This authentic Thai green curry is made with a simple homemade paste. It’s so easy to make and takes just 30mins!
If you’ve never made your own Thai green curry from scratch you’re in for a real treat. This recipe was kindly passed down from a Thai family member of mine so it has very authentic roots! Just altered VERY slightly by myself 😇. Don’t worry if you’re a total novice with curries, this is an awesome one to start with because it’s so flipping easy! Follow me…
Thai Green Curry Paste
Thai green curry paste has a unique flavour profile. It’s incredibly vibrant & fragrant and known for being very aromatic. As such, it’s important to really nail the paste to get the best out of this curry. The difference between store bought curry paste and homemade curry paste is huge. You can find some reputable brands, but in my experience they not only differ a huge amount, but even the most reputable brands can be somewhat lackluster. As such, in my opinion you’ve gotta go homemade. That or fly to Thailand where you’ll have some of the best curry of your life!!
Thai Green Curry Paste Ingredients
What you’ll find at your regular supermarket:
- Green Chilli – You’ll need to deseed them to remove the intense heat.
- Coriander Roots & Stems – Traditionally you’d use coriander root, but they’re quite hard to find (even in some Asian shops). As such I recommend you buy a plant pot of coriander/cilantro (growing in soil) so you can pull out the coriander, wash the ends and snip them off.
- Coriander Seeds – Lightly toasted in a dry pan (to release the flavour) then crushed.
- Shallots – Don’t sub onion, shallots have a slightly sweeter flavour.
- Lemongrass – Rough parts removