Thai Green Curry
This is a dish about rhythm rather than precision. Once the paste hits the heat, the kitchen will smell like galangal and bruised lemongrass; that is your signal to keep moving.
Manage your heat and your cream
Do not rush the frying of the paste. If you don't give the oil a chance to separate from the coconut solids, the curry will remain thin and lack depth.
- heavy-bottomed wok or deep skillet
- chef's knife
- wooden spoon
What goes in.
- 4 tbspgreen curry paste
- 14 ozfull-fat coconut milk (canned)
- 1 lbchicken thigh, sliced into bite-sized strips
- 2kaffir lime leaves, torn
- 1 cupThai apple eggplant, quartered
- 1 tbsppalm sugar, finely chopped
- 2 tbspfish sauce
- 1/2 cupThai basil leaves
- 1red spur chili, sliced thinly for garnish
Cracking the Cream
Scoop the thick cream from the top of the can and fry it until it bubbles and starts to separate into clear oil. When you see the green paste darkening in that oil, the base is ready.
The method.
Fry the paste
Heat 1/2 cup of the coconut cream in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste and stir constantly for 3 minutes until the oil slicks the surface.
Sear the protein
Add the chicken strips. Toss them in the paste until the meat is opaque and coated in the green oil.
Simmer
Pour in the remaining coconut milk and a splash of water if the sauce looks too thick. Add the lime leaves and eggplant. Simmer for 8 minutes until the eggplant is tender but not collapsing.
Season
Lower the heat. Stir in the fish sauce and palm sugar. Taste; it should be salty, sweet, and searingly hot.
Finish
Turn off the heat. Fold in the Thai basil and top with sliced red chilies immediately before serving.
Other turns to take.
Vegetable heavy
Swap the chicken for bamboo shoots, snap peas, and firm tofu.
Seafood style
Use shrimp or white fish, adding them only in the final 2 minutes of simmering to prevent overcooking.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Always tear your lime leaves; cutting them with a knife often bruises them too much.
If your paste is too spicy, add a extra teaspoon of palm sugar to buffer the heat.
Serve alongside jasmine rice that has been steamed with a knot of pandan leaf.
The ones that keep coming up.
Why is my curry brown instead of green?
You likely used too much palm sugar or cooked the paste at too high a heat for too long, causing it to caramelize.
Can I use low-fat coconut milk?
Skip it. The fat content is necessary to carry the aromatics of the curry paste.
How real cooks make it.
No one’s shared their version yet. Be the first to put your kitchen on the map.
Cook this your way?
Share your version — your steps, your story. We’ll feature it right here.
Add your recipe