastic recipe
Should have mentioned I only used 2 tbsp of fish sauce and 1 tsp of brown sugar after tasting.
Hello, I’ve had a really hard time finding thick coconut milk. Can I use coconut cream instead?
Hi Grace!
Absolutely, but make sure it is unsweetened. :)
Wonderful taste…I miss my favorite San Diego Thai Restaurant Panang since moving several years ago back to Ohio. I have to drive 45 minutes to the Asian market to stock up…but well worth the trip. Added a little more spice (we like it hot) with thai chili peppers. This is almost exactly like I remember it being. Thanks for your recipe. I will make it every time I have a need for Panang.
Followed this to a T, but raised my brow when it came to 3 tablespoons of fish sauce. I thought it would be too salty and I was right. The curry was almost inedible and I tend to like my salt. Luckily watering it down a little helped, but next time I’ll probably only add 1.5 or 2 tablespoons of fish sauce. The flavor is amazing though, the kaffir lime leaves really make a difference!
I used 1TBSP and half the amount of curry paste, and it was still too salty.
This dish reminded me EXACTLY of the panang curry I used to get from my favorite childhood restaurant. I altered it slightly though – I tore up the tough lime leaves into little pieces (they’re easier to eat that way). Also, I added another half can of coconut milk, which made it perfect (maybe because I didn’t get the extra thick kind – couldn’t find it!). When I added the extra half can, I didn’t shake the can first, and only took the thick stuff that had settled at the top of the can.
The Asian store near my house had the exact brands you posted! This recipe was phenomenal, especially since our local Thai restaurant is closed while the owner’s family visits relatives back home. I added 2 chopped longhorn peppers for extra spice.
This really impressed a lot of foodie! I doubled the portion as I needed to serve 13 people and it worked out perfect.
Wonderful recipe! Made it twice, the second time with Shrimp. I substituted lime zest from one lime and added twice the fresh basil. Really wonderful flavor. My supermarket didn’t have the Penang curry paste so I used Asian Gormet Red Curry paste and it worked well!
Hi I can’t see the exact recipie here? How do I know how much of everything to put in?
Sorry I found it I’m blind! I can’t wait to try this!!
I love this recipe – I don’t have it very hot so put way less curry paste in, but the flavour was still delicious.
I’m looking forward to making this recipe this week. Can you please advise on best way to make it “hotter” — red pepper flakes, or something else?
thanks!
Hi there! Make sure to taste your curry paste before adding more heat. Some brands are distinctly hotter than others. Then yes, I would add crushed red pepper.
thanks!
Bill, I keep fresh frozen Thai chilis in my freezer. I got them at my local asian market for a pittance. This is the absolute best ingredient to spice up a Thai curry. The heat profile is much better than crushed red pepper, its more of an intense flash on the tongue but not a constant ever increasing build up of heat that you get with crushed red pepper. IMO