Filipino Chicken Curry is a chicken curry with coconut milk dish from the Philippines which is mixed with bell peppers, potatoes, and carrot. It is best to serve with rice.

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When I am cooking some stew dishes, curry spice is what makes the food flavorful. Not only it is delicious, but it is rich in antioxidants and has tons of health benefits.
What I notice is that the curry spice used in the chicken curry pinoy is milder and not spicy. Nonetheless, if you love stew curry but not spicy, then I will recommend this Pinoy chicken curry.
Indian vs Thai vs Filipino Curry
In my experience, every country has its version of curry dish. But, the Indian and Thai curry tends to be the most popular one since you can find it around the world.
If you are not familiar with curry spice, I have discussed below the difference between Indian, Thai, and Filipino Curry:
INDIAN CURRY: Firstly, the Indian version uses dry spices such as cumin seeds, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander, red chili powder, and other powder spices. Secondly, the sauce has thicker consistent since they use to blend the spices with chopped tomatoes and onion.
THAI CURRY: The curry used in Thai dishes is made from a paste and it is not a dry spice. The curry paste contains lemongrass, shrimp paste, ginger, garlic, shallot, and chilies. Furthermore, they either have a green or red paste which depends on the chilies they used. And lastly, they use coconut milk in their soup, and they add green vegetables to their dish.
FILIPINO CURRY: This Filipino style chicken curry has a milder taste since the curry is made from turmeric, coriander, and other spices. Also, like Thai Curry, we like to incorporate other vegetables in our stew dishes like potatoes, carrots, and bell pepper. And lastly, we use coconut milk to make a stew.
Recipe Ingredients
Here are my recipe ingredient to make this delicious Filipino Chicken Curry:
MEAT: I am using mixed of chicken drumstick and thigh.
VEGETABLES: The list of vegetables I use includes Potatoes, Carrots, and Bell Pepper.
HERBS & SPICES: I am using garlic, ginger, onion, and Filipino curry powder. The local curry is found in Filipino grocery stores.
CONDIMENT: To enhance the flavor of the stew, I am using fish sauce and lemongrass.
OTHER INGREDIENTS: To make a stew, I use coconut milk and water.
Step by Step Instruction
To know how to cook chicken curry with coconut milk, here are the instruction that I stated below:
STEP 1 STEP 2
STEP 3 STEP 4
STEP 5 STEP 6
STEP 7 STEP 8
STEP 9 STEP 10
STEP 11 STEP 12
- I sauteed the potatoes, bell pepper, and carrots in the pan so that way they can be cooked faster.
- Next, I sauteed the chicken until it has a brown texture on both sides. Set all of them aside.
- In a large pot, I saute the garlic, ginger, and onion before I added the curry powder.
- Once you are done mixing them, that's when I pour water, coconut milk, and lemongrass stalk. Add the chicken and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Next, I add fish sauce followed by the rest of the vegetables. Stir to combine and let it simmer till it becomes soft.
- Add salt, black pepper, and additional curry powder. Mix to combine before turning off the heat.
- Serve with white rice or any rice you like.
Variation and Tips
- You can use green papaya instead of potatoes
- If you dont have green bell pepper, you can use red bell pepper.
- If you want your Filipino Chicken Curry spicy, you can add green chilies while simmering the chicken.
- To release the flavor of the lemongrass, pound it before you put into the pot.
- If you want to have a thicker sauce, you can use coconut cream instead of coconut milk.
- If you cannot find the Filipino curry, you can mix any Indian green curry powder with turmeric. But, do not use Red curry since this will make the soup red and spicy.
Other Curry Recipes to Try
Here are other recommended curry stew recipes you may like to try in your kitchen:
Filipino Chicken Curry Recipe
A Pinoy style chicken curry mixed with potatoes, carrots, and bell pepper cooked in coconut milk.
Ingredients
- 500 grams of chicken
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoon of yellow curry powder
- 1 medium red onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 thumb-size ginger
- Vegetable oil for sautéing
Condiment and Seasoning
- 2 tablespoon of fish sauce
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- Salt and Black Pepper for Taste
Vegetables
- 1 medium bell pepper
- 1 large carrot
- 1 large potatoes
Instructions
- Add vegetable oil in a large pan. Once hot, add potatoes and pan-fry for 3 minutes till its cooked. Remove it and set aside.
- Proceed with carrots and followed by bell pepper. Repeat the process and once they are all cooked, set aside.
- Add the chicken and let it pan-fry till the outer side turns golden brown. Remove it and set aside
- In a large pot, add two tablespoon of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add chopped grated onion and garlic. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes
- Add chopped onion and continue stirring till it turns translucent.
- Add 2 tablespoon of curry powder and stir to combine before pouring water, coconut milk and pounded lemongrass stalk.
- When it started to boil, add the chicken and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes in low heat.
- Add fish sauce and stir to mix.
- Add potatoes, carrots and bell pepper, and continue simmering for 10 minutes.
- Add ½ tablespoon curry powder, salt and black pepper. Mix to combine
- Turn off the heat and serve with white rice.
Notes
You can use coconut cream instead of coconut milk
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 428Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 16gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 118mgSodium 977mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 6gSugar 4gProtein 35g
this is so delicious and flavourful! what a wonderful recipe!
This is definitely my comfort meal. Creamy and delicious.
This was such a delicious and creamy recipe! Such a great comfort food. Can’t wait to make this again!
Thanks Beth
Just fantastic! Love searing the chicken to seal in all the juices and get that extra flavour around it. The recipe is so similar to making Vietnamese chicken curry - yum!
Thanks Jeannette. It is similar to any curry dish, except it is milder and not spicy.
Never had Filipino food before and this recipe is definitely going on my to-do list! I love meat and vegetables together, and with these different flavors this will please my husband as well.
Thanks for the comment Elle. I am sure your husband will love this since it is delicious and nutritious too.