Chinese Chicken Curry

A delicious kid-friendly mild Chinese Chicken Curry recipe. The perfect go-to family dinner and great for batch-cooking and storing in the freezer.

I’ve made this recipe over on my Instagram stories a few times recently but I knew I had to get it photographed and up on the blog as it’s been an absolute winner for my kids and has become one of their favourite dishes.

It’s an easy curry recipe that’s packed with nutrients that the whole family will love… and I hope you’re going to love it too!

This recipe is a little unconventional in that it requires you to whip out your hand blender (or stand blender) half way through. This may seem an odd step but trust me, it’s absolutely worth it!

This is also why I have written this recipe up to serve a double batch (ie two family dinners) that can be stored in the fridge or freezer for another day. If you’re going to go to the effort of making this curry then you might as well make double!

You can see full details of the serving sizes and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.

Not A Traditional Chinese Curry

I fully expect to get a little flack for this recipe as, although I call it a Chinese Curry recipe, it’s not what you might traditionally be used to.

For example, it doesn’t contain ingredients like rice wine, ground ginger or even star anise that you might typically find in chinese curries or in similar dishes on the menu of Chinese restaurants.

First of all I use apple for the base of the sauce. You can’t taste this in the sauce but it helps to thicken it and gives it a mildly sweet flavour that’s absolutely delicious and one of the reason I’m sure that kids love it.

Blitzing the sauce also gets rid of those “bits” that kids often dislike like onions and garlic!

I have also included potatoes and chickpeas in my curry recipe which are more traditionally found in Indian curries rather than Chinese curry sauce recipes. But I talk about ingredients substitutions in more detail below if you’d like to leave these out.

But I do think adding these extras alongside the tender chicken and other veggies really make it into a really balanced main meal!

Serving Size

This recipe makes enough for two meals for a family of four. ie two meals for two adults and two children. If your children are older (teenage years) or eat quite large portions then it will serve less.

If you just want to make one batch then simply halve all the ingredients.

Storing, Freezing & Defrosting

Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 48 hours. Reheat fully before eating.

To freeze, transfer to a container or freezer bag, allow to cool completely then transfer to the freezer for up to 2 months. To defrost, put it in the bottom of the fridge for 24 hours. Reheat in a pan on the hob until piping hot throughout.

It is also possible to just make the curry sauce mix element of the curry in advance. After step 5, cool the sauce then freeze as above.

Ingredient Substitutions

There are lots of ingredient substitutions that you could make to this recipe:

Chicken – I’ve used breast meat for the chicken pieces, but you could also use skinless and boneless chicken thighs if you wanted to use a cheaper cut.

Curry Powder – I used a medium curry powder in this recipe as my kids can tolerate a little spice, but if you are unsure then use mild curry powder instead.

Soy Sauce – If making for children and especially young children use a reduced salt soy sauce.

Vegetarian – Leave out the boneless chicken breasts to make this vegetarian and vegan friendly.

Potato – The potato can be swapped for sweet potato

Chickpeas – The chickpeas can also be left out if you like. Simply add some more of the vegetables instead.

Veggies – If you don’t have fresh carrots it’s totally fine to use frozen, or mixed frozen veggies. Add them closer to the end as they will cook quicker. You could also swap out the regular peas for sugar snap peas or even green beans if you prefer.

Gluten Free – To make this gluten free use a gluten free flour and tamari instead of soy sauce. Also check to make sure your stock is gluten free.

How To Serve My Chinese Easy Chinese Chicken Curry

I have served this recipe very simply this time with boiled white rice as it’s something I know that the kids will eat.

But you could serve it with different types of rice according to your preference like an egg fried rice and some prawn crackers for that local takeaway experience!

You could even add a side of steamed buns or Bao Buns to mop up all that delicious curry gravy!

If you try my curry recipe please do leave me a comment and a star rating below. You can also share your pictures with me on Instagram.  I always love to see your creations!

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If chinese recipes aren’t your thing, then you may prefer this:

Chicken, Coconut & Tomato Curry

A quick and easy cook-from-scratch indian curry, packed with fresh ingredients and coconut milk. It’s super mild and therefore a great recipe for kids and adults alike!

You might also like this Veggie Noodle Stir Fry

This healthier stir fry recipe can be whipped up in 30 minutes making it a great meal to feed the whole family mid-week when you need to get something on the table fast!