Vietnamese chicken curry, or ca ri ga, is the ultimate comfort dish. With a rich coconut-based curry paired with succulent chicken thigh and hearty root vegetables, this dish has an amazing depth of flavor and is the ultimate comfort food.
✅ Why This Recipe Works
Simple to make – No hours of prep in the kitchen or chopping needed. This dish will come together in about 30 minutes.
Flavorful and delicious – The combination of the flavorful curry powder, lemongrass, and coconut milk is truly mouthwatering.
Healthy and nutritious – Tweaked to be lower in calories and fats and bulked up with protein, this is a great healthy Vietnamese recipe, optimized to help you achieve your fitness goals.
💭 What Is Ca Ri Ga?
Ca Ri Ga is a Vietnamese chicken curry comprising chicken and vegetables simmered in a coconut-based yellow curry. It’s often served with a side of rice or baguette and is the ultimate comfort dish.
Vietnamese Curry vs. Thai Curry
Thai curries tend to be much spicier in flavor and have more distinct herbal ingredients typical of Thai cuisines such as galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Both curries contain coriander seed and cumin seed, and use coconut milk as a base. Vietnamese curries are generally a vibrant yellow color, while Thai curries can have yellow curry, red curry, or green curry, to name a few.
🍎 Calories and Nutrition – Make It Healthy
A serving of Vietnamese chicken curry with a serving of rice is 418 calories with 31 grams of protein, 15 grams of fat, and 51 grams of carbs. Given the high protein content from the chicken, low-calorie content from the seasonings and light coconut milk, and a portioned side of carbs, this is a very healthy dish that is well-balanced with macronutrients.
Here’s what I did to make this healthy:
- Used light coconut milk
- Portioned 4oz of boneless skinless chicken thigh as chicken with skin can pack a lot of extra fat
- Used cooking spray instead of oil. A tablespoon of olive oil can have a whopping 120 calories mainly from fat.
- Omitted potatoes since I have enough carbs from the rice
- Portioned 1 serving of rice
For a detailed breakdown of each ingredient, their portioning, and how they make up the nutrition profile of this Vietnamese chicken curry, you may refer to the table below:
| Viet Chicken Curry | |||||
| Ingredient | Quantity | Calories | Protein (g) | Fat (g) | Carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken Thigh | 4 oz | 130 | 22 | 10 | 0 |
| Light Coconut Milk | 0.33 cup | 45 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Lemongrass | 0.5 stalk | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Garlic | 1 clove | 4.5 | 0.2 | 0 | 1 |
| Carrot | 1 | 25 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6 |
| Chicken Stock | 1 cup | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Fish Sauce | 1 tbsp | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 |
| Shallot | 0.3 | 18 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 4.2 |
| Brown Rice | 0.25 Cup | 150 | 3 | 0 | 33 |
| Total | 418.5 | 31.4 | 15.1 | 51.4 | |
📋 Ingredient Notes
To make the Vietnamese chicken curry, you’ll need the following key ingredients:
- Vietnamese Curry Powder – Madras curry powder is a fan favorite. S&B would also work.
- Boneless chicken thighs – I opted for boneless skinless chicken thighs since it has enough fat for the flavor but not too much so that it would make the dish unhealthy. This is a lot easier to deal with than using a whole chicken.
- Fresh Lemongrass – A fragrant herb that gives the chicken a hint of citrus and freshness. You can get these at most Asian markets, or your local grocery store if you're lucky. You can also substitute with a tube of lemongrass paste, although the flavor won't be quite the same.
- Light Coconut Milk – Used 1 serving of light coconut milk.
- Chicken Broth – Used to help thin out the curry and cook the rest of the ingredients. Water can also work if chicken stock isn't available.
- Fish Sauce – Used to season the curry to make it saltier.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
📖 Substitutions and Variations
Use boneless chicken breast – The chicken won’t be quite as juicy but this is a good substitute.
Use bone-in chicken – This will give the curry a slightly better flavor. Just ensure it's skinless if you want to keep calories and fats low.
Make it a noodle soup – Add more chicken stock and serve with some delicious egg noodles or rice noodles.
Switch up the herbs – Garnish with Thai basil or spring onions.
Make it spicy – Sauté a Thai chili or two with the aromatics.
🔪 Step by Step Instructions
Prepare the ingredients – Mince the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass. Cut the chicken thigh into small, bite-sized pieces, trimming off any excess fat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Sauté the aromatics – In a saucepan or small pot, bring the stove to medium heat and spray cooking spray and sauté the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass.
