Simple Summertime Basil Chicken Curry with Coconut Ginger-Lime Rice.
This is what I call summer cozy food.
Who says that because it’s summer we can’t have cozy food? Personally, I am all about the cozy foods. And yeah, maybe I love them just a little more come fall and winter, but summer needs a little coziness sometimes too.
And this is that meal.
And while this may feel cozy, it is actually lite and packed to the brim with summer garden veggies, so you can still have dessert or maybe even a margarita float (…or two if this Wednesday is really not being friendly to ya).
Plus, it’s Wednesday and I feel like if there is any day of the week for a little bit of cozy food it would be today. We still have two days left till Friday (sorry for the reminder), kids nagging us or bosses watching our every move and who knows what else. That just means our hump days need to curry. Ah duh.
I actually had this other recipe that I am jumping out of my skin to tell you about (SOON like Monday maybe?), but I don’t know, I just felt like today was a curry day.
On a different, and completely unrelated, note I do have to tell you guys about that tiny chipmunk from Monday.
Well, the poor little thing hid in a corner between the counter in the pantry and the wall for probably close to twenty-four hours. I put the cat in my room overnight and put a cereal box in the corner, hoping he would go in there. There are about a million different places he could go, but I figured it was worth a shot. So I got up in morning and nothing. Not a thing had been moved, so I figured he was still back there. He was, because the second the cat got out he went right to the corner and guarded it for the next three hours.
At this point I was starting to worry that the thing was never going to come out and he was going to die back there. UGH. That would smell and he was in between the tiniest of tiniest cracks between the counter and wall. So how was anyone even supposed to get back there? Eew.
At some point the cat must have given up his watch, because as I was sitting at my computer, which is right next to the kitchen, I heard what sounded like little itty bitty feet/claws in a box (we all know what that sounds like, right?).
I turned the corner, and I turned it slowly because well that’s what you do when you are slightly afraid of a tiny chipmunk, only to see the box in the same spot. But I knew I had heard something, so I went and tapped the box with my foot. Oh yeah, he was in there.
At that point I jumped back and screamed a little because again, I am girl and apparently that’s what we do.
Then I picked up the cereal box, ran to the door and put the box on the ground outside. The thing bolted like you have never seen. I’m surprised it didn’t give itself a heart attack.
And that’s my little chipmunk story. Hey, I saved a life on my Monday, what did you do?
And now I will stop my yapping about the varmints in our house and talk about this curry that I love so much.
It’s everything you love about curry and everything you love about summer and it’s ready to go in thirty minutes. Because I really would rather be outside in the nice summer sunshine than inside cooking something for hours. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I love cooking for hours, but not when the weather is nice and I am busy and I really just want some good food – fast.
I am sure you are probably figuring this out by now, but I love basil. It reminds me of being a kid and making Friday Night Pasta with my dad. Back in Ohio he would grow bush upon bushed of basil. Then, every night in the summer he would send me out in the backyard to pick some for dinner.
It’s the best smell, and in my opinion one of the best herbs.
So instead of curry with loads of cilantro, which I do love too, I added some basil to this, mostly for a nice summery kick. Pretty sure you are going to love it.
And then of course there is all the garden veggies. You might think they are a little strange to pair with curry, but veggies are amazing when coated in spicy, creamy coconut, curry sauce.
I also added some diced mango salsa and just a little goat cheese, because why the heck not?
Goat cheese is good stuff, and mangos should go in just about every dish they can in the summer.
And the rice!! Ginger-lime with coconut milk and basil.
And umm?? Fresh homemade NAAN?!?! So good. Yup, totally cozy and totally delicious.
Oh and last thing. To make this a vegetarian and vegan meal swap chickpeas for the chicken and leave the goat cheese off. Simple as that!
Watch the How To Video:
Simple Summertime Basil Chicken Curry with Coconut Ginger-Lime Rice from Half Baked Harvest on Vimeo.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Simple Summertime Basil Chicken Curry with Coconut Ginger-Lime Rice.
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: chicken curry, quick meal
A sunny and full of flavour chicken curry dish
Ingredients
Basil Coconut Ginger-Lime Rice
- 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
- 1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 lime juiced + zest
Curry
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, diced
- 2 bell peppers chopped
- 1 zucchini chopped
- 2 cups ears corn kernels removed from the cob (or about 1 1/2-2 frozen corn)
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 2 cloves garlic grated or minced
- 2-3 tablespoon thai red curry paste I use 3
- 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1 mango diced
- 1 jalapeño seeded + diced
- fresh naan and goat cheese, for serving
Instructions
Rice
-
1. Add the coconut milk to a medium size pot. Bring to a low boil and then add the rice, salt, and ginger. Stir to combine and then place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook ten minutes on low and then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit on the stove, covered for another 20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). After 20 minutes remove the lid and add the lime juice + zest.
Curry
-
1. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Add another drizzle of olive oil to the skillet. Add the peppers, zucchini, corn, ginger and garlic. Cook the veggies 5 minutes or until they just begin to soften.
3. Add the coconut milk, curry paste, and fish sauce. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.
4. In a small bowl toss together the mango and jalapeño.
5. Serve the curry over the rice. Add a spoonful of the mangos and a sprinkle of goat cheese. Eat with Naan!
Recipe Notes
*To make this vegan swap 2 1/2 -3 cups cooked chickpeas for the chicken and leave the goat cheese off.
And that right there is how you do hump day right. Cozy, healthy, summer comfort food.
I want to be eating this more than I’ve ever want dot eat something, ever! That could be the midnight snackies that I seem to be experiencing talking, but this look so freakin’ incredible!
Yes I’m definitely going to have to make this in the very near future, plus I have homemade red curry paste in my freezer!
You’ve outdone yourself once again, Tieghan 😛
I’m not really a curry fan but this looks so so tasty!! Especially the coconut yum!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
This curry looks perfect! I love basil instead of cilantro in curry. Way to go on saving a life! That chipmunk must have been so scared! I can’t say I did anything that productive on Monday 🙂
I am allll about curry (in fact we tried to go to an Indian buffet yesterday for dinner, but the food looked a little iffy so we left) and now I still have my curry craving – how did you know?! 😉 Adding goat cheese is genius! Pinned!
Thanks Taylor!! Hope you are doing well and have a great weekend! 🙂
Not really a curry fan, could I leave it out, or use a substitute? Can’t wait to try this rice, looks fantastic with all my favorite favors!
This must be the most beautiful dish I’ve ever seen in my life. How could I eat it?
I am so with you on Basil..it is good on everything. This curry looks delicious and I still need to try to make homemade Naan. I’m glad you rescued that chipmunk just make sure he stays there and doesn’t make his way to CT:)
Oh, man. I was SO craving comfort food the second I woke up this morning and then you post this aaaamazing curry! I looove the sound of that coconut ginger-lime rice! I think I’m gonna have to make this for dinner tonight. Stunning photos as always and pinned!
Curry for the win (and for life!)
I just ran out of fish sauce – ahhh!! Need to restock!
You do, you do! HA! Thanks Liz!!
This looks amazing! You always have the most beautiful pictures… and delicious recipes.
Thanks Jenna!! 🙂
Cozy food is the best, regardless of the season! This looks so delicious and hearty, while still being fresh and summery. I love it!! Coconut milk makes everything better!
Thanks cate!
Yay for a happy ending to the chipmunk saga 🙂 Love this colorful dish, looks amazing 🙂
Thank you so much, Amanda! Hope you have a fun weekend!
This looks amazing! The recipe doesn’t say when to add the curry paste, though… is it at the same time as the curry powder?
Yup, it is and I fixed the recipe. Thanks and enjoy!
Looks incredible! I loooove me some curry. Great story about saving the chipmunk! I had a bat in my house last week. Flew right in through my open patio door. It was a project getting it to fly by outside!
Oh a bat! Spookkky! Ha! 🙂
Thanks Liz!
Looks delicious – thank you for the recipe! Can you cook this is a cast iron skillet?
P.s. You are SUPER talented!
Yes, I cooked mine in a cast iron skillet. Works great!
THANKSS!!
Tieghan, this looks like the perfect kind of cozy food for this rainy day we’re having. And way to save a life! On Monday I—well, I did nothing all that notable 🙂 I’m always in the mood for curry and this one looks glorious!
Thanks so much, Amy! 🙂
This looks SO unbelievable! Love it.
Thanks!
that looks SO good! and that naan! I love it.
Thanks Jackie!! And Naan is amazing. I swear I make Indian just to have some Naan! Ha!
Hey Tieghan!
I was wondering – what is your favorite brand of Thai red curry paste? There’s not a ton of Asian grocery stores where I’m from and I am looking on Amazon. I’m just not totally sure which brand to choose from!
Thanks!
Hi!! I love Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste. That is what I always use. Here is the link to it on amazon. Hope that helps!
This curry is gorgeous! What a great combination of flavors and colors!
Thanks Mary!
I’m glad that the chipmunk story had such a happy ending 🙂
Saving lives, making curry and homemade naan – is there anything you can’t do!
Your photos seem to pop off the page here Tieghan – so beautiful! And thanks for listing a vegan version too – now I can make half for me (veggo) and half for my meat-loving man.
Hope you are enjoying your summer!
Thanks Amy!! Hope everyone loves this! 🙂
Mmm that sounds and looks delicious! Fantastic combination of flavors, thanks for sharing 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Thank you!
I tend to go a little crazy in the summer, hence the five pounds I’ve put on since May hit, buutt I just crave food more, don’t know why, but I’m not going to deny myself! This looks so delicious Tieghan! And love that there was a good ending for that little chipmunk!
Haha! Summer foods are seriously the best!! 🙂
HI Tieghan, this looks wonderful, love the combination of ingredients. Cute story about the little chipmunk, they really are adorable.
Thanks so much, Cherri!
I’m a total sucker for curries of all kinds. This is a hit!!
Thanks Megan! I am a sucker for curry too!
This is the most gorgeous curry ever, love!
Well, thank you! 🙂
This looks so fabulous to me right now. I’ve been craving a curry!
Thanks Brenda! 🙂 Hope you and your family have a great weekend!
I love chicken curry with coconut in it and yours just look so yummy! And the coconut rice, great idea! Will definitely try to cook this one! 🙂
Thanks Maggie! Hope you love this!
What type of spicy curry powder do you use?
Hey Nina, I use spice islands spicy curry powder but I also use simply organics curry powder too. Let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks!
I just made this and it is SO tasty! I’ve been following the blog for a while and I think this is in the top 5 recipes for sure! Now I have lunch for the week 🙂
Yes!! So happy you loved this! Thanks Jill!
Hi Tieghan! I so appreciate your site, you’re very talented. One small recommendation: sometimes it’s difficult to load your site, because of the plethora of pictures, it really slows down my connection, and makes it hard to scroll. Maybe smaller file sizes or a few less pictures? It could be just me 🙂 They’re beautiful pics by the way.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Becky! I will looking into what I can do to help with that. That is so annoying, I am so sorry!
Made this and it was absolutely delicious. Kicked it up a notch with some thai chillies. Great recipe.
I just stumbled on to your blog. Holy cow! Your pictures are just beautiful and your recipes are very intriguing. I’m looking forward to making some of the delish recipes.
The most exciting meal I’ve made in a while, me and husband were raving about it. Thank you for posting! Will have to try some of your others now too.
Yeah! Thats is awesome, THANK YOU!
Made this last night and it was amazing! Would like to try the chickpea version. I’m not very experienced with them except for making hummus and roast chickpeas. Question, do I saute the chickpeas and remove them from the pan like the chicken, or add them in another way?? Thanks for your help
Hey Rie, Just add the chickpeas towards the end. Stir them into the sauce and just warm them through.
So glad you loved this, Thanks!
Thanks Tieghan……Will do.
Oh, I cannot wait to try this!! It looks amazing! And so perfect for summer.
Thank you!
I made this with my mom tonight, and I thought I was going to die. It was delicious! I’ve always been such a devout curry hater, but this recipe just made its way into my favorites list. It was absolutely scrumptious!
Yay!! Thanks so much, Sophie!
Hiya! Saw this on Buzzfeed’s list of 39 things you can make in a skillet (now I just need to get my hands on an oven-proof skillet lol). My question is, I’m not all that experienced with curries but I do have some green curry paste on hand. How would that work in this recipe?
Hey Christina, green curry paste will work, but it will be a slightly different flavor. Still good I am sure though!
Thanks so much for clicking over and I hope you love the curry!
Made it. It was absolutely wonderful!! Noticed there is no salt measurement for the rice. I LOVED the rice!! So good!! Thank you for sharing. The mango and goat cheese with this was really a nice touch.
So excited you love this, thank you!! I will head and fix the salt now, thanks for letting me know it is missing.
have a great week! 🙂
This was positively delicious! We just made this for dinner and it was so easy and a great change! Thank you so much for this!
So happy you loved it! THANKS!
I made this last night-SO GOOD!!! This is probably the third or fourth meal I’ve made from half baked harvest and every single one has been amazing!!!! You have really become my go to for inspiration ! Thank you!
YEAH!! I am so happy you loved it! THANKS!!
I am ready to try this and have a question about the fish sauce: the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon and I will be heading to an Asian market tomorrow for some of the ingredients. For the budget-conscious gourmet, is the fish sauce really necessary or can it be substituted?
Hey John,
I personally love using fish sauce and think it is a great pantry staple to have that adds lots of flavors, BUT if you do not want to shell out the money you can leave it out or replace it with soy sauce. Hope you love this curry!
Thanks for the fast reply. I will give fish sauce a try. For the zucchini-averse, what would you recommend as a replacement? A friend who cooks Thai regularly has used Onion, Bamboo, chestnuts, broccoli, snow peas, lots of ginger and garlic with “special Asian sauces”. This is her pic and, sadly, I have not tried it. I DO tend to like my dishes to be well spiced/seasoned.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff138/Bresson34/Kim%20Ginger%20chicken%20with%20coconut%20rice.jpg
I would use broccoli, but any of those options would be delicious!!
Oh my!!!!! This is on our menu for dinner tomorrow. How beautiful and the aromas from this dish will fill our home. Thank you for posting this!!! Jaci from Missouri.
I made this earlier in the week, and it was fantastic. It made me think of an asian-inspired chili — perhaps because of the lightly charred corn.
So happy you loved it! THANKS!
Tieghan, I’ve made several of your recipes now and I am so impressed! Today I made this for my wife and myself. I grilled the chicken and corn for a more robust flavor and used a honeyed goat cheese and all I can say is WOW! This is the most PERFECT, FLAVORFUL curry I have ever made at home. Thanks so much and keep going strong!
Hi, can I ask where you bought those Dishes
Williams Sanoma
I can’t wait to make this for dinner tonight!! Just a quick question- do you use light or full fat coconut milk? Thanks so much!
Either or works great, but I use full fat. Hope you love this!
Made this last night and it was great! Question though – you don’t list salt in the ingredients for the rice but you then say to add salt with the rice and such once the coconut milk gets to boil. I didn’t add it, but even with the fish sauce, felt at the end a few pinches boosted the overall flavor. Was that something forgotten or a typo? The red curry powder I have from an Asian market is pretty hot after 3 tblsp so I cut it to half but added the regular curry powder mentioned though mine is more a basic store bought powder/Indian type. Was a yellower base than yours but still lovely. My husband had seconds! 🙂
I forgot about the salt and do like to add a small pinch to the rice. Thanks for letting me know, I will fix the recipe. SO happy you loved this, THANKS!
It was amazing, thank you so much
SO happy you loved it, thanks!!
If you scroll up, you’ll notice that there are 1,000 pictures of the exact same thing, sometimes not even from a different angle. This does one thing: it causes the reader to have to scroll for what seems like an eternity and drastically diminishes the user experience. There is virtually no reason for posting more than one picture of the finished dish. Pick the best shot and post it. Leave the rest out or you risk annoying countless potential regular readers. Just because a shot was taken, doesn’t mean it has to be posted.
Dinner rocked!!!!!!!!!
Definitely a fam favorite!!!!!!!!
Thank you for recipe, lovely pics!
My first real Asian dish at home 🙂 I added water chestnuts for crunch, turmeric and white pepper for more spice for my palate, and rice noodles instead of rice, and it was fabulous! Thank you for your guidance and expertise!!!
So happy you loved it! THANKS!
Thanks for sharing it. It’s very nice recipes. I like it.
Thanks!
Ran out of coconut milk but have some fat free half and half and/or regular milk. Would this work? Thanks!
Hey Lori! I would use regular milk. Hope you love this! Thanks!
Ran out, got coconut milk and it was AMAZING. Also made your naan. Insanely delicious. Thanks, Teighan.
So I have to tell you I have been making curry for years and have ate all different kinds Thai curry Indian curry yellow curry red curry and this one is FANTASTIC! I was looking for something different from my go to vindaloo curry and this is definitely going to be added to the rotation! I added a few things (carrots, onion, cashews) and left out the corn and am so impressed. I love the mango on top I add apple to mine normally but this is so different and great! A+
This was incredible! I completely forgot to get rice at the store, so I can’t wait to try that element. I did have some potatoes lying around, so I just roasted them and served the curry on top. Definitely a keeper! Thank you 🙂
Shoot! Well im glad it worked out! Happy you liked it !! Thanks Lauren!
Loved, loved, loved this curry. Have added it to my favourites and will definitely be making it again, the flavours are just awesome and your rice cooking technique is spot on.
Thank you so much Merle!! So nice hearing you enjoyed it and even added it to your favorites!! (:
Looks delicious and I want to make it. Just wondering whether you can make in advance and reheat?
Hi! Yes, you can make in advance and reheat in the stove or microwave. If possible, add the zucchini noodles right before you are ready to eat. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks so much!
My family loves this. My 16 year old twins often argue over who can get to the leftovers first the next afternoon. We change it between chicken, chickpeas or even shrimp. So tasty and colourful. I sometimes don’t have any fresh corriander/cilantro or mango handy in my kitchen so we just leave those out, still so yummy. The rice is a total winner btw. Thanks for the recipe. It’s made this Aussie family quite happy!
WOWWOW!! Thats so awesome!! Thanks so much for making it!! I’m so happy you guys like it!!
Made the chickpea version today. Usually, 30 min recipes take much longer, this was ready in 30 min. Delicious! Last night we had your Hawaiian BBQ skewers with tofu instead of chicken, I made rice in the side and drizzled the honey sriracha butter on it. Amazingly! Thank you!
That sounds so awesome! I’m so glad everything turned out great! Thanks Lori(:
Hi!
What can I replace the fish sauce with? I’m making this for a vegetarian friend who avoids fish sauce.
Thanks!
HI! You can use an equal amount of soy sauce or tamari. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
So how much coconut milk do you need, I’m very confused. only 1 ounce for each part or 1 14 ounce can??
You need 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk. So sorry for the confusion. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
This looks amazing! I’m planning to cook this for a large group (about 16 people) this week – how much does this serve? I’m thinking that I should triple the recipe?
Thanks for the help 🙂
Emily
HI! This will serve around 4, so I would triple the recipe. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I pinned this recipe long ago but found it again recently. Made it this week, following the recipe exactly. Wow, this was delicious!! And so fragrant. I thought the goat cheese sounded odd on a curry, so I didn’t initially use it. But then I tried a little, and was surprised how good it was. Will definitely make this again, maybe with shrimp next time. Thank you!
Thank you Lori! I am so glad you loved this!
We all agreed this sounds terrific, but need to know how many this recipe serves, please? Would hate to spend the time making it and not have enough for the 3 of us! Many thanks.
Hi Betty! This will serve 4 people. Please let me know if you have other questions. Glad you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
HI! How many does this dish serve?
This serves 4. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
Hi from Denver! This is one of the tastiest recipes I have EVER made. The coconut ginger rice is to die for. Thanks for making simple and delicious recipes with real food. I love your blog!
Thank you so much Alex! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
This dish was outstanding! A great use of produce from our garden! So colorful!
Thank you so much Judith! I am so glad you loved this!
My husband and I love this recipe and it has been on our rotation for a while. However It seems like it was recently changed or am I crazy? There used to be cilantro and curry powder, neither of which are on the ingredient list. I wasn’t sure so I followed it as it currently shows but it was definitely not as flavorful this time around
Hey Bri! I did adjust the recipe as I have been making it recently and have been leaving out the curry powder and cilantro. They are great additions, but I just felt they where not needed. Feel free to add 2 teaspoons curry powder and a handful of cilantro for more flavor! Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
Can this be frozen fully cook?
Hi! Yes, you can freeze this once cooked. Just cool, then freeze. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
This looks amazing! I am looking to make this in a slow cooker. Do you have any recommendations about how to do this with the curry? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Liz, I have not made this in the slow cooker, so hard to say for sure. I would recommend Adding all ingredients for the curry to the slow cooker and cooking on LOW for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I have made this recipe 3 times this summer already! I love the flavors and it is so easy to make! Thanks for inspiring me daily with your beautiful recipes!
Thank you so much Aryn! xTieghan
Delicious – made this evening and everyone in my family loved it! Easy and quick too.
Thank you so much Jennifer! xTieghan
I had to come back and comment because this has become one of my favorite go-to recipes. It’s so versatile and the flavors are oh so good! I usually sub onions out for corn, but really will use whatever veg I have on hand and if I don’t have a ripe mango, I’ll forgo the salsa (although its SO YUMMY). It never fails. Last Christmas my whole family was together (siblings, spouses, kids, etc) and I made a version of this when it was my night to cook and everyone loved it, including the 12 year old who proclaimed she didn’t like rice. WIN.EVERY.TIME. Thank you so much for publishing and keeping the blog going!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment, Kellie! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This may be my new favorite recipe!! I didn’t have red curry paste so just used curry powder (1 t per T of paste!) and it was SO GOOD! Thanks for another winner Tieghan!
Thank you so much Paige! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I really haven’t tried a recipe of yours that I didn’t love, but WOW this has to be my new favorite! I had to do something with a couple extra zucchinis besides make more zucchini bread and I’m so glad I chose this recipe! Truly a restaurant quality curry. The fresh ginger adds a lot in both the curry and rice. I’ll be making this again! Thanks Teighan!
Aw that is so amazing to hear! Thank you os much Molly!! xTieghan
I found this recipe years ago and have made it many times since. It always comes out perfectly! I can’t believe I never rated it so I had to come back and do so, The coconut lime rice is delicious, too! I make it as a side for lots of other dishes.
Thank you Hope! I am so glad you have been loving this recipe! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan
I’ve made this countless times over the years and it’s by far one of my favorites that I keep coming back to. Thank you for such a great recipe and for bringing curry flavored joy into my kitchen!
Thank you so much Davi! xTieghan