Easy Coconut Chicken Curry

There are days when you want something warm, creamy, and generous with ulam na may sarsa and chicken curry answers every time. Filipino-style curry is gentler than its Indian and Thai cousins: a modest spoonful of curry powder, plenty of coconut milk, and vegetables that soak up all that golden sauce. In our latest video, we cook it start to finish in one pan, the way we make it at home.

It is the kind of ulam that makes people ask for rice pa more.

Watch the Video

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Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken, cut into serving pieces (thighs and drumsticks are best)
• 1 cups coconut milk (gata)
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 medium carrot, cut into chunks
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb-size ginger, grated and julienned
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 3 long green chilies (siling haba)
• 2–3 red chilies, for heat and color
• 2-3 bay leaves (laurel)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (umami booster)
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

How to Cook

1. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and let them rest while you prepare the vegetables.
2. Heat the oil in a wide pan. Sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger until fragrant and soft.
3. Add the chicken and brown it lightly on all sides. Splash in the fish sauce and let it sizzle for a minute—this is where the flavor starts.
4. Stir in the curry powder and toast it briefly with the chicken so it blooms and coats every piece.

5. Pour in the coconut milk and drop in the bay leaves. Bring it to a gentle simmer, never a hard boil, so the gata stays smooth and does not curdle. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
6. Add the potatoes and carrots. Simmer uncovered until they are fork-tender and the sauce has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes more.
7. Add the long green chilies and red chilies in the last few minutes. Taste and adjust with salt, pepper, or a little more patis.
8. Serve hot with plenty of steaming rice.

Tips for a Better Curry

Toast the curry powder. Thirty seconds in the hot pan with the chicken wakes up the spices and takes away that raw, dusty taste. It is a small step that changes the whole dish.

Keep the heat low once the gata goes in. Coconut milk splits when boiled hard. A lazy simmer gives you that glossy, unbroken sauce you see in the video.

Add the potatoes later, not sooner. Put them in with the chicken and they turn to mush by the time the meat is tender. Give them their own window and they hold their shape while still drinking up the sauce.

Adjust the chilies to your table. Siling haba brings aroma more than fire, so it is safe for the kids. If you want real heat, slit the red chilies open or add a few labuyo.

Make It Your Own

Some households a handful of green peas at the end. A little turmeric deepens the color if your curry powder is mild. There is no single correct version—only the one your family asks for again.

Have you cooked chicken curry this way? We would love to see your version! Tag us on Instagram at @ulampinoy and share your cooking with us.

Happy cooking, and kain na!