A savory dish featuring juicy chicken with vegetables in a creamy curry sauce. This Malaysian Chicken Curry is so flavorful and made with simple ingredients from scratch for authentic flavors! This rivals takeout and is great for the family!
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Malaysian Chicken Curry (aka Gulai ayam) is a delicious main dish packed with tender chicken simmered in a flavorful sauce packed with a variety of spices.
The concept of Gulai Ayam originates from Indonesia and Malaysians have adapted it to create their own. In my version of this creamy chicken curry, I include vegetables to keep it balanced.
The homemade curry powder mix is what gives this recipe it's advantage over overs making it super aromatic and delicious! I love serving this authentic Malaysian chicken curry dish over white rice as a main dish.
It's the most comforting meal to have on a cold day as the curry instantly warms me up. The savory sauce over the rice is also such a treat as the two pair wonderfully together.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Chicken Thighs: you can use skinless boneless chicken thighs or skin on chicken thighs with the bone removed
- Shallot: or substitute with onion
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Snap peas: or snow peas
- Green onion
- Potatoes: ideally yukon gold potatoes
- Chicken stock or vegetable stock: ideally low sodium
- Red bell pepper or green bell pepper: or substitute with yellow or orange bell peppers
- Bay leaves
- Whole fat coconut milk: not light coconut milk.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
Curry Powder Mix
- Ground coriander
- Chilli powder
- Salt
- Fennel Seeds
- Cloves
- Turmeric powder: for that yellow color
- Cinnamon powder
- Star anise
- Ground nutmeg
- Black pepper: or substitute with white pepper
Expert Tips
- Use fresh chicken thighs for this recipe! When shopping for chicken thighs in particular, perform a smell test and if it smells gamey or has any odor through the packaging, you will taste it too. So put it back and get one that doesn't have an odor.
- Dice chicken evenly so they cook evenly.
- Don't chop the potatoes into small quarters or they will completely disintegrate into the sauce and make them into larger quarters.
- Prepare the ingredients in advance especially the homemade curry powder mix since the initial cooking process is fast!
- Mix the whole fat coconut milk in advance so the fats and clear liquids combine evenly.
- Avoid burning the garlic and only cook the aromatics until fragrant.
- Let the sauce thicken and reduce so it's creamy and not runny.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for your curry powder mixture. Set aside.
- In a large pot set over medium heat, heat oil. Add shallot, garlic and ginger, and the curry power mixture. Stir to fry until everything is combined well.
- Add sliced chicken and mix in with spices. Allow this to cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in chicken stock, followed by bell peppers, snap peas, potatoes and bay leaves. Stir into broth. Cover and boil for 3 minutes.
- Stir in coconut milk. Bring this to a boil and then reduce to a rolling simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced by half and is thick.
- Toss in green onions and mix. Serve with rice and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing chicken curry as the vegetables will become mushy.
Pairing Suggestions
This dish pairs well with:
- starters like Malaysian Curry Puffs or Curry Wings
- noodle dishes like KL Hokkien Mee, Mee Goreng, Penang Char Kway Teow, or Malaysian Char Kway Teow
FAQ
I recommend you to refer to my Malaysian Curry Tofu recipe to make this dish vegetarian.
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
Yes, feel free to substitute the chicken with boneless pork shoulder or pork loin or beef.
📖 Recipe
Easy One-Pot Malaysian Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs diced
- 1 shallot finely minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1.5 cups snap peas or snow peas with pointy ends trimmed
- 1 green onion sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 2 medium yukon gold potatoes peeled and quartered
- 4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 14 fl oz. coconut milk full fat
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 2 bay leaves
Curry Powder Mix
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cloves
- 2 star anise
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for your curry powder mixture. Set aside.
- In a large pot set over medium heat, heat oil. Add shallot, garlic and ginger, and the curry power mixture. Stir to fry until everything is combined well.
- Add sliced chicken and mix in with spices. Allow this to cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in chicken stock, followed by bell peppers, snap peas, potatoes and bay leaves. Stir into broth. Cover and boil for 3 minutes.
- Stir in coconut milk. Bring this to a boil and then reduce to a rolling simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced by half and is thick.
- Toss in green onions and mix. Serve with rice and enjoy!
Joyce Waite-Gibson
Absolutely love your recipe! It's a keeper for me. Thank you!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! Thrilled to read that you enjoyed it!
Alison
This was as good as any restaurant curry. Easy and absolutely delicious. I had no snow peas and used petite pois and spinach instead. Will be making this regularly!
christieathome
Thank you so much Alison for your kind words! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Great idea to substitute with petite pois and spinach instead! Have a great day!
Alison
This was as good as any restaurant curry. Easy and absolutely delicious. I had no snow peas and used petite pois and spinach instead. This recipe is a keeper!
Anisha
This curry made my family and I feel like we were in Malaysia even though we’ve never been! So perfectly aromatic and the sweet/spicy flavors could not have complemented one another better. It was super easy to make with just one pot and minimal steps! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe Christie 🙂
christieathome
Thank you Anisha for making my recipe! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed it and it transported you to Malaysia 🙂 I appreciate your kind review. Have a great day!
Alex
Love the flavours in this - just what I am craving at the moment. As we head into winter here in Australia, I need warming dishes like this!
christieathome
Thanks so much!!! Yes perfect for the winter ahead in Austrailia!
Allie Mackin
Oh sounds so good I need try something different with chcken, thanks for this recipe!
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
Oh love this, thanks for posting!
Katerina
After reading this, I feel like your husband and I would get along well - I also have a low tolerance for spice (as you very nicely put it). I love the sound of all these ingredients and the curry sounds beautifully comforting. Perfect for this time of year when the temps are getting lower and lower here in Australia!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
We love curry recipes and this looks like it doesn't disappoint! Thank you for the great recipe!
Rosemary
Mmm curry is THE BEST!! We just bought this ULTRA spicy thai pepper mix (apparently 20x hotter than jalapeno) and I am tempted to make this and add in some of that spice!
Never Ending Journeys
Yum, this chicken curry looks so flavorful and delicious! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Josiah - DIY Thrill
This meal looks so delicious!