Mayflower Curry: The Ultimate Guide + Chicken Curry Recipe

Key Takeaways

• Mayflower Curry Sauce Mix is a powdered Chinese-style curry that’s been a British household staple since 1988
• Each 255g box costs around £1.19 and makes 9 servings – that’s about 13p per portion!
• Available in Medium and Extra Hot varieties at B&M, Home Bargains, Amazon, and select supermarkets
• Perfect for recreating that classic chippy curry, Chinese chicken curry, or as a chip shop curry sauce
• Vegan-friendly and ridiculously easy to make – just add water, whisk, and simmer for 2 minutes
• A favourite among Slimming World members at just 4 syns per serving

Mayflower Curry (AKA My Weeknight Saviour)

Can we just take a moment to appreciate Mayflower Curry? I mean, really appreciate it?

If you’ve ever stood in a chip shop queue on a drizzly Tuesday evening, stomach rumbling, kids whinging in the back of the car, and thought about that glorious yellow curry sauce they ladle over chips… you know exactly what I’m talking about. That slightly sweet, mildly spiced, absolutely comforting sauce that tastes like childhood and takeaway nights all rolled into one.

Well, here’s the thing that changed my life about three years ago: you can make that EXACT sauce at home for literally pennies. And I’m not talking about some complicated recipe with seventeen ingredients you don’t have. I’m talking about a little tub of magic called Mayflower Curry Sauce Mix.

Honestly? It’s become such a staple in our London kitchen that I panic-buy extra boxes whenever I see them in Home Bargains. My husband thinks I’m mad, but he’s the first one asking “Have we got any Mayflower?” when he fancies a Friday night fakeaway.

What Actually IS Mayflower Curry?

Let me paint you a picture. Mayflower Curry Sauce Mix is a powdered curry sauce that comes in a little cardboard box with a plastic tub inside. It’s been around since 1988 (which makes it older than my eldest, if you can believe that), and it’s basically the secret weapon behind that classic British Chinese takeaway curry we all know and love.

The Mayflower brand has quite a lovely story behind it, actually. The Fong family owned a restaurant in Hong Kong back in the 1950s where they served British servicemen Chinese curries and other dishes. When they moved to the UK, they opened the first Chinese restaurant in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Eventually, they thought “hang on, why don’t we help people make this at home?” and King Asia Foods was born. By 1988, they’d created the Mayflower brand specifically to make these sauces accessible to everyone.

It’s that beautiful intersection of Chinese cooking meeting British tastes – which is why it tastes exactly like the curry sauce from your local chippy. Because, let’s be honest, that’s not really “authentic” Chinese food, is it? It’s British Chinese food, and that’s its own wonderful thing entirely.

Medium vs Extra Hot: Which One Should You Buy?

This is the question everyone asks, so let me save you some trial and error.

Mayflower Medium Curry Sauce is what most people mean when they talk about “chippy curry.” It’s got that warm, mild spice that’s perfect for kids (even my 8-year-old demolishes it) and anyone who doesn’t want their mouth on fire. Think comforting, slightly sweet, with just enough curry flavour to make it interesting. This is your weeknight winner.

Mayflower Extra Hot Curry Sauce is not messing about. If you like a proper kick, this is for you. I’d say it’s about the same heat level as a medium Indian curry, maybe slightly hotter. I love it, but it makes my husband’s eyes water! Some people (and I’ve read this in about fifteen Facebook groups) mix three parts medium with one part extra hot to get the perfect balance. Clever, right?

Where Can You Actually Buy Mayflower Curry Sauce?

This is crucial information, people. Because there’s nothing worse than desperately wanting to make a Chinese curry and not being able to find the bloomin’ sauce mix.

Your Best Bets:

• B&M – Usually £1.19 to £1.29 per box, and they almost always have it in stock
• Home Bargains – Similar price, often has deals
• Heron Foods – If you’ve got one nearby
• Iceland – Hit and miss, but worth checking
• Amazon – More expensive (usually £2-3 per box) but convenient if you can’t get to the discount stores

Sometimes Found At:

• Farmfoods
• Some larger Tesco stores (in the world foods or packet sauce aisle)
• Morrisons (occasionally)

I’ve never seen it in Waitrose or M&S, if that tells you anything about the vibe. This is proper everyday, budget-friendly cooking, and I love that about it.

When you find it, buy at least 3-4 boxes. It has a long shelf life, and you’ll absolutely kick yourself when you fancy a curry on a Wednesday night and you’ve run out. Trust me on this one.

How to Make Mayflower Curry Sauce (It’s Almost Too Easy)

Ready for this? It’s literally three steps. I’m not even exaggerating.

The Basic Method:

1. Mix 85g of Mayflower Curry powder with 340ml of cold water in a saucepan
2. Whisk constantly while you bring it to the boil
3. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally

That’s IT. That’s the whole thing. Takes about 5 minutes from start to finish.

Pro Tips from Someone Who’s Made This About 500 Times:

• Use a whisk, not a spoon. You want to avoid lumps, and a whisk makes this dead easy
• Start with cold water. I know it seems counterintuitive, but trust the process
• The sauce will thicken as it cools so don’t panic if it seems a bit thin when you first make it
• If it’s too thick, just add a splash more water and give it another quick stir
• If it’s too thin, let it simmer for another minute or two
• Taste it! You can adjust the flavour by adding a tiny pinch of sugar (makes it sweeter like takeaway curry) or a dash of soy sauce (makes it more savoury)

How Much Sauce Does One Box Make?

Each 255g box contains enough powder for 9 servings. So if you use the standard 85g of powder (as per the instructions), you’ll get three full batches of sauce from one box. That’s roughly 13p per serving, which is absolutely bonkers when you think about it.

A takeaway curry sauce costs about £1.50 at our local chippy. So one box of Mayflower saves you over £12 in takeaway sauce. That’s basically a free lunch right there.

The Classic Mayflower Chicken Curry Recipe

Right, let’s make the dish that everyone associates with Mayflower – that proper British Chinese chicken curry with the yellow sauce, peas, and onions. You know the one.

You’ll Need:

• 500g chicken breast or thigh, diced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 150g mushrooms, sliced (optional but recommended)
• 100g frozen peas
• 85g Mayflower Curry powder
• 340ml cold water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or coconut oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

1. Prep your veg. Slice that onion, slice those mushrooms if you’re using them, and get your frozen peas ready. Having everything ready makes this so much quicker.
2. Cook the chicken. Heat your oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Chuck in your chicken and cook for about 5-6 minutes until it’s golden and cooked through. Season with a little salt and pepper.
3. Add the veg. Throw in your onions and mushrooms and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes until they’ve softened a bit. The onions should be starting to go translucent.
4. Make your sauce. While your chicken and veg are cooking (or before, if you’re organised), mix your Mayflower powder with the cold water in a saucepan. Whisk it up, bring it to the boil while whisking constantly, then reduce to a simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Bring it all together. Add your peas to the chicken and veg, then pour over your curry sauce. Give it all a good stir and let it simmer together for 2-3 minutes so everything gets coated and the flavours marry up.
6. Serve immediately with boiled rice or chips (or both, if you’re having that kind of day).

Serves 4 people or 2 very hungry people with leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Genius Ways to Use Mayflower Curry (Beyond the Obvious)

Once you’ve got a box of this stuff in your cupboard, you’ll start finding excuses to use it. Here are some of my favourite ways that aren’t just “put it on chicken”:

Curry Sauce for Chips

The OG use! Make up your curry sauce as per the instructions and pour it generously over hot chips. This is what chip shops up and down the country have been doing for decades. Add some mushy peas on the side and you’ve got yourself a proper British dinner.

Slow Cooker Magic

This is absolutely brilliant for busy days. Chuck chicken thighs, sliced onions, chopped carrots, and frozen peas into your slow cooker. Mix your Mayflower powder with boiling water (not cold this time – it helps it dissolve better in the slow cooker), whisk out the lumps, and pour it over everything. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. The chicken will fall apart and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I do this at least once a fortnight.

Curry Wraps

Make your chicken curry as normal, let it cool slightly, then wrap it up in a tortilla with some shredded lettuce and a squirt of mayo. This is brilliant for packed lunches or when you’ve got leftover curry and fancy something different. My 13-year-old requests these constantly.

Veggie Version

Use Quorn pieces, tofu, or chickpeas instead of chicken. Add loads of veg – peppers, courgettes, green beans, whatever you’ve got kicking about. The curry sauce works just as well with plant-based proteins.

Curry Topped Jacket Potato

Bake your potato as normal, split it open, add a bit of butter, then top with Mayflower chicken curry. It’s like a jacket potato and a Chinese takeaway had a baby. Ridiculously filling and costs about £1.50 to make.

Emergency Cupboard Dinner

I’m talking those nights when you’ve got literally nothing fresh in the house. Frozen chicken pieces, frozen mixed veg, a packet of microwave rice, and your trusty Mayflower curry powder. Twenty minutes later, you’ve got dinner. I’ve saved myself from emergency pizza deliveries more times than I can count with this combination.

Is Mayflower Curry Healthy? (The Honest Truth)

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Is this a “health food”? No. Is it absolutely fine as part of a balanced diet? Yes!

The Nutritional Breakdown

Per 28g of powder (which makes roughly 100ml of sauce):

• Calories: About 90-100
• Fat: Around 3g
• Carbohydrates: Approximately 15g
• Protein: About 2g

The sauce itself is actually relatively low in calories, especially compared to cream-based sauces or takeaway curries that are swimming in oil. The main ingredients are wheat flour, vegetable oils (palm and rapeseed), curry powder, and a few other bits and pieces.

What About for Slimming World?

This is where Mayflower really shines. The Slimming World community absolutely loves this stuff because 28g of powder (or 100g of made-up sauce) is just 4 syns. That’s really reasonable for something that feels like a proper treat.

If you’re making a chicken curry with Mayflower sauce, using spray oil to cook the chicken, and serving it with boiled rice and loads of veg, you’ve got yourself a really filling, satisfying meal that won’t use up all your daily syns.

The Vegan Question

Yes! Both the Medium and Extra Hot Mayflower Curry Sauce Mixes are suitable for vegans and vegetarians. The ready-made sauces and some of the other Mayflower products aren’t vegan, so always check the label, but the powdered curry sauce mixes are plant-based friendly.

Common Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

I’ve made every single one of these mistakes, so learn from my chaos:

Mistake 1: Not whisking enough You end up with lumps. Whisk vigorously when you’re first mixing the powder with water, and keep whisking while it heats up. A balloon whisk is your friend here.

Mistake 2: Using boiling water from the kettle The instructions say cold water for a reason. If you use hot water, it can go lumpy before you even get it in the pan. Start cold, heat it up gradually.

Mistake 3: Not simmering it long enough If you don’t let it simmer for those crucial 2 minutes, it can taste a bit flour-y and the sauce won’t thicken properly. Give it the full time.

Mistake 4: Making too much sauce One batch (85g powder to 340ml water) makes quite a lot of sauce. For two people, you might want to make half a batch. Though to be fair, leftover curry sauce reheats beautifully.

Mistake 5: Forgetting about it in the cupboard This stuff has a long shelf life, but it’s not infinite. Check the date on the box. I once found a box that was two years past its best before and it was… not great.

Storing and Reheating Your Mayflower Curry

Storing Leftover Curry: Pop it in an airtight container and stick it in the fridge. It’ll keep for 2-3 days, no problem. Make sure it’s cooled down before you refrigerate it.

Reheating: Either microwave it until piping hot (give it a good stir halfway through) or reheat it gently in a saucepan on the hob. You might need to add a splash of water as it can thicken up in the fridge.

Can You Freeze It? Absolutely! The curry freezes brilliantly. Let it cool completely, portion it into freezer bags or containers, label it with the date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat thoroughly.

Tip: I sometimes make a double batch of curry, eat half, and freeze half. Future me is always grateful for a freezer meal on those hectic Wednesday evenings when the kids have about seventeen after-school activities.

Mayflower Curry Sauce vs Other Brands

So what else is out there if you can’t find Mayflower?

Goldfish Chinese Curry Paste is the other big one. It comes in a tub (not a powder) and you mix it with water. Some people swear by it, but I find it a bit more oily and the flavour isn’t quite the same. It’s available in Tesco’s world foods aisle.

Maykway Curry Sauce is another powdered option. I’ve tried it once and honestly? It’s fine, but it’s not as good as Mayflower. The flavour is a bit more one-dimensional.

Chip shop curry sauce in jars (like the Asda or Tesco own-brand ones) are convenient because they’re ready-made, but they’re more expensive per serving and they don’t taste quite as fresh. They’re fine in a pinch though.

Schwartz Curry Sauce Mix is available in most supermarkets and it’s… okay. It’s more Indian-curry-flavoured than Chinese-curry-flavoured, if that makes sense. Different vibe entirely.

Honestly? Mayflower is the one. There’s a reason it’s been around since 1988 and has such a devoted following. It just works.

Why Mayflower Curry is Perfect for Families

As a mum of three, I can tell you exactly why this stuff is brilliant for family cooking:

It’s Quick: From start to finish, you can have a meal on the table in 25 minutes. That’s faster than waiting for a takeaway delivery.

Kids Love It: The medium variety is mild enough that even younger kids will eat it. My 8-year-old, who treats most vegetables with deep suspicion, will happily eat his curry because the sauce makes everything taste good.

It’s Budget-Friendly: Feeding five people with a chicken curry made with Mayflower costs about £6-7 total. The same meal from a takeaway? Easily £25-30.

You Can Sneak in Vegetables: The curry sauce is so flavourful that you can bulk out the dish with loads of veg and nobody complains. I regularly add peppers, mushrooms, courgettes, green beans, whatever I’ve got. The sauce does the heavy lifting flavour-wise.

Leftovers are Brilliant: Unlike some meals that get a bit sad when reheated, curry is often better the next day. Chuck it in a lunchbox, have it on toast, make it into a wrap. It’s versatile.

No Lengthy Prep: You don’t need to chop seventeen different ingredients or make a complicated spice paste. It’s proper no-nonsense cooking.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mayflower Curry

Where is Mayflower Curry made? It’s made in the UK by King Asia Foods, a company established by the Fong family who originally came from Hong Kong. They’ve been making these sauces since the 1980s.

Is Mayflower Curry gluten-free? No, unfortunately not. The main ingredient is wheat flour, so it’s not suitable for anyone with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance.

Can I make it in the microwave? Yes! Mix your powder and water in a microwave-safe jug, then microwave on full power for 1 minute at a time, whisking after each minute, until it’s thickened up. It usually takes 3-4 minutes total.

How long does an opened box last? Once opened, keep it in a cool, dry place and use it within 3-6 months. The powder can clump together if it gets damp, so make sure the lid is on tight.

Why is my curry sauce lumpy? You probably didn’t whisk it enough when you first mixed it, or you might have added the powder to hot water instead of cold. The fix: push it through a sieve to remove the lumps, or give it a really good blitz with a stick blender.

Can I use it as a marinade? Not really – it’s quite thick and powdery. But you could make up the sauce, let it cool, and then use it as a sauce for marinating, though that’s a bit extra. Just use it as intended and save yourself the faff!

My Final Word on Mayflower Curry

Look, I’m not saying Mayflower Curry Sauce will change your life. But it might change your weeknights.

There’s something genuinely wonderful about having a box of this stuff in your cupboard. It’s that safety net for those evenings when you’re tired, the kids are hungry, and the idea of cooking something from scratch feels overwhelming. Five minutes and a bit of whisking later, you’ve got a meal that feels like a treat but costs less than a coffee.

It’s nostalgic without being stuck in the past. It’s budget-friendly without feeling cheap. It’s easy without being boring. And honestly, once you’ve mastered the basic chicken curry, you’ll start experimenting and finding your own favourite ways to use it.

Like this recipe? Discover more main course recipes, including my low-carb turkey bolognese, shiitake mushroom risotto and Thai-Inspired Prawn and Sweetcorn Chowder!