Thai Mango Chicken in 30 Minutes or Less

Thai Mango Chicken with Cauliflower Rice is a flavourful weeknight dinner that comes together in under 30 minutes. Tender pieces of chicken are stir-fried with dried mango and fresh vegetables, then sauced with Thai Red Curry paste and coconut milk. Paired with simple cauliflower rice, it's a satisfying low-carb meal that doesn't sacrifice any flavour.

Jump to:

• Cauliflower Rice
• Prepping Vegetables
• Preparing the Chicken
• Other Ingredients
• The Stir-Fry
• Adding the Vegetables
• Curry Paste and Coconut Milk
• Fluff Cauliflower and Plate
• Final Thoughts
• Recipe

If you enjoy the flavours of Thai cuisine but think it's too complicated for a weeknight, this recipe will change your mind. The key is good Thai Red Curry Paste, which does most of the heavy lifting. Combined with coconut milk and a touch of brown sugar, it creates a rich, aromatic sauce in minutes. If you want to learn more about stir-fry technique, check out my guide on mastering the stir-fry.

Cauliflower Rice

What is Cauliflower Rice?

Cauliflower rice is grated and steamed cauliflower. It's called "rice" due to the fact that when it is cooked, it looks like rice. This makes a great low-carb side dish which can be used, as we're doing here, to substitute for rice.

Making Cauliflower Rice

I started cooking dinner at 6:50 last night. The first thing that had to get going was the cauliflower. So, I cut the leaves and stem off the cauliflower so all that was left was the florets. Then I grated the whole head on the largest holes of a cheese grater. With all the cauliflower grated it was time to get it cooking.

I heated a stainless steel pan over medium-high heat then added about 2 teaspoon of olive oil. I sautéed the cauliflower for about 4 minutes. There are two important things here:

• Do not add salt and pepper yet. Salt will pull moisture out of the cauliflower which will mess up how the cauliflower is cooked.
• Sauté the cauliflower until it all starts to look wet. That seems like an odd description I know but you will understand once you see it.

Once the cauliflower appears to look wet take it off the heat, now season it with salt and pepper, put a lid on the pan, and let it sit untouched for at least 10 minutes. We aren't going to see it again until the very end.

That's it. That is all it takes to make cauliflower rice. Some recipes will have you grating and salting the rice and squeezing water out of it and all this crazy stuff, but that is all just extra work. This method works perfectly.

Prepping Vegetables

Okay, with the cauliflower out of the way which took about 7 minutes total it was time to get going on the Thai Mango Chicken. The first step in that process is to start prepping some vegetables.

First up is an onion. Cut off the ends, cut the onion in half, peel it, and slice it thinly. Then thinly slice 1 celery stalk. Next up cut the sides off of a red bell pepper, discard the seeds and stem, then thinly slice the pepper. Trim the ends off of about 10 green beans and cut them into thirds. Finally, take 2 strips of dried mango and slice them nice and thin.

That is it for vegetable prep. So, set this all aside and we will move on.

Preparing the Chicken

It took about 6 minutes in total to cut up all the vegetables, and with those out of the way it was now chicken time. I used six boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes. They don't have to be perfect.

Other Ingredients

With the chicken diced it was time to turn on a wok or large heavy bottomed skillet to medium-high to high heat depending on what you're comfortable with. Remember, preheating your pan is one of the most important steps in cooking.

The other ingredients we are using here are Thai Red Curry Paste, Coconut Milk, and a bit of brown sugar.

Some of you might be wondering why I am using store bought red curry paste. Or, you aren't and it is my own insecurity that is insisting I comment on it. Either way... The reason I am using prepared red curry paste is because to make it from scratch requires a bunch of specialized ingredients which can get expensive, and it would take longer than 30 minutes. That's all.

I also wanted to say that there are many other brands of Thai Red Curry Paste out there. I use this one for three main reasons. It is gluten-free. It doesn't have shellfish in it, most have dried shrimp or shrimp paste, and it is what my local grocery store carries. Oh, and a fourth reason, it tastes good.

The Stir-Fry

Okay, it took a few minutes for the wok to heat up but it's ready and it's time to get cooking.

I added about 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. I used canola, you can use grapeseed or peanut, really anything with a high smoke point. I added the chicken in and left it alone for a minute or two before giving it a stir. Once the chicken was browned I added in the vegetables.

Adding the Vegetables

First up for vegetables are the onions and celery. Stir-fry all this together for about 2 minutes.

Once the onions have softened a little the peppers, green beans and mango can go into the pan. Stir-fry this all together for another 2 minutes.

Curry Paste and Coconut Milk

Next up we have 2 big tablespoon of the Thai Red Curry Paste, and 2 teaspoon of brown sugar. Stir-fry this for 2 minutes.

Finally, the coconut milk goes in along with a pinch of salt. The grocery stores I go to have small 160 ml cans of coconut milk which are awesome. If you can only find large cans just use half.

Pour the coconut milk into the wok, stir it in, turn the heat down to medium and simmer it for 2 minutes.

Fluff Cauliflower and Plate

While the coconut milk is simmering, remove the lid from the cauliflower, give it a little fluff with a fork, and season it with a bit more salt and pepper.

That's it, now it's time to plate.

Plate a little cauliflower off center of the plate, add some of the Thai Mango Chicken, and garnish with fresh cilantro. Just like that, with 1 minute to spare, we have Thai Mango Chicken with Cauliflower Rice in 30 Minutes or Less!

Final Thoughts

This is one of my favourite weeknight meals because it's fast, flavourful, and endlessly adaptable. Swap in shrimp, tofu, or whatever vegetables you have on hand. The curry paste and coconut milk sauce works with just about anything.

Recipe