

What Is Panang Curry?
Panang curry is one of my favorite Thai recipes. It’s spicy, rich, creamy, savory and sweet.
You can make it with chicken, but beef Panang curry is also equally popular. For the vegetables, just add green peas or baby carrots to the curry.
My easy homemade Panang Curry recipe is very delicious and takes less than 20 minutes to make. If you follow my recipe, it will taste exactly like Thai restaurants. Serve the curry with steamed rice and you’ll have a complete meal.

Panang Curry Paste
While you can make the curry paste from scratch, I recommend canned curry paste for home cooks. You can get the canned curry paste from Asian stores or online at Amazon. For this recipe, I used Maesri brand curry paste.

I prefer Maesri brand because it’s sold as a small can and not a huge plastic tub. There is no waste of ingredients and you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to a month. Just wrap the curry paste in with plastic wraps after it’s open.

Vegetarian or Vegetable Panang Curry
Vegetarians rejoice as you can turn this easy recipe into vegan and vegetarian friendly recipe. Instead of chicken or beef, you can use the following ingredients to make the curry healthy and vegetarian friendly:
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, green peas, bamboo shoots, eggplants, pineapples, etc.
- For the seasoning, you can just use salt instead of fish sauce.
Red Curry Vs. Panang Curry
Both types of curry are popular in Thailand as well as Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. Red curry is red in color, as the name suggests. It’s less spicy and sweeter.
Panang curry is orange in color, spice-laden with a richer and more complex spice structure. The curry is also thicker. Both curries are delicious nonetheless.
How Many Calories?
The calories are 341 per serving, which is very low and healthy.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
This meal is best served with steamed rice, especially Thai Jasmine rice. For a wholesome Thai meal at home, I recommend the following recipes.
5 Secrets to 20 Min Dinners
Get tricks for quick & easy meals!

Panang Curry
Easy Panang curry with chicken and green peas in a spicy coconut curry sauce. Easy 20-min homemade Panang curry recipe that is better than Thai restaurants.
Ingredients
- 1 skinless & boneless chicken breast cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoons Panang curry paste
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas
- 4-6 kaffir lime leaves slightly bruised
Directions
-
1
Heat up a pot with oil. Add in the Panang curry paste and do a quick stir until aromatic. Add in the chicken meat and blend well with the curry paste, then add in the green peas, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, water and the seasonings.
-
2
Lower the heat to medium and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes. Serve hot with steamed white rice.
Recipe Video
Anna B
We had this for dinner tonight – even the kids loved it!! Great recipe. I found this curry paste at our local HMart.
Yeh Ximin
Neeta Rana
Hi, i used the plastic tub version of the paste and it came out excellent!
Thank you for recipe
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Neeta, awesome and thanks for trying my recipe. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Phil
This is the best Thai food recipe I’ve ever made. Visiting our local Thai grocery and grabbing fresh imported ingredients really made all the difference. My approach to Thai cooking is forever changed, thank you, Bee!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Phil, please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Mary Bostow
This recipe is SPECTACULAR!! It’s healthy, easy, and captures the flavors of Thai food in a way I haven’t encountered in most recipes. Thank you!