One of the most popular Thai dishes around the world, Thai green curry is a pale yet vibrant green dish that hits on all the notes of spicy, sweet, salty, and sour. The curry can be made with many different proteins, but one of the most popular versions is chicken, and it is usually always served with rice.
Thai green curry is easy to make, especially if you buy a premade curry paste, which is also cheaper and much easier. Making Thai green curry paste from scratch though, also tastes better and provides a much richer tasting curry. If you have the time, and can find the ingredients, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Origin of Thai Green Curry
A lot of curries in Thailand seem to have originated from influences from other regions of Southeast Asia. Chilis began appearing in the region in the late 1600s from Portuguese traders, and some of the seasonings are similar to Indian curries. While coconuts are indigenous to Thailand, they were mostly used for sweet cooking and desserts before the influence of Indian and Malaysian cooking. A few of the popular Thai curries are hundreds of years old, such as massaman curry, while the first record of Thai green curry comes from a 1926 cookbook.
Thai red curry has been around much longer, and the recipe hasn’t evolved too much. Since green curry is almost identical, but uses green chilis instead of red ones, it’s possible that the origin is a lot older than 1926.
Another interesting fact, and common misunderstanding about Thai green curry is in the name itself. The Thai name for the dish is “kaeng khaio wan” which means “sweet green curry”. While the coconut cream does add sweetness to the dish, it’s meant to be spicy and not overly sweet. The sweet part of the name doesn’t refer to the taste, but to the color itself. The pale green is referred to as a “sweet green” color.
What is Thai Green Curry
If you’re mostly familiar with Indian curries, Thai curry is much different. Indian curries tend to be made with curry powder and other powdered spices and have a thick, stew like consistency. Thai curry tends to be thinner, almost like a soup, and is made with fresh ingredients so it doesn’t have that “curry” smell that perfumes the air while cooking.
As for the heat level, green curry tends to be hotter than its red counterpart, since the paste is made with fresh green chilis instead of the typical red, dried chilis in Thai red curry. That said, however, the spiciness can always vary from very hot to fairly mild depending on the chef behind the paste and how much you use in the curry itself.
Ingredients in Thai Green Curry
If you buy a premade green curry paste, then most of the ingredients for Thai green curry are easy to find in most common grocery stores, apart from the lime leaves, and possibly the Thai basil. I would recommend checking Asian or international markets for most of these items however, so that you can find what you need all in one place.
Chicken – As mentioned earlier, almost any protein can be used, but chicken is the most common. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are a popular choice, as we’ll use here, but in traditional Thai cooking they’ll tend to chop up a whole chicken, skin and bones included.
Coconut Milk – Fresh coconut cream is more traditional, but also harder to find. A full can of coconut milk works well and we’ll divide that as mentioned later. Try to find a brand that lists ingredients as 100% coconut milk or just coconut and water and avoid ones that add things like guar gum or other preservatives. Aroy-D is a good choice.
Green Curry Paste – The curry paste makes the entire dish, so either make your own, or buy a good quality paste. Starting with at least 3 tablespoons for a very mild curry, I’d recommend about 5-6 tablespoons for a fully flavored dish. If buying a premade one, look for a curry paste where the ingredients mostly match what I list in the recipe for making your own. One of the most popular choices for a premade is by Maesri.
Chicken Stock – This ingredient is optional. It will thin out some of the sweetness from the coconut milk as well as the heat from the curry paste, but mostly it’s added just to bulk up the curry if needed.
Palm Sugar – This ingredient is also optional. While not widely available in all grocery stores, it should be easily found in any international or Asian market. Some people find the coconut milk to add plenty of sweetness already, while others like to add a little palm sugar, so adjust to your preference.
Fish Sauce – This will add some saltiness and savory element to the dish.
Lime Leaves – This will probably be the hardest ingredient to find, especially fresh leaves. Kaffir/Makrut lime leaves are traditional, but just omit if you can’t find them.
Vegetables – White and green vegetables are most common, and the choice is completely a personal choice. Some of the most popular choices are hearts of palm, bamboo shoots, and Thai apple aubergines (eggplants), which are what is shown here.
Thai Basil – While sweet basil is common in almost all grocery stores, Thai basil can be a little harder to find outside of international markets. They are not interchangeable. Thai basil has a bolder, spicier, and slightly licorice flavor profile.
Red Chili – Added at the end as mostly decoration, typically a red spur chili is sliced and placed on top. Spur chilis can be difficult to find though, so I used a Fresno chili. You can also substitute a red jalapeno or red pepper, or just omit.
How to Make Thai Green Curry
Before going into how to make the curry, I wanted to mention that there’s a few different ways to go about this recipe. Some recipes, especially ones using whole chicken, will start by cooking the curry paste in water, and then adding in the chicken and coconut cream. As the chicken cooks, the fat will render and start to fry the paste, and the added juices from the chicken and water eliminate the need for chicken stock. Other recipes, such as this one, will fry some of the coconut milk in oil to cause it to split and reduce until thickened. The curry paste is then added and fried in the coconut milk before the chicken (usually boneless and skinless) is added along with the rest of the coconut milk. Both methods are acceptable and will produce a tasty result.
Start by having all your ingredients ready to go. Cut the chicken thighs into bite sized chunks and set aside. Tear the lime leaves into large pieces, removing the center stem and set aside. Pull the Thai basil leaves off the stems until you have about 1 cup, unpacked, ready to add just before serving. If using Thai eggplants, slice them into quarters and let them soak in water until ready to use. This will help soften them before cooking.
Place your cooking vessel on the stove over medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil and heat until shimmering. I used a wok here because I found it easier to get photos with, but you can also use a deep pan or pot to cook with as well.
If your coconut milk has a thicker layer of cream on top, scoop that out and spoon about a third of the can into the oil. Once you’ve stirred it into the oil, you can raise the heat some and cook the coconut milk, stirring occasionally, about 3-4 minutes until the milk has reduced slightly and thickened. Now add the curry paste and stir constantly until fully combined with the coconut milk. Let it cook in the reduced coconut milk, stirring occasionally until aromatic, about 2 minutes.
Add in the chicken, turning to fully coat in the paste.
Once coated, add in the rest of the coconut milk, the lime leaves, palm sugar if using, and the fish sauce. If desired, add some chicken stock as well, if you feel the curry needs some more body. Out of the cup of stock, I believe I used about ¾ cup here. Bring to a light simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and tender.
If using the Thai eggplants, add them in after the chicken has cooked for around 7-9 minutes, giving the eggplant about 5 minutes or so of cooking time. If you’re using hearts of palm or bamboo shoots, wait until the chicken has finished cooking. Bring the curry to a boil and add the hearts or shoots, give it a few seconds, then remove from the heat and turn off the burner.
As soon as you remove the curry from the heat, stir in the Thai basil and red chilis. It will look like a lot of basil, but the residual heat will cook them down like spinach and you won’t have big leaves in each bite.
Serve with Jasmine rice.
How to Store Thai Green Curry
Once cooled, place curry in an airtight container and you can refrigerate it for 3-4 days. Keeps best if you also leave the rice and curry separate and store in different containers.
You can also freeze the curry in an airtight container for 2-3 months before it starts losing its flavor. It can last longer, but the texture and flavor will begin to compromise after 2 months.
While you can freeze the curry, it’s better to know ahead of time if you’re planning on making a large amount and wish to freeze it. If the plan is to freeze it, leave out the chicken stock, vegetables, and Thai basil. This will remove some of the water from the curry and lead to less crystals forming. The vegetables and basil will also get mushy from extended storage. Reheat the curry with stock, adding the vegetables and basil as instructed in the recipe.
📋 Recipe
Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Khiao Wan Gai)
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, 1 14-oz can
- 4-6 tablespoons green curry paste
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup chicken stock, , optional
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar, , optional
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3-4 Kaffir/Makrut lime leaves, , torn
- 4-5 Thai eggplants, , quartered
- 1 cup Thai basil
- 2-3 red spur chilis, , cut into thick strips
Directions
- Start by having all your ingredients ready to go. Cut the chicken thighs into bite sized chunks and set aside. Tear the lime leaves into large pieces, removing the center stem and set aside. Pull the Thai basil leaves off the stems until you have about 1 cup, unpacked, ready to add just before serving. If using Thai eggplants, slice them into quarters and let them soak in water until ready to use. This will help soften them before cooking.
- Place a wok on the stove over medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil and heat until shimmering.
- If your coconut milk has a thicker layer of cream on top, scoop that out and spoon about a third of the can into the oil. Once you’ve stirred it into the oil, you can raise the heat some and cook the coconut milk, stirring occasionally, about 3-4 minutes until the milk has reduced slightly and thickened.
- Add the curry paste and stir constantly until fully combined with the coconut milk. Let it cook in the reduced coconut milk, stirring occasionally until aromatic, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the chicken, turning to fully coat in the paste.
- Once coated, add in the rest of the coconut milk, the lime leaves, palm sugar if using, and the fish sauce. If desired, add some chicken stock as well, if you feel the curry needs some more body. Bring to a light simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and tender.
- If using the Thai eggplants, add them in after the chicken has cooked for around 7-9 minutes, giving the eggplant about 5 minutes or so of cooking time. If you’re using hearts of palm or bamboo shoots, wait until the chicken has finished cooking. Bring the curry to a boil and add the hearts or shoots, give it a few seconds, then remove from the heat and turn off the burner.
- As soon as you remove the curry from the heat, stir in the Thai basil and red chilis. It will look like a lot of basil, but the residual heat will cook them down like spinach and you won’t have big leaves in each bite.
- Serve with Jasmine rice.
Sun
Delicious!