Thai Green Curry in 30 minutes made by freshening up store bought curry paste OR with a homemade green curry paste! Whichever way you go, the one essential step to make a really great green curry is to fry off the curry paste.
Make this with chicken or even entirely meat free. With a sauce this good, you can put anything in it – and it will taste amazing!
Thai Green Curry recipe
The single most requested recipe is finally here!! We love the colour, the spiciness, and how fragrant the creamy sauce is.
Along with Pad Thai, Chicken Satay and Thai Red Curry, green curry is the gold standard by which we rate Thai restaurants.
It’s the curry we sweat and swear our way through, guzzling down water and wiping our brows when we confidently tell the waiter “give it to us the way it should be – extra spicy!!”
Luckily, when we make it at home, we can dial back the spiciness substantially. 😂 Whether made with curry paste in a jar OR homemade green curry paste!
“This can be a quick 30 minute Thai Green Curry made with store bought curry paste – OR go all out with a homemade curry paste!”
The BEST Green Curry Paste
With the fresh aromatic ingredients used in South East Asian curries, I’ll always be an advocate of making the curry pastes from scratch because it’s not possible to capture that flavour in jars. But it’s just not viable to do that every time I have a hankering for curry.
So I’ll reach for curry paste in a jar. I think the best green curry paste is Maesri (which also happens to be the cheapest at around $1.20). It’s sold at Woolies, Coles (I’m in Australia) and Asian grocery stores. (here it is on Amazon US).
Maesri yields the closest result to homemade green curry paste. I find the other brands to be too sweet with less green curry flavour – and strangely, they are spicier!
Pimping up curry in a jar
It’s inevitable using any curry paste out of a jar rather than making it from scratch that the curry will be lacking a certain freshness.
So what I do is freshen it up using fresh garlic, ginger and lemongrass.
Because “quick and easy” is the go here, I usually don’t even use fresh lemongrass, I use lemongrass paste. It works a treat!
What goes in green curry
The most popular version of green curry is Chicken, so that’s the base version I’m sharing today. While there’s no set rules about what goes in a Thai Green Chicken Curry, the most common combination seems to be chicken, eggplant and snow peas which is what I’ve gone with.
But it’s very easy to switch it out for another protein of choice, or to make it meat free so I’ve included directions in the recipe.
In addition to the curry paste (and pimping it up, if using jar paste), there’s actually not that many ingredients in Thai Green Curry.
Coconut milk – full fat please! Fat is where the flavour is, if you use low fat coconut milk the sauce will lack flavour. You could even use coconut cream, if you want a richer version!
Chicken or vegetable broth – chicken is better (deeper flavours) but vegetable is fine if making a vegetarian version.
Chicken – Thigh is best because it stays juicy even after the requiring simmering time to thicken the sauce
Asian (Japanese) Eggplant – brilliant sponge for soaking up the sauce. The small eggplants are ideal because the eggplant is cooked until soft and the skin holds it together. Sub with small normal eggplants, or if you dislike eggplants, try zucchini!
Snow peas – for colour and freshness
Sugar – for extra sweetness
Fish sauce – may not be needed if using paste from a jar. Yes it’s stinky but it’s essential for Thai curries and once cooked, it doesn’t taste fishy at all
Kaffir Lime leaves – it provides a earthy citrus fragrance to the sauce that’s inherent to green curry. It’s readily available in Australia nowadays, but if you can’t find it, then a lemongrass stalk will be a decent substitute. Freezes great – I almost always have some in the freezer.
Finishing:
Thai Basil – essential for a true green curry experience! Tastes like Italian basil with a slightly more aniseedy flavour
Lime juice – just a squeeze, for freshness!
What makes green curry green?
The colour mostly comes from large green chillies which aren’t that spicy, they are mostly for colour and flavour. The curry paste also has small Thai chillies which provide the fiery heat that green curry is known for.
If you make your own green curry paste, you can skip the spicy chillies without compromising on flavour!
How to make Thai Green Curry
The making part is very straightforward which is why if you use curry paste from a jar, green curry is something you can have any night of the week.
The essential step here is to fry off the curry paste, whether using store bought or homemade. This is the equivalent to sautéing garlic until golden, a step used in virtually all my savoury recipes.
Homemade vs curry in a jar
Here’s a comparison of the two. Flavour wise, it’s inevitable there is a difference but the curry in a jar version is still very, very good. Certainly better than many local Thai restaurants which are often far too sweet, weak, or watery.
The homemade curry paste version is also slightly greener – owing to the fresh chillies and coriander/cilantro blitzed into the paste.
Thai Green Curry is….
Very fragrant – from all the herbs and aromatics in the curry paste. It has a less “in your face” flavour compared to Thai Red Curry but it’s more fragrant with chilli than Thai Yellow Curry.