Brown the chicken – Add in the chicken pieces to brown the outsides by flipping periodically. Sauté until the aromatics smell fragrant and the chicken is browned, about 1-2 minutes.
Make the curry – Add in the carrots, bay leaf, coconut milk, and curry powder. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are fork tender. Add in the chicken stock periodically to deglaze or to reach the right consistency for the curry sauce.
Season and serve – Turn off the heat and add the fish sauce and sugar, seasoning to your liking. Remove the bay leaf from the curry, garnish with cilantro, and serve with a side of rice or your carb of choice!
🍽 What To Eat It With
In this curry recipe, I paired it with a side of white rice. This is a super versatile dish that can be paired with several other options including the following:
- Make a noodle bowl by mixing with rice noodles or vermicelli noodles
- Dip a French Baguette, Vietnamese baguette (bahn mi) or some crusty bread
- Serve with a side of rice
- Cook with potatoes
💭 Recipe FAQs
To prepare lemongrass, start by peeling it back a few layers to reach the white fleshy part. Then, cut the lemongrass into thin slices starting from the white, fleshy bottom until you reach the green woody part.
For more information about how to cook with lemongrass, check out this article from The Spruce Eats on How to Prepare Lemongrass.
I love the Three Crabs Brand fish sauce. For more information about the different fish sauce brands, check out this article about the Top Ranked Fish Sauce brands.
Vietnamese chicken curry is typically not a very healthy dish given that it typically consists of a hefty portion of coconut milk, which is very caloric and packed with fats and is served with a huge portion of carbs which can easily add excessive calories if not eaten mindfully. However, it’s not hard to make this dish healthier with a few ingredient swaps and mindful portioning.
You can store Vietnamese chicken curry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
💡 Expert Tips
Make it with Instant Pot – To make this with an instant pot, follow the instructions similarly by sautéing everything in sauté mode. Add everything in the curry step except the coconut milk and let it cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Then season as desired.
Preparing lemongrass – To prepare lemongrass, start by peeling it back a few layers to reach the white fleshy part. Then, cut the lemongrass into thin slices starting from the white, fleshy bottom until you reach the green woody part.
For more information about how to cook with lemongrass, check out this article from The Spruce Eats on How to Prepare Lemongrass.
🍽 Related Recipes
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🍳 Recipe
Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Ca Ri Ga)
Ingredients
Curry Ingredients
- 1 clove Garlic
- ½ Shallot
- 1 stalk Fresh Lemongrass
- ⅓ cup Light coconut milk
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon Curry Powder
- 1 tablespoon Fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
Chicken and Rice
- 4 oz Chicken Thigh (Boneless, skinless)
- 1 Carrot
- 1 serving Brown Rice
- Salt and Pepper
- Cilantro (For garnish)
Instructions
Stovetop
- Prepare the ingredients – Mince the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass. Cut the chicken thigh into small, bite-sized pieces, trimming off any excess fat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Sauté the aromatics – In a saucepan or small pot, bring the stove to medium heat and spray cooking spray and sauté the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass.
- Brown the chicken – Add in the chicken pieces to brown the outsides by flipping periodically. Sauté until the aromatics smell fragrant and the chicken is browned, about 1-2 minutes.
- Make the curry – Add in the carrots, bay leaf, coconut milk, and curry powder. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are fork tender. Add in the chicken stock periodically to deglaze or to reach the right consistency for the curry sauce.
- Season and serve – Turn off the heat and add the fish sauce and sugar, seasoning to your liking. Remove the bay leaf from the curry, garnish with cilantro, and serve with a side of rice or your carb of choice!
Instant Pot
- Prepare the ingredients – Mince the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass. Cut the chicken thigh into small, bite-sized pieces, trimming off any excess fat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Sauté the aromatics – Turn on sauté mode on the instant pot and spray cooking spray. Sauté the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass. Also, add in the chicken pieces to brown the outsides by flipping periodically. Sauté until the aromatics smell fragrant and the chicken is browned, about 1-2 minutes.
- Make the curry – Add in the carrots, bay leaf, chicken stock, and curry powder. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Season and add coconut milk – After the Instant Pot is done cooking, turn the pressure valve to release the remaining pressure carefully. Then take off the lid, turn on sauté mode, and add in the coconut milk, mixing everything together with a spatula. Add in the fish sauce and sugar, seasoning the curry to taste.
- Garnish and serve – Pour the curry into a bowl, garnish with cilantro, and serve with your carbs of choice.
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