Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (2024)

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Create juicy chicken and concentrated flavors in 20 minutes.

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Daniel Gritzer

Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (1)

Daniel Gritzer

Senior Culinary Director

Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.

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Updated November 03, 2022

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Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (2)

Why It Works

  • Frying the aromatics, spices, and curry paste in oil deepens their flavor and helps release it into the stew.
  • By using a pressure cooker, the chicken and vegetables are cooked through and tender in minutes
  • The kabocha squash and eggplant break down into the stewing liquid, thickening it without a need for further reduction.

When I first got my pressure cooker, I thought of it as a piece of highly specialized equipment that I'd need only in very specific situations, like if I wanted tough cuts like lamb shanks tender in under an hour. In my imagination, it was like the Navy SEALs of cooking gear, a tactical armored unit that sits around smoking cigars, lifting weights, and getting tattoos until something really serious goes down. (It probably has some kind of tagline that it delivers right before forcing ingredients into submission, like, "Can you handle the pressure?")

Until recently, I hadn't really considered it for a relatively quick-cooking meat like chicken.But after making this Thai-style stew, I've realized that a pressure cooker can work magic on chicken dishes.

The great thing about this dish is you can do as much or as little work as you want. For speed and convenience, I use store-bought Thai green curry paste. The paste would be fine on its own, but to freshen it up and add a little more complexity, I supplement it with some fresh garlic, ginger, Thai chiles, and spices like cumin and coriander. I fry them all in a little oil to coax out and deepen their flavors. In a pinch, you could skip this frying step and just dump everything into the pot at once, though you'd lose some of the rich layers of flavor.

Then I add a can of coconut milk to the cooker, along with a couple of alternating layers of diced eggplant, kabocha squash, and chicken pieces. A whole chicken cut into parts works great, but you can also opt for just the legs since the dark meat (which I like best when it's very well-done) comes out cooked-to-the-bone in no time. Miraculously, white meat simultaneously manages to stay incredibly tender and juicy—another huge pressure-cooker advantage, given that stewed chicken breast is normally horribly dry.

Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (3)

The single can of coconut milk may seem like too little liquid, but as Kenji has shown in this cool recipe forColombian chicken stew, you don't always have to add a lot of liquid to the pressure cooker to get quite a bit of delicious broth out of it.

With the cooker loaded, I let it run at high pressure for a mere 20 minutes. One of the challenges of making stews in a pressure cooker is that by cooking in a closed environment that traps all the steam, the juices can sometimes end up too watery and thin.The amazing thing about this stew is that the eggplant and squash break down into the cooking liquid, forming a thick sauce that doesn't need to be reduced.Stir in a splash of fish sauce, some herbs, and fresh spinach leaves, and it's ready to eat.

So if you ever find yourself facing an intimidating looking pressure cooker and it asks, "Can you handle the pressure?" the answer is, "Yes."

Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (4)

April 2014

Recipe Details

Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe

Active20 mins

Total45 mins

Serves4to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 3 medium cloves garlic, crushed

  • 3 Thai green bird's eye chiles, halved

  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste

  • One (14-ounce) cancoconut milk

  • One (4-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces, or 4 pounds chicken drumsticks and thighs

  • Kosher salt

  • 6 cups cubed skin-on kabocha squash (from about half of one small 4-pound squash)

  • 1 medium (12-ounce) eggplant, cubed (about 4 cups)

  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce

  • 4 ounces spinach(about 4 packed cups), roughly chopped

  • 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems (from about 5 sprigs)

  • 1/2 cuploosely packed fresh Thai basil leaves (from about 5 sprigs)

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • Cooked rice, barley, or other grain, for serving

  • Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium-high heat ("sear" setting on an electric pressure cooker) until shimmering. Add garlic, chiles, ginger, coriander, and cumin and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add curry paste and cook, stirring, until paste has darkened slightly, about 3 minutes.

    Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (5)

  2. Stir in coconut milk, bring to a simmer, and cook for 1 minute. Season chicken pieces with salt. Add half the squash and eggplant and season with salt. Add chicken and top with the remaining squash and eggplant. Season with salt. Seal pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.

    Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (6)

  3. Release pressure, remove lid, and stir in fish sauce, spinach, and 1/4 cup each of the cilantro and Thai basil. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the stew into serving bowls and scatter remaining cilantro and basil on top. Serve with rice and lime wedges.

    Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (7)

Special Equipment

Electric or stovetop pressure cooker

  • Thai
  • Dairy-free Mains
  • Gluten-free Mains
  • Pressure Cooked Chicken
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
640Calories
43g Fat
27g Carbs
45g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4to 6
Amount per serving
Calories640
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 43g55%
Saturated Fat 20g100%
Cholesterol 218mg73%
Sodium 1146mg50%
Total Carbohydrate 27g10%
Dietary Fiber 5g17%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 45g
Vitamin C 18mg92%
Calcium 109mg8%
Iron 7mg36%
Potassium 1172mg25%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to Thai curry? ›

The secret to making amazing Thai curries is to use plenty of aromatics, like onion, ginger and garlic. Choose full-fat coconut milk for its richness (you won't regret it!). Stirring in just a little bit of rice vinegar and sugar adds tons of complexity.

How to make Thai curry more flavorful? ›

How do I get more depth of flavor in my Thai curry?
  1. Heat tablespoon of vegetable oil on skillet, sauté 4 oz of Maesri green curry paste for a min or two.
  2. Add chicken pieces to skillet, cook until meat is pretty much done.
  3. Add 2 cans coconut milk, simmer ~5 mins, add a couple spoons of sugar.
Jan 17, 2022

How to make green curry sauce thick? ›

How to Thicken Curry
  1. Add dairy. Many curry sauces have a creamy texture, so try adding more dairy—like Greek yogurt, heavy cream, or a thick non-dairy ingredient like coconut cream—to thicken a watery curry sauce.
  2. Add ground nuts. ...
  3. Add lentils. ...
  4. Add peanut butter. ...
  5. Add a tomato product. ...
  6. Start with a roux. ...
  7. Use a slurry.
Jan 20, 2022

How do Thai restaurants make curry so creamy? ›

Often, Thai curries are made using coconut milk as the main liquid, which results in a creamy consistency. You can use as much or as little coconut milk as you wish based on your preference for texture, spice, and flavor.

How to improve Thai green curry? ›

Toasting the spices wakes them up and makes the curry more aromatic. Toasting the shrimp paste makes it more pungent and adds a smoky flavour.

What are the secret ingredients to a good curry? ›

Indian chef Maunika Gowardhan suggests using tomato purée, coconut milk or yoghurt as natural thickening agents to achieve the perfect consistency. Adding ground nuts such as almonds or peanuts can also be a great way to ensure your curry is a knockout.

What is the most popular Thai curry flavor? ›

Green curry is considered the most popular curry. With coconut milk as one of the main ingredients, there is a hint of sweet flavoring as well. Because the green curry paste is made with green chilis, it is far hotter than other curries.

What vegetables to add to curry? ›

The curry base is made with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, red chilli powder and garam masala. I prefer to go with potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, cauliflower, corn and bell peppers. Though you can use other veggies like baby corn, sweet potato and broccoli, the curry will have different flavors.

What goes best with Thai Green Curry? ›

Serve your Thai Green Curry with:

A crunchy salad (minus the dijon dressing). The cauliflower fried rice from this recipe – fried up with coriander and lime. Or how about some pan fried roti from Whitney at WhitneyBond.com.

When to add cream to curry? ›

Add lemon juice and salt to taste. Add in the chicken and continue to simmer the curry in the skillet on medium-low to medium until the chicken is cooked through. Once the chicken has cooked through, add in the heavy whipping cream and stir.

Does coconut milk thicken curry? ›

For a rich and creamy curry, coconut milk or cream can be a fantastic thickening agent. They not only add creaminess but also a delightful tropical flavour. Simply pour in some coconut milk or cream and let it simmer until your sauce reaches the desired consistency.

What makes Thai curry so good? ›

For example, lemongrass, Galangal and Shrimp paste are the common ingredients found in Thai curries. They enhance the flavour of the curry dishes, and yet, they are rarely used in other cuisines.

What is the secret ingredient for curry? ›

Whether you may be familiar with the differences between curries from various countries, such as Indian versus Japanese curry, and perhaps even know how to make them at home, there's a special flavor enhancer that you may not have thought to add: honey.

What gives Thai curry its Flavour? ›

Shrimp paste gives Thai curry pastes a distinctive, authentically Thai flavor. It's also a source of “umami” that adds depth to the curries the paste is used in. It should always be roasted for a few minutes before being added to the curry paste.

What is the secret to a great curry? ›

Tips for the Perfect Curry
  1. Use fresh spices. For the best results, always try to use fresh spices. ...
  2. Give the spices a toast. ...
  3. Wrap up your whole spices. ...
  4. Blitz your tomatoes. ...
  5. Onions are the key. ...
  6. Don't overcook your chicken. ...
  7. Keep your garlic and ginger fresh. ...
  8. Add exciting toppings.

References

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