This Thai Swimming Rama Chicken combines red curry, peanut butter, and coconut for a rich, savory sauce with chicken and spinach. Ready in under an hour.
I first fell for Thai flavors on a family trip to Thailand in my early 20s. We visited Bangkok and Phuket and spent a few nights island-hopping by boat. That trip remains my furthest-away adventure and one of my favorites.
After returning home, my family often went out for Thai food. There was one restaurant in Calgary we visited regularly that served an unforgettable dish: Thai Swimming Rama Chicken. It was a stew-like red curry with peanut sauce and spinach, perfect over coconut rice. Years later I learned to make it at home and found it surprisingly easy to prepare.
How to make Swimming Rama Chicken:
This recipe is straightforward and uses ingredients available in most well-stocked grocery stores. The technique includes a quick marinate to tenderize the chicken, a short sauté, and a simmered coconut-peanut curry finished with spinach and chopped peanuts.
Begin by thinly slicing the chicken and tossing it with water, soy sauce, and cornstarch. This “velveting” step helps keep the chicken tender and juicy.
Prepare any sides first—rice or noodles—so they’re ready when the curry finishes.
Prep aromatics and garnishes: grate the ginger, mince the garlic, chop the peanuts, and rinse the spinach if needed.
After the chicken has marinated for about 10 minutes, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until no longer pink, then remove it and set aside. Wipe the pan clean, add the remaining oil, and cook the ginger, garlic, and red curry paste until fragrant—about 30–60 seconds.
Stir in the coconut milk, brown sugar, peanut butter, and fish sauce. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan along with half to three-quarters of the chopped peanuts, and simmer for another minute or two.
Add the baby spinach (in batches if necessary) and cook just until wilted—about 1–2 minutes. Serve the Swimming Rama over rice or noodles and top with the remaining chopped peanuts for texture.
Swimming Rama Chicken Ingredients:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- Water (for the chicken marinade)
- Reduced-sodium soy sauce (or tamari for a gluten-free option)
- Cornstarch
- Neutral oil such as canola
- Fresh grated ginger
- Garlic
- Red curry paste
- Light or regular coconut milk
- Brown sugar (or palm/coconut/granulated sugar)
- Peanut butter (any type)
- Fish sauce
- Unsalted roasted peanuts, finely chopped
- Baby spinach
Swimming Rama Variations:
You can easily swap the chicken for shrimp. Use peeled, raw large or jumbo shrimp (not pre-cooked). Skip the velveting step and season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Shrimp cook quickly—remove them from the pan as soon as they turn pink, then finish the sauce as directed.
Want more chicken entrée recipes?
Swimming Rama Chicken Nutrition Notes:
To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute tamari or a labeled gluten-free soy sauce. Serve the curry with rice, noodles, or another grain to make a complete meal; those sides are not included in the recipe nutrition data.
Thai Swimming Rama Chicken (Chicken and Spinach in Peanut Sauce)
Equipment
- Microplane (optional for grating ginger)
- Large skillet or sauté pan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds (680 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, thinly sliced
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) water
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) reduced-sodium soy sauce (or tamari)
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) canola oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil
- 1 Tablespoon (7 g) grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 can (354 ml) light coconut milk
- ¼ cup (55 g) brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (32 g) peanut butter
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce
- ½ cup (73 g) finely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
- 8 ounces (227 g) baby spinach
Instructions
- Add the sliced chicken to a medium bowl and toss with 3 Tablespoons water, 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Let sit for 10 minutes to marinate.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken (leave excess liquid in the bowl) and cook until lightly browned and no longer pink. Remove the chicken and any juices and set aside.
- Wipe the pan clean, return to medium-high heat, and add the remaining 1 Tablespoon oil. Add grated ginger, minced garlic, and red curry paste and cook until fragrant, about 30–60 seconds. Stir in the coconut milk, brown sugar, peanut butter, and fish sauce.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring often. Stir in the cooked chicken and one-half to three-quarters of the chopped peanuts and cook another minute or two.
- Add the baby spinach in batches if necessary and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve the Swimming Rama over rice or noodles and top with the remaining chopped peanuts.
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 27 g
Protein: 45 g
Fat: 32 g