Creamy, sweet, and salty. But all too often, Thai takeout places make it far too sweet!
Spicy – it’s meant to be! Green Curry is spicier than most popular Thai curries, such asThai Red Curry, Yellow Curry, Massaman Curry. It’s about as spicy as Panang Curry – maybe even a wee bit spicier!
Sauce is not as thick as Thai Red Curry, it’s meant to be a thinner sauce. My theory is because if you simmer the sauce too long to make it thicker, the sauce turns dark and loses the fresh green colour. It kind of looks like spinach soup!
Completely addictive
Serve green curry with jasmine rice for a true Thai restaurant experience. And don’t forget some ice cold beer to temper the heat! – Nagi x
Make a meal out of it – try these on the side
Crunchy Asian Slaw on the side – great all rounder Asian salad that goes with all Asian foods
Asian Sesame Dressing for any fresh salad or steamed vegetables
To start – Chicken Satay Skewers or Thai Fish Cakes
Thai Green Curry
Watch how to make it
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Thai Green Curry
Ingredients
Curry – use ONE:
- 4 – 6 tbsp Thai Green Curry Paste (Maesri best) OR (Note 1)
- 1 quantity homemade green curry paste (Note 1)
Extras – for jar curry paste (Note 2):
- 2 large garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger , finely grated
- 1 tbsp lemongrass paste (Note 2)
Green Curry:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup (250ml) chicken or vegetable broth, low sodium
- 400 g/14oz coconut milk , full fat (Note 4)
- 1 – 3 tsp fish sauce *
- 1 – 3 tsp white sugar *
- 1/8 tsp salt *
- 6 kaffir lime leaves , torn in half (Note 5)
- 350 g/12 oz chicken thigh , skinless boneless, sliced (Note 6)
- 2 Japanese eggplants, , small, 1cm / 2/5″ slices (Note 7)
- 1 1/2 cups snow peas , small, trimmed
- 16 Thai basil leaves (Note 8)
- Juice of 1/2 lime , to taste
Garnishes:
- Crispy fried Asian shallots , high recommended (Note 9)
- Thai basil or cilantro/coriander , recommended
- Green or red chillies slices , optional
- Steamed jasmine rice
Instructions
- Heat oil in a heavy based skillet or pot over medium high heat.
- Add curry paste (and garlic, ginger and lemongrass Extras, if using) and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it mostly “dries out” – see video. Don’t breath in the fumes!!
- Add chicken broth and coconut milk, mix to dissolve paste.
- Curry in a jar seasonings: Add 1 tsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar, no salt.
- Homemade curry paste seasonings: Add 3 tsp fish sauce, 3 tsp sugar, 1/8 tsp salt.
- Add kaffir lime leaves. Mix then bring to simmer.
- Add chicken, stir then lower heat to medium so it’s bubbling gently. Cook 7 minutes.
- Add eggplants, cook 5 minutes until soft.
- Taste sauce. Add fish sauce or salt for more saltiness, sugar for sweetness.
- Add snow peas, cook 2 minutes until a bit softened, then stir through basil and lime juice. Sauce should have reduced but will still be a be on the thin side, not thick – that’s how it’s should be. DO NOT keep simmering – sauce will darken.
- Serve curry over jasmine rice with garnishes of choice.
Recipe Notes:
* Vegetarian – Asian eggplant, green beans, zucchini (pictured in post). Other vegetables that go great: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, sweet or normal potato, pumpkin, mushrooms (cook to soft, great sponge!)
* Prawns / shrimp or fish pieces instead of chicken – add towards end, 3 to 5 min cook time
* Beef or pork – Use a quick cooking cut, cut into strips or cubes. I sear beef and pork first before adding into curry sauces, the flavour is better. Use any quick cooking cut, sprinkle with salt and pepper, sear to brown outside but leave inside uncooked. Then add into sauce just to finish cooking through. 11. Nutrition excludes rice and toppings.
Nutrition Information:
I adore Thai curries!
Proof:
And more Thai food favourites
Life of Dozer
He high tailed it out of the house pretty quickly when I started frying off the curry paste – he can’t handle the heat!! (Neither can I – I always forget not to breath in the chilli fumes!!)
Sarah Logeswaran says
This is the best Thai green curry recipe I’ve come across. It’s full of flavour and wasn’t difficult to make! Thank you so much!
Tom MacKay says
I made a ton of substitutions, mostly for the gr c paste ingredients, and was still quite happy. Just don’t sub out the eggplant, it is the perfect complement to this curry sauce!
jim says
Excellent. We loved the recipe. Best Thai green curry I’ve had in a long time, and certainly the best I’ve ever made myself.
