Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Khiao Wan Gai)
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.
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.
Equipment Used
Notes
1) While several of the ingredients can be found at standard grocery stores, your best bet is to find a nearby Asian or international market, especially for the lime leaves, Thai basil, Thai eggplants, and spur chilis. They also tend to have a better selection at a lower price for the coconut milk and green curry paste if you’re not making your own.
2) If you can’t find the Thai eggplants, you can substitute Chinese or Japanese eggplant, but not the Globe types commonly found in US markets. Just omit and use something else like the hearts of palm or bamboo shoots as mentioned before.
3) There are a few different ways to go about making Thai green curry. 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.
4) I used a wok to make this recipe, mainly because it was easier to do the photography, but you can also use a deep pan or pot as well.
5) Taste as you cook and add a little palm sugar and fish sauce at a time and adjust to your tastes.
6) Some people find the name “Kaffir” lime to be offensive, so will label them as Makrut instead. I used both names above though, because many Asian and international markets tend to stick with the original Kaffir name so knowing both will alleviate confusion.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowlCalories: 442kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 29gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 917mgPotassium: 1137mgFiber: 8gSugar: 13gCalcium: 86mgIron: 5mg
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