Green Curry with Chicken | Eight-ingredient Easy Thai Recipe

Thai green curry is unique because its taste differs from most Indian curries. Besides, it’s not red due to the green chilies, resulting in a distinct flavor compared to other curries.

This easy green curry recipe uses store-bought green curry paste instead of making it from scratch. I use the green curry paste made in Thailand to ensure this is an authentic Thai green curry recipe.

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🛒Ingredients needed for Green Curry

• Green curry is popular worldwide, and the paste is available in most supermarkets and Asian markets. The curry paste contains more than 10 spices if you make it from scratch. Therefore, using a good-quality store-bought curry paste will drastically reduce the time and work needed in the kitchen, which is a perfect way to cook it at home. Homemade green curry paste just takes too much work to prepare.
• The main ingredient for this green curry is chicken. I recommend using boneless, skinless breasts or chicken thighs. If you want to make a vegetable version, you can use firm tofu instead of meat. 
• Coconut cream is a crucial ingredient for preparing green curry. It is readily available at the wet market in Malaysia. If fresh coconut cream is unavailable in your area, you can use packaged or canned coconut cream. Ensure you purchase coconut cream meant for cooking, not coconut milk intended for drinking.
• The next ingredient needed to prepare Thai green curry is basil leaves. Thai basil is commonly used, but any type will be OK if the Thai variety is unavailable.
• The main vegetable I use is eggplant. Other suitable ingredients are pumpkin or any other squash. Long beans are commonly used in Thailand, but you can substitute them with green beans.
• The last important ingredient is mushrooms. We usually use king oyster mushrooms, but any other types of mushrooms are equally good.
• And here are some optional ingredients if you want to make it even better: You can add fish sauce while cooking to enhance the flavor. If you can get some kaffir lime leaves (makrut lime leaves), add a few of these leaves while cooking to bring out the authentic Thai flavor.

👉 How to cook Green Curry

1. First, cut the chicken meat into half-inch cubes or small slices. Similarly, cut the Thai eggplant (and any other vegetables) into small pieces, about one inch in length.  Cut the king oyster mushroom into small pieces, similar to the vegetables.

2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the green curry paste. Sauté until fragrant.

3. If you’re using chicken, add it to the pan and cook over medium heat until it’s almost done.

4. Then add the rest of the vegetables and mushrooms and cook until the vegetables are tender.

5. Now, add the water and coconut cream to form the curry sauce. 

6. Blend the basil leaves with a little bit of water, and then add to the curry gravy.

7. Taste the curry and adjust the flavor with salt, fish sauce, and sugar if needed. Let it return to a boil, and then it’s ready to serve.

Note: Thai Green Curry is a less spicy curry that everyone in the family will love.

💡Tips and notes for the best easy green curry recipe

• If you use fresh coconut cream, just simmer it over low heat until all the water evaporates. Then, you will be left with coconut oil that you can use to saute the chicken. However, store-bought coconut cream might have additives that prevent it from effectively separating the oil from the water content. In that case, I recommend using vegetable oil to sauté the green curry paste. Note that some curry paste contains quite a large amount of oil, so you should use much less oil to saute the curry paste.
• If you want to improve the green color of the curry, like most of those served by the local Thai restaurants, here is my method: There is no need to use artificial coloring agents. All you need to do is blend the basil leaves with water to become a paste with a food processor/blender. Then, add the blended basil to the curry while cooking.
• For simplicity, I add some brown sugar to balance the flavor while doing the taste test. For a more authentic flavor, use palm sugar instead.

❄️ How long can I keep it in the refrigerator?

Because the curry contains coconut cream, leaving it at room temperature for too long is not advisable. If you have any leftovers, please refrigerate them in an airtight container, which should be good for two days. I do not recommend keeping them longer than that, even though you can freeze them, as the texture of the vegetables may change, and they may not be as delicious. Green curry is highly addictive and delicious, especially with Jasmine rice. You will likely not have any leftovers!

🥬 What other ingredients can be added to the green curry recipe?

The easy Green Curry recipe I shared today is a simplified version, perfect for home cooks. To enhance the flavor, you can also consider adding Thai shrimp paste. If fish sauce is unavailable, you can use soy sauce as an alternative. Besides eggplant, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, bamboo shoots, snow peas, and red bell pepper are other common ingredients for Thai green curry.

Adding a squeeze of fresh lime juice just before serving is also refreshing.

📜  Here are some other related recipes if you like Thai food

Here is a list of my handpicked Thai cuisine on my sister’s food blog, Taste of Asian Food, and this blog.

• Yellow Curry: It is another type of Thai curry that is slightly spicier than green curry.
• Pad See Ew: One of the most popular street-style Thai stir-fried noodles.
• Pad Krapraw: A spicy Thai stir-fry dish made with minced meat.
• Cauliflower soup: It is best to have something not spicy at all to go along with the curry