Ann says
Well, what a fabulous recipe. I lived in Bangkok for over 2 years quite some time ago and I thought I made the best Thai Green Curry. However, after trying this Nagi, it has become our favourite. I resisted the urge to make it thicker, used paste from a jar and ordinary European eggplant. Wonderful. thank you so much for sharing.
Ann says
Hello Nagi, I wonder whether you could make this in a slow cooker. If so how long would you cook it for?
Nagi says
Hi Ann, not this recipe as written sorry – you need to fry off the paste and bring the curry to a simmer for the best flavour. N x
Ann says
Thanks Nagi, will do it your way.
Shraddha A says
Hi Nagi, what can be a best substitute for fish sauce? TIA – Shraddha
Nagi says
Hi Shraddha, just use soy – adjust to taste 🙂 N x
Shraddha A says
Hi Nagi, followed your recipe with some variations and we will stop going to Thai restaurants now. The only cuisine we went for as I couldn’t get my hands on perfect recipe. Thank you so much!!
Vaughn says
This is good to know, I have a very serious seafood allergy in our home. Usually Asian foods are off limits due to the use of seafood based sauces. Can’t even use Worcestershire sauce because i contains anchovy. Seems soy sauce is the answer to most things,
Amy says
I want to make this tonight using green tomatoes I harvested from my garden to save from frost. Do you think that would work in place of the eggplant?
Reena P says
This was so so so good! Used Thai eggplants, bamboo shoots, and bell pepper for my veggies along with the chicken thighs. I like a little extra kick so I added two Thai chili peppers! Otherwise kept the recipe exactly the same! Thank you so much Nagi! Thai Green Curry is one of my very favorite foods (a comfort food for me) and it’s wonderful to be able to get restaurant quality at home using pre-made curry paste! (Maesri was great!) Thank You! Thank You!
Al Nelson says
Yes, yes yes. You have demystified Thai cooking for us. We’ve made 5 of your dishes thus far and plan to make a bunch more. Thank You so much for your hard work and passion. I do have a question: A friend has a Kaffir lime tree, and gave us some lime leaves. They were double leaves. Then we purchased some more online from 3 places and most of those were double style leaves as well. Do you consider those double style leaves to count as 1 leaf? Do most all of the leaves look like the double style I’m referring too? Anyway…THIS GREEN CURRY ROCKS! YOU ROCK!!!!
William E Scheer says
Straight up; best Thai Green Curry ever. Love, Love Love it, I practically ate the whole thing myself. I put this over riced cauliflower and my wife raved. Next time though, I’ll ratchet up the heat with the Thai peppers; trying to go easy on the family!
Alyse says
Hi Nagi, I have made this before and it was fab I just cant remember: if I make your curry paste it says 5 servings… does that mean i put 1/5th of that into this recipe? I think i put the whole thing in last time! XX
Brin Xu says
Hi Nagi, for this green curry, can I use regular eggplants to replace Asian ones? Big difference? And what if using snap peas to replace snow peas? Thank you!
Nagi says
Hi Brin, yes 100%!! Enjoy! N x
Jessie says
Wow, it’s my first time making this curry and it was AMAZING!! It was so friggin good I don’t even need to eat at a restaurant anymore!
Al Nelson says
We said the same thing. Why would we even go out anymore?
Dominique Marquez says
My family LOVED this recipe! Hats off to whom ever wrote the recipe notes as well! Was super helpful! My husband says this is a keeper for the recipe box!
Nagi says
That would be yours truly! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it Dominique! N x
Sue says
I need to make this ahead of time. Would it be best to freeze before adding the vegetables?
Nagi says
Hi Sue – this freezes well even with the vegetables in it 🙂 N x
Al Nelson says
We made this as directed, minus a couple things. No Thai basil so we used traditional basil and a star anise pod. Also went with 1 eggplant and 1 zucchini. TWO THUMBS WAY UP! We’ll be making this over and over again. Used thin breast strips and followed your instructions for less cooking time and turned out great. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
Bec says
I made this again, added a bit more sugar and a bit less fish sauce. It was a winner again – seems I can do no wrong with this recipe!
Craig says
Delicious recipe. I used double coconut milk and chicken stock to full tin of Maesri to get the heat down. Tasted great Nagi.
Mike McClain says
Wonderful flavor and my fist batch was quite hot without adding and hot peppers! My brother and sister-in-law loved the flavor too. We all agreed it could be $15 a serving at a great Thai restaurant.
Once you’ve cut up everything and prepared your ingredients then it might only take 30 to 35 minutes to cook and serve, however the preparation took longer than that and it was not included in an overall preparation time that I read about.
Beau says
This is brilliant. The curry was so delicious. Thank you, Nagi, you are a fantastic cook.