Instant Pot Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken - amazing recipe! (2024)

Yellow Curry Paste

To make this curry taste like a restaurant-quality curry, you’ve got to get the right curry paste. There are two brands of Thai curry pastes that I really like:Maesri(which I like best) andMae Ploy.

These brands have a much more authentic flavor than the most common brand found in regular grocery stores in the US.

If the curry is too spicy at the end, add some more coconut milk when you’re cooking the vegetables.

Spiciness

When I use Maesri, I use 3 tablespoons of paste, but with Mae Ploy, I use 2 tablespoons because I find it to be spicier. Adjust to your tastes.

If the curry is too spicy at the end, add some more coconut milk when cooking the vegetables. The level of spice in the recipe as written is medium spicy. Vary the spice by adding more or less Thai yellow curry paste.

Also note that Thai curries are generally eaten with rice. If you’re not planning on eating the curry with rice, you might need to adjust the salt by reducing the quantity of fish sauce.

Curry Powder

Curry powdercan lose its freshness if kept for too long. So if you have a jar of curry powder that’s been sitting in your cabinet for ages, you should try and get a fresh jar.

Lime Leaves

Lime leaves(also known as k-lime, makrut or kaffir lime leaves) add unique flavor to Thai curries.

You can find them at Asian grocery stores. I highly recommend using them. They keep very well in the freezer!

I like to scrunch up the lime leaves and bruise them before adding them to the curry. This releases the oils from the leaves and adds a stronger flavor.

If you can’t find lime leaves, add an extra teaspoon or two oflime juice. Taste as you go.

Thai Basil

Thai yellow curry recipes vary widely. I like to use lime leaves but I don’t useThai basilin this curry. If you’re used to the flavor of Thai basil in your yellow curry, feel free to add some in at the end, after pressure cooking.

Fish Sauce

I useRed Boatbrand of fish sauce. It’s more pricey, but very good quality.

There’s no substitute for fish sauce. It adds that depth of flavor, the umami, to the curry. But for vegetarians, I’ve had readers recommend theFyshbrand of sauce. I have not tried it. You may need to add a little extra.

Palm Sugar

Thai yellow curries at Thai restaurants can vary in the amount of sweetness, so feel free to adjust the quantity of sugar.

Palm sugaris more authentic to a Thai curry than brown sugar is. However, I frequently usebrown sugarwithout sacrificing taste.

Coconut Milk

I frequently get questions about the coconut milk curdling after being pressure cooked in the Instant Pot. Yes, it will appear to be curdled when you open the Instant Pot. But once you stir it up and cook the vegetables in the curry sauce, the curry should be very smooth.

It’s important to buy good-quality coconut milk. I have had less-than-perfect Thai curry when I’ve used lower quality brands and/or light coconut milk. I use full-fat coconut milk. My two favorite brands areAroy-DandChaokoh.

Meats and Tofu

You can easily substitute other meats or tofu for the chicken, but you’ll have to adjust the cooking time – here are some approximate times.Note: the timing for meat is for bite-size strips!

• Pork shoulder: 8 minutes Natural Pressure Release (NPR)
• Beef chuck: 12 minutes NPR
• Extra-firm tofu, cubed: 2 minutes, Quick Release (QR)

Vegetables

I sometimes choose to decrease the quantity of chicken and double the quantity of vegetables, so we eat less meat and more veggies.

Doubling the Recipe

You can double all the ingredients in the recipe and pressure cook for the same amount of time. Just make sure your ingredients don’t go past the ⅔-full mark.

Splatter Screen

When you’re sauteing the coconut milk with the curry paste, the mixture can bubble up and splatter. I like to use asplatter screento cover theinner pot during the saute process.

Burn Message

If you regularly encounter the ‘burn’ message, feel free to add ¼ cup ofbrothwhen pressure cooking the coconut milk. (I frequently do this not because of the ‘burn’ error but just because I don’t like to waste the remnants of coconut milk in the can; I add a bit of broth to the emptied can, swirl it around and use a spoon orsilicone spatulato scrape out all the coconut milk.)

[Read more:Instant Pot Burn Message]

• 2 to 3 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste preferably Maesri orMae Ploy brand *
• 13.5 oz. coconut milk (1 can), preferablyAroy DorChaokohbrand – 411 ml
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (⅔ kg) cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 ½ cups Yukon gold potatoes about 2 medium, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce more to taste
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar or to taste
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• ½ cup onion cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup carrots sliced
• 4 lime leaves slightly bruised **

• Select Saute and stir together yellow curry paste and ½ can of coconut milk in theinner potfor about a minute.

• Add curry powder and stir constantly until mixture is bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes.

• Press Cancel.

• Stir in remaining coconut milk, chicken and potatoes.

• Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 3 minutes.

• Do a Quick Release of pressure (QR) and open the Instant Pot. [Read More:The Different Pressure Release Methods]

• Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, onions, carrots, and lime leaves.

• Select Saute and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. (Be sure not to overcook. Vegetables will continue to cook in the residual heat.)

• Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar, or lime juice.

• Serve with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.

• Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
• Use a splatter screen, if necessary, to guard against the coconut milk bubbling up.
• Thai curries are generally eaten with rice. If you’re not planning on eating the curry with rice, you might need to adjust the salt by reducing the quantity of fish sauce.
• * I use 3 tablespoon ofMaesribrand or 2 tablespoon of Mae Ploy brand.
• ** lime leaves also referred to as k-lime, makrut, or kaffir lime leaves
• See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips