Thai curry chicken meatballs

This recipe for Thai curry meatballs is a twist on the traditional curry to change things up a bit! Serve it with rice for a complete meal. 

While this recipe calls for canned Thai coconut milk, if you can only find a brand that is a little watery like Goya, you can add a few splashes of heavy cream to make it richer!! Try your best to get a Thai one though. 

Also, to make this recipe simple, I used a curry paste without too many other aromatics. But if you have lemongrass & kaffir lime leaves, feel free to add them with the aromatics (ginger and garlic) to create a more flavorful dish. 

Other Thai recipes:

Thai Basil Pork & Eggplant: Chinese eggplant is cooked with ground pork and finished with basil for an easy weeknight meal.

Tom Yum Noodle Soup: Tom Yum is a Thai soup that is usually sour, sweet, savory, and spicy!

Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao): Chewy rice noodles are stir-fried with veggies and a sweet, savory, spicy sauce.

Thai curry chicken meatballs 

Author: Phuong Le Cooking Method:Stir-frying Cuisine:Asian, Thai Courses:Main

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 20 minutesCook time: 20 minutesTotal time: 40 minutesServings:4 servings

Description

This recipe for Thai curry meatballs is a twist on the traditional curry to change things up a bit! Serve it with rice for a complete meal. 

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 pound ground chicken (don’t use ground breasts)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup milk or water (optional for more tender meatballs)
• 1 large egg 
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste 
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.5 tablespoon fish sauce 
• 2 green onions, chopped 
• cilantro, chopped 

Curry

• oil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 
• 1 medium shallot, minced  
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1-2 zucchini, sliced 
• 4 tablespoons red curry paste (adjust to your liking) 
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder 
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk (13.5 oz Thai brand)
• 1.5 tablespoons fish sauce 
• 2 tablespoons sugar 
• salt to taste 

To serve

• lime 
• cilantro
• basil 

Instructions

1. Chop and prep ingredients. Combine milk with the panko breadcrumbs in a small bowl. This is optional but will help create a tender and moist meatball. 
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatball, including the moist breadcrumbs.  Form into 1” meatballs. If the mixture is too soft to form into balls, you can refrigerate it for a bit or add a little more crumbs. Before forming all the meatballs, cook one of them first and taste it for seasoning. Adjust the mixture as needed.
3. Heat pan on medium-high for 1 minute. Add oil to coat the pan. In batches, sear the meatballs for 1 minute on each side. You can transfer them back onto the dirty plate, since they are not fully cooked at this point. 
4. Lower the pan to medium. Add oil and sauté the ginger and bell peppers for a minute. Add the garlic and curry paste, but before you add the paste, get your apron on or splatter shield ready! It will splatter a bit. Adding the paste to the oil will help bring out more flavor. 
5. After 30 seconds, add zucchini and sauté for 30 seconds.
6. Add chicken broth or water + bouillon. If you like a strong coconut flavor, you can omit this step. Add full-fat canned coconut milk. Try your best to use a Thai brand as they are creamier and smoother! 
7. Add fish sauce and sugar. Taste and adjust seasoning. This will vary depending on the kind of paste and coconut milk you use. 
8. Once it comes to a simmer, add meatballs back to the pan and cook for about 15 minutes or until meatballs are fully cooked. 
9. To serve, add cilantro and lime juice. 

Video

Keywords:Thai curry meatballs, Thai curry chicken meatballs, red curry, easy weeknight meal