Pad Prik King (Red Curry Chicken and Green Beans)

Name: Pad Prik King (Red Curry Chicken and Green Beans)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: thai
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-by-2-inch strips; 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil; 4 teaspoons minced garlic; 3 to 4 tablespoons red curry paste (see Tip 1); 8 ounces long beans or green beans, cut into 1-inch segments (about 2 cups); 2 teaspoons oyster sauce (preferably Thai); 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar; 12 makrut lime leaves (see Tip 2), thinly sliced crosswise; Cooked jasmine rice, for serving

Recipe from Nuit Regular

Adapted by Alexa Weibel

Published May 27, 2025

Pad Prik King (Red Curry Chicken and Green Beans) — Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 5(340)
Comments: Read comments

There are very few ingredients that can electrify a dish the way a spoonful of curry paste can. In this recipe, which is adapted from “Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand” (Penguin Canada, 2020) by Nuit Regular, store-bought red curry paste and lime leaves season sliced chicken and long beans in a salty-sweet dry curry. At her Toronto restaurant, Ms. Regular makes the curry paste from scratch, and in Thailand, you can purchase fresh curry paste by weight, but stateside, you’re more likely to find it in shelf-stable cans or jars. Salt and heat levels vary widely, so start with a little, then add more gradually, as desired. Citrusy, herbal Makrut lime leaves are essential to classic pad prik king (see Tip 2), but rest assured, this recipe is still delicious without them. —Alexa Weibel

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1teaspoon cornstarch
¼teaspoon fine sea salt
1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ½-by-2-inch strips
¼cup canola or vegetable oil
4teaspoons minced garlic
3 to 4tablespoons red curry paste (see Tip 1)
8ounces long beans or green beans, cut into 1-inch segments (about 2 cups)
2teaspoons oyster sauce (preferably Thai)
1½teaspoons sugar
12makrut lime leaves (see Tip 2), thinly sliced crosswise
Cooked jasmine rice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Marinate the chicken: In a medium bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons water with the cornstarch and salt. Add the chicken and stir vigorously to combine.
Step 2
Add the oil to a wok or large nonstick skillet and heat over medium. Add garlic and stir until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the curry paste and mash it into the oil until fragrant, darkened and starting to crumble, about 3 minutes.
Step 3
Add the chicken mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
Step 4
Stir in the long beans, oyster sauce and ¼ cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 3 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Add the sugar and lime leaves and cook for 1 more minute. Serve over rice, or with rice on the side if serving with additional items.

Tips

Curry pastes range in intensity as much as palates range in their heat tolerance. If your curry paste is particularly thick and concentrated — and you don’t like a lot of heat — you might want to take it down a notch to 3 tablespoons. If your curry paste is somewhat wetter and looser — or you like this quite spicy — you can increase to taste. With any spicy item, it’s best to start with less and add than aim to reverse the flame.
For the brightest flavor, fresh lime leaves are ideal, but thawed frozen lime leaves work well, too. You can find fresh and frozen leaves at Thai or other Asian markets , and dried leaves online. (If using dried lime leaves, you can skip slicing them, for ease, and increase the amount, as their flavors are muted.)

Ratings

5 out of 5

340 user ratings

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Comments

Tracy Pepatphong3 weeks ago

Maseri or Mae Ploy curry paste are great options here. Also punch up the paste with more garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric if you have it accessible. Would also suggest a splash of Red Boat fish sauce or other higher quality to finish.

David Hays Buckley3 weeks ago

Do you by chance recommend a brand or brands of curry paste to look for?

OV3 weeks ago

The best is definitely Mae Ploy brand. If you can't find that then the next best is Aroy-D. Both are from Thailand. Any American brand pales in comparison.

François Dionne3 days ago

As a Torontonian, I have enjoyed Ms. Regular's cuisine often. I made a few changes but the result was delicious: I thought it odd to velvet the chicken, so I didn't use cornstarch. I marinated it in a small amount of fish sauce and didn't use oyster sauce. I used 2 tablespoons of Mae Ploy curry paste; its first ingredient is garlic so I didn't add any, and I steamed the beans for a few minutes first - this is a vegetable that needs to be fully cooked.

Kim Beauchamp5 days ago

I used 8 cloves of garlic and chopped them coarsely, which lent another texture to the finished dish. Delicious combination of flavors.

Karen6 days ago

This didn't turn out as I had hoped. I will make several changes: - better curry paste than the one I had in my cupboard. The one I had was fairly bland. - more garlic, and some fresh ginger. - only half the oil (this was MUCH too oily!) - I may just toss the chicken in dry cornstarch - the texture of the chicken was kind of strange at first (better after it rested a bit), and it was difficult to determine when it was actually cooked through.

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