Burmese Chicken Curry (Panthe Kaukswe)

Burmese chicken curry recipe, also known as panthe kaukswe Burmese chicken curry, is a delightful combination of chicken, green onions, turmeric, garlic, ginger, sweet paprika and lemongrass. We were was inspired to make it after traveling to Myanmar (Burma) for our honeymoon. Looking for more World cuisine dinner ideas? Try our Nepali Chicken Curry next!

Take a peek inside the street food scene in Myanmar in this video! We loved the Burmese chicken curry we tasted while we were there for our honeymoon.

In addition to falling in love with Burmese cuisine through the amazing street food we enjoyed in Myanmar, we loved our evening tasting wine in Myanmar at Red Mountain Estate.

Burmese chicken curry ingredients 

• Organic chicken
• Green onions
• Turmeric
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Sweet paprika
• Lemongrass powder
• Cilantro

How to make Burmese chicken curry

Prepare the rice

• Step 1 – Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan on high heat.
• Step 2 – Add the onion, cook for 2 minutes.
• Step 3 – Add the rice, garlic and salt cook for a minute.
• Step 4 – Add the sugar and cook for 1 more minute.
• Step 5 – Add the coconut milk and the water, cover and turn the heat to very low heat when the water boils.
• Step 6 – Cook for 50 minutes.

Prepare the chicken

• Step 1 – Cut the chicken into four pieces.
• Step 2 – Add turmeric and salt, leave 10 minutes to marinate.
• Step 3 – Heat olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
• Step 4 – Add the sliced onion and a pinch of salt and cook for 2 minutes.
• Step 5 – Add the turmeric and cook for a minute.
• Step 6 – Add the pounded onion and cook for 2 minutes.
• Step 7 – Add the garlic, ginger and cook for a minute.
• Step 8 – Turn to high heat.
• Step 9 – Add the sweet paprika, chicken, a tablespoon of olive oil, lemongrass, black pepper and cook for 2 minutes.
• Step 10 – Pour the water and turn to low heat.
• Step 11 – Cook for 10 minutes.
• Step 12 – Sprinkle with fresh cilantro (coriander) before serving.

Tips to make panthe kaukswe chicken curry

• Be generous with the turmeric, garlic, ginger, sweet paprika and lemongrass. These delicious ingredients are what give this curry all its flavor!
• We prefer to use organic chicken – healthier and free of nasty ingredients.
• Make sure that you follow the traditional Burmese onion grinding called for in this recipe (see below!) and make sure to protect your eyes during it.

One of our favorite trips we have ever taken was our honeymoon in Myanmar. It was incredibly romantic, pushed us out of our comfort zone and was a wonderful item to check off our bucketlist.

Add your own twist to this Burmese chicken curry

• We have added turmeric and cilantro. The traditional Burmese chicken curry calls for a paste made of onions, ginger and garlic. Paprika and Cayenne pepper are added to give the paste an extra kick. It’s up to you if you wanted to make the traditional recipe or our slightly modified recipe. We love the additional flavor and immune boost from the turmeric!
• You could create a Burmese fish curry by swapping out the chicken. While we were in Myanmar, we learned that for a fish curry, you can use the same base and add tomatoes and lemongrass for extra flavor. In Myanmar, traditional fish curries often use white fish but I think this would be delicious with salmon as well.
• Make a Burmese beef stew by switching out the chicken for beef.
• Add a broth to make Burmese chicken coconut soup.
• Add mango to make a Burmese mango chicken recipe.

Gathering the ingredients & tools for this authentic Burmese chicken curry recipe

We make a lot of Asian dishes such as these Japanese scallops with leeks and miso and miso soup with leeks and carrots and that means we already had the spices necessary to make this meal. If you don’t have them yet, you can order organic turmeric, sweet paprika and powdered lemongrass on Etsy. We cooked everything in our 28 cm Le Creuset dutch oven.

Make this Burmese chicken curry à deux

If you’re looking for a romantic dinner to prepare as a couple this is a great choice. One of the best couple activities in my opinion is preparing and sharing food together. Make this Burmese chicken curry recipe together and you won’t be disappointed!

A warning about the onions

This recipe calls for grinding onions in the a spice grinder. This is a traditional Burmese way to release flavor and liquid and create exactly the right texture for your curry. We highly recommend you don’t skip over this part of the recipe because it will add that special something to the final result. However, please protect your eyes as you are preparing this curry! Something about grinding the onions has an even more painful than usual effect on the eyes. You could try these tips to protect your eyes when cutting onions or even purchase these onion goggles (amazing!).

How to serve

This amazing chicken curry you are making will be poured over one of our favorite Burmese preparations : coconut rice. While traveling through Asia, we loved tasting all of the different types of rice dishes : fried rice, sticky rice, coconut rice, seafood rice… The tasty choice are endless really.

Looking for another curry recipe?

• Broccoli Carrot Potato Coconut Curry
• Indian Palak Paneer (Spinach & Cheese Curry)
• Indian Aloo Gobi (Potato & Cauliflower Curry)
• Indian Wholewheat Palak Paneer Pizza
• Thai Red Curry Chicken
• Thai Cashew Chicken
• Cantonese Chicken

Burmese Chicken Curry (Panthe Kaukswe)

We hope you enjoy this delicious Burmese curry recipe. Let us know if you make it in the comments below!

If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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First published April 26, 2018. Last updated March 25, 2021 with more information, additional tips, and better readability.

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