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Delicious and easy green curry with chicken in rich coconut curry sauce. This homemade and authentic Thai green curry recipe takes 20 mins and better than restaurants!
Green Curry Recipe
What is Green Curry?
It’s called Gang Kiew Wan in Thai language, one of the best Thai recipes.
The curry is green in color, spicy, aromatic, sweet and savory at the same time.
Thai green curry is so delicious, specially when served with steaming white jasmine rice.
Looking for more Thai recipes? Check out my Choo Chee Salmon, Pad See Ew, and Thai Red Curry recipes!
Thai Green Curry
If you love Thai food, I am sure you know Thai curries, named after the color of the curry paste used to make the curry, for examples: red curry and yellow curry.
There are also Panang curry, Jungle curry, Massamam curry, etc.
The green color in this curry comes from the main ingredient in the green curry paste, which is fresh green chilies, hence the name green curry.
Here are the ingredients of the curry paste:
- Fresh green chilies
- Cilantro roots or stems (not the leaves)
- Garlic
- Shallots
- Lemongrass
- Galangal
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Shrimp paste
- Kaffir lime skin and leaves
Curry paste is traditionally made by pounding the ingredients in a stone mortar and pestle until all ingredients become a fine texture.
I usually use instant curry paste from Asian stores, for example: Maesri brand Green Curry Paste.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken – use skinless and boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs
- Thai eggplant. In Thailand, the curry is made with these eggplants, which come in the green color variety and purple color variety. They are small like ping pong balls; they are halved or quartered and cooked in the curry. However, they are not commercially available in the US, unless you grow the tree. As a substitute, most Thai restaurants here use bamboo shoots and my recipe tastes just like Thai restaurants.
- Coconut milk
- Fish sauce
- Fresh red chilies
- Kaffir lime leaves
- Thai basil leaves
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Thai Green Curry Chicken
Homemade green curry recipe is so easy to make and takes about 15-20 minutes from prep to dinner table.
To cook the curry at home, first of all saute the curry paste and add the chicken.
Add the coconut milk, water, bamboo shoots, and all the seasoning ingredients.
Cook until the chicken becomes tender and the curry sauce is slightly thickened.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full details on each ingredient.
Cooking Tips
For the best result at home, follow the cooking tips below:
- You can make very good, authentic and delicious curries using store-bought curry paste.
- The secret is to balance the flavors; the curry has to be spicy (from the curry paste), rich and creamy (from the coconut milk), savory (from the fish sauce) and sweet (from palm sugar or sugar).
- Sweet, sour, salty and spicy are the four pillars of Thai cuisine. Once you master the perfect balance, you can make just about any Thai food at home!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the two? Other than the color, the difference is the main ingredient used in the curry paste. Red curry uses dried red chilies, hence the red color.
Malaysian curry, such as curry chicken is made with curry powder, salt, and coconut milk. There is never sugar in the ingredients list. However, Thai curries use sugar or palm sugar and fish sauce to season the curry sauce.
This recipe is only 317 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
This meal is best served with steamed rice, preferably Thai rice. For a wholesome Thai meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Thai Recipes You Might Like
Green Curry
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tbsp green curry paste, Maesri brand preferred
- 8 oz. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 oz. bamboo shoot
- 5 kaffir lime leaves, lightly bruised
- 2 red chilies, cut into thick strips
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar , or palm sugar, preferred
- 1/4 cup Thai basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat a pot over medium heat and add the oil. Sauté the green curry paste until aromatic, then add the chicken and stir to combine well with the curry paste. Add the coconut milk and water, and bring to a quick boil.
- Add the bamboo shoots, kaffir lime leaves, and red chilies. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until the curry slightly thickens.
- Add the fish sauce, sugar, and basil leaves. Stir to mix well. Turn off the heat and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just cooked this for the guys at the firehall tonight and it was AMAZING!! Reminded me of the meals I would eat while in Thailand. So sweet and delicious. Can’t wait for left overs tomorrow!!
Great recipe. Just so you know, Thai eggplants are sold in parts of the US. I live in northern Virginia and you can find them in Harris Teeter as well as the many international grocery stores around town.
Hi Kenya, thanks for letting me know. I don’t see them in my stores! :)
I live in the Atlanta area and our DeKalb farmers market as well as all the Asian stores (H-Mart, Nam Dae Mun etc) carry Thai Eggplant, I’ve been using it in my Green Curry for years!! Many Hispanic markets also carry them. BTW I love trying your recipes and have made many!!
It looks so yummy and if I can find the basil leaves I’ll give it a go. Thanks for sharing all of your recipes, the ones I’ve tried are new favourites in our home :o).
Thanks!
The best green curry recipe you can find online, this is easy and authentic!
Thanks Jess, yes it is the BEST green curry, just like the best Thai restaurants.
Amazing green curry, the best recipe ever.
Hi Bee,
I want to try your recipe. It looks scrumptious.
The red Chili… is that a hot Chili or the sweet red bell?
Thanks
Cherie
Red bell pepper.
what happened to the eggplant? You included it in the first “sort of” recipe but not in the “final “recipe. Why tell us about the eggplant but not put it in, especially since it is an essential ingredient?
Also, no other vegetables?
What do you mean first sort of recipe??? I never put eggplant in my green curry recipe. You can add eggplant, we can’t find the round small eggplant here in the USA.
Absolutely LOVED this recipe! Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Ruby thanks for trying my green curry recipe!
I absolutely loved this recipe, and so did my husband, but I personally found it a little too spicy (though my husband did not)! I know that green curry is traditionally spicy, but I’m curious if there is a way to make it a little less so? I followed the recipe exactly, and even found the Maesri green curry. Is the spice in the paste or in the red chili’s? Thank you!
Hi Teresa, you can cut down the green curry paste a little bit if you want it less spicy. It’s made with green chilies, which could be spicier than red chilies.
Can you provide quantities for all the ingredients of your chicken green curry recipe, please?
Thanks,
Yes, the recipe is at the bottom, did you scroll down???
The recipe box is empty.
The recipe is at the bottom of the page did you scroll down??