I love Thai green curry and this recipe is simply fantastic.
There is just something special about that mix of coconut, lime juice, fish sauce and coriander that all comes together to make a silky delicious cooking sauce.
This green curry sauce is really versatile too. I have added slices of chicken to this batch of curry and chicken is probably the most common meat to use.
That said you can also use beef, thinly sliced pork or even shrimp. All would be delicious cooked in this wonderful curry.
Some people think they won’t like curry chicken because it will be hot. But that’s not true at all, especially with Thai curries.
You can make any curry as mild or as hot as you like by adjusting the amount of chili you use. You can even leave the chilies out entirely.
It will still be delicious, just not hot at all.
Thai green curry recipes tend to have a lot of ingredients, so you do have to commit a bit to making Thai food.
The results are really worth it though.
Not wanting the meat? See how easy that is…
Vegetarian Thai Green Curry
I also love this recipe because it’s so easy to make it vegetarian if that’s what you prefer. The chicken is cooked separately at first, then added to the sauce to finish cooking and get that wonderful green curry sauce flavor.
If you want to keep the curry recipe vegetarian, simply leave out the chicken! It’s that easy.
Chicken is the only non-vegetarian ingredient in the list.
Please note that the recipe does use fish sauce, so if you want a vegan version of this Thai green curry you will have to address that.
Ingredients for Thai Green Curry
The ingredient list for most Asian recipes can seem quite long. If you cook Asian food on occasion though, most of the ingredients will be items that you already have in your pantry.
Fish sauce for instance is used in many Asian recipes. So is coconut milk. I keep a bit of each in my pantry all the time, so I can just reach for them when I need them.
Lemongrass and fresh ginger are available in most grocery stores, although in some areas you may need to go to an Asian store for the lemongrass.
Fresh kaffir leaves will be in your local Asian grocery store. So will shrimp paste.
Each of these ingredients mix together to create a unique taste that defines Thai green curry.
The recipe calls for either palm sugar or coconut sugar.
I love coconut sugar and use it all the time in place of white sugar or brown.
Coconut sugar is much easier on the body and doesn’t raised blood sugar levels anywhere near as much as regular sugars. It’s fairly easy to find these days. I get a large bag at Costco.
Thai Green Curry Tips
When removing the leaves from your coriander bunch, keep the stems and roots. They can be chopped and used in the curry paste.
You need to use only one third of the curry paste in this recipe. The rest can be frozen for later use.
If you like this recipe, save the extra curry paste in 1/4 cup amounts. That way you have the exact amount you need the next time you make this lovely Thai green curry recipe.
Fresh kaffir leaves are a real necessity for Thai curry recipes. You can find them in Asian specialty shops.
Once you find them, just put the leaves in a plastic bag and store them in your freezer. They’ll keep for many months and you won’t have to go looking for them every time you want to make something scrumptious like this green curry recipe.
I hope you give this recipe a try. I really like it a lot. Let me know in the comments section below, how you enjoyed it.
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Thai Green Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup green curry paste, (see recipe below or use a purchased curry paste)
- 3 1/4 cups coconut milk
- 2 kaffir leaves, fresh, torn
- 1 tablespoon oil, (peanut or avocado, not olive oil)
- 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, or palm sugar
- 1 cup green beans, trimmed and coarsely chopped
- 2 zucchini, small, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup Thai basil leaves, fresh , loosely packed
- 1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped (extra)
- 1 green chili, long, thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
For The Green Curry Paste:
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 8 long green chilies, chopped coarsely
- 1 clove garlic, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 green onions, coarsely chopped
- 4" stick lemongrass, thinly sliced, fresh
- 1 kaffir lime leaf, fresh , thinly sliced
- 1/2" piece fresh ginger, chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, coarsely chopped, roots and stems
- 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
To Make the Green Curry Paste:
- Dry fry the ground coriander and cumin in a small frying pan until they are fragrant. Blend or process these spices with chili, garlic, onion, lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger, coriander mixture and shrimp paste until the mixture forms a course paste.
- Add the oil and process until the mixture forms a smooth paste. Measure one quarter cup of the paste for this recipe then freeze the remainder (there will be about 1/2 cup), covered, for future use.
To Make the Thai Green Curry
- Place 1/4 cup of the green curry paste in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the coconut milk and lime leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, simmer, stirring, for five minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Cook the chicken, in batches, until just browned. Drain on absorbent paper.
- Place chicken in a pan with the curry paste mixture and stir in the fish sauce, juice and sugar. Simmer, covered, about five minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the beans, zucchini, basil and chopped coriander and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are just tender.
- Place the Thai green curry in a serving bowl and sprinkle with the coriander leaves, chili and onion.
- Serve with steamed jasmine rice and extra thinly sliced green chili, if desired.
- Serves 4.
Notes
The recipe will make about 3/4 cup. Store the leftover paste in a well sealed jar in the refrigerator (or for longer storage put in the freezer) until you need to use it again.
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