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!
This recipe was delicious!!! This was my first try experimenting with this meal. We ate this meal at a restaurant last night and I was determined to prepare it at home. I added shrimp as well. Is My food was just as good-if not better than the restaurant. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Angela
Oh My Goodness!
I just made this curry and it is totally delicious!!
I ordered a Panang Curry Paste online and got anything else I needed from the local supermarket so it was easy to get the ingredients
It is the best curry I have ever made and rivals any Penang Curry I’ve eaten in Thai restaurants an I’ve eaten quite a few!
Would also be super with Prawns and or Salmon
Thank you
It was spot on! Delicious! Tastes just like restaurant thai chicken panang! Impressed my dinner guests.
Forgot to say, I used 1 tbsp fish sauce and used 1/2 can more coconut milk to cut the spiciness, great recipe, ty.
Hi Sabrina,
I’m so glad you liked it! XOXO
Absolutely awesome. This is the best Thai dish that I ever cooked at home! Posting the link on my little insta blog called @expatadventuring
Hi Faryal,
YAY!! I’m so very glad you liked it!
i live in a small town and the nearest Asian market is 3 hours away. I can only find dry kiffer lime leaves on Amazon. Would they work. I did find thai basil yea.
I also have to order the curry but that is ok.
Hi Karen,
Yes, dried kiffer lime will work if you can’t get fresh. Good luck!
I will use dry leaves, also. Do I use less or the same amount and do I leave them whole?
Hi Eddie,
With dried herbs you usually use 1/3 the amount of fresh.
I made this recipe last night. Followed it to the tee but I do have a large family so I essentially doubled all the ingredients with the exception of the coconut oil and used 1.5X veggies. I did use two cans of curry paste and the kick, though too much for most, was just right for my family. The taste of this recipe is identical to our favorite Thai restaurant in Houston(also the highest rated in the Houston area), however its located 20 miles from us. No need to go back to the restaurant just for panang curry ever again.
I tried this out after becoming tired of paying $14 at my favorite thai place every time I wanted a fix of coconut curry. Pretty on point except 12 lime leaves seemed a bit too much for me. Next time I’ll probably use half. And I agree with others that it’s safe to use 3 teaspoons of fish sauce instead of 3 tablespoons. Heat can be adjusted to your liking by controlling how much of the panang paste you put in. Started with half and worked my way up to about 3/4 of the can.
Excellent recipe. Extremely impressed with how everything turned out. Added mushrooms and broccoli instead of chicken to make it vegetarian.
Amazing recipe! My only suggestion is half of the Panang Curry. Super spicy with just that amount! Plus I only used 1/3 of the fish sauce and we used chicken breast meat. Finally, I chopped the lime leaves super small as to not pick them out.
A trick I researched was to put the leftover curry paste into a freezer bag and then flatten it. Works well because I now also have a huge bag of frozen lime leaves to go along with it next time!
Cant wait to try it again with more fish sauce, thank you!
Made this last night and the recipe is spot on. I made sure to hunt down the Maesri panang curry paste and the Three Crabs brand fish sauce which made all the difference. I didn’t find the Coco King coconut milk so I used another good brand of thick unsweetened coconut milk. Added bonus was that it was easy to make on a weeknight after work.
Loved the taste except it was very salty. And when I say salty I mean to the point of beeing almost imposible to eat even after I added the double amount of coconut milk (ended up with trice the amount and added extra currypaste). I mesured exactly according to your recepie but have to wonder if it should be 3 teaspoons and not tablespoons in the recepie?
I have to agree that this recipe was absolutely amazing!!! I will make this one over and over again!!