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.
OTHER INGREDIENTS: To make a stew, I use coconut milk and water. And vegetable oil for pan-frying and sauteing.
Step by Step Instruction
To know how to cook chicken curry with coconut milk, here are the instruction that I stated below:
- Firstly, I add vegetable oil followed by ginger and garlic in the cooking pot.
- Next, I added the chopped red onion which I stir till it turns translucent before adding the chicken leg.
- After that, I add 1 tablespoon of curry powder which I give a quick stir.
- I poured water and let it boil for less than 5 minutes before pouring the coconut milk. Let it simmer for 30 minutes so the chicken can be cooked.
- Once the simmering reach in 10 minutes, add the salt, black pepper, and the remaining curry powder to the coconut milk-water stew.
- While waiting for the chicken to be cooked, I pan-fried the potatoes and carrots in a separate pan. You can just half-cooked it since the rest will be done when you transfer it to the cooking pot.
- Once you already simmered for almost 25 minutes, add the bell pepper and half-cooked carrot to the cooking pot first. Let it cook for 5 minutes before adding the half-cooked potatoes.
- Stir gently and let it cook further till the chicken and vegetables are fully cooked.
- Add fish sauce since this is what gives the flavor of the curry stew. Serve it with rice and you are done.
Serving Suggestion
This Pinoy chicken curry is best serve with white steamed rice. In addition, I like to serve it with my homemade Filipino noodle recipes like the Pancit Bam-I or Pancit Canton.
Tips and Hints
- If you like to enhance the flavor you can add lemongrass.
- Add green chilies if you like your Filipino chicken curry mildly spicy.
- If you want a stronger coconut taste of the curry, use coconut cream instead of milk.
- Coconut cream also make’s the stew thicker.
Substitution
- You can add green papaya instead of carrot or potatoes
- If you don’t have green bell pepper, use instead red bell pepper.
- If you cannot find 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:
- Thai Fish Green Curry- A Spicy Thai fish curry using green curry powder and coconut milk.
- Prawn Masala- Indian Shrimp curry mixed with garam masala and coconut milk
- Palak Chicken- Indian chicken curry using fresh spinach leaves mixed with different spices and herbs.
📋 Recipe Card
Filipino Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 500 grams of chicken
- 1.5 cups of coconut milk
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoon of yellow curry powder
- 1 Medium Red Onion, chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 1 thumb-size ginger
- Vegetable oil for sautéing and pan-frying
Condiment and Seasoning
- 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
Vegetables
- 1 Medium Green Bell Pepper, cut into smaller pieces
- 2 Medium Potatoes, cut into 2 inches cubed
- 1 Large Carrot, sliced
Instructions
- Add vegetable oil to the cooking pot. Once hot, add the ginger and garlic. Stir for 30-45 seconds.
- Add the chopped red onion. Stir till it turns translucent.
- Add the chicken leg. Give a quick stir before adding the 1 tablespoon of curry powder. Stir again before pouring the water.
- Once it’s boiling, leave the chicken for 5 minutes before pouring the coconut milk or cream. Gently mix to combine. Let it simmer for 30 minutes in total
- Once you simmered for at least 10 minutes, add the salt, black pepper, and the remaining curry powder (1 teaspoon) to the coconut milk-water stew.
- Add vegetable oil to a separate cooking pan. When hot, add a sliced carrots and pan-fry it for a few minutes till it’s almost half-cooked. Remove it from the pan and transfer it to the plate. Set it aside.
- Add large cubed potatoes. Repeat the same process as how you half-cooked the carrot. It doesn’t have to be soft. Set it aside on the same plate.
- Once you already simmered for almost 25 minutes, add the cut bell pepper and half-cooked carrot to the cooking pot first. Let it cook for 5 minutes before adding the half-cooked potatoes.
- Stir gently and let it cook further till the chicken and vegetables are fully cooked and soft.
- Add fish sauce since this is what gives the flavor of the curry stew.
- Serve it with rice and you are done. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use coconut cream instead of coconut milk
- Add green chilies if you want it mildly spicy
- You can switch potatoes or carrots with green papaya
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.
The 2nd amount of curry in the body of the recipe needs to be changed from 1 tsp to 1 tbsp. Unfortunately I didn't look at the list of ingredients and added 1 tsp instead. It needed to have more curry flavor. Otherwise great recipe!
Hi Arlene. You can add more curry if you prefer strong flavor. Although, there are some I know who prefered mild flavor, which is why I used only 1 teaspoon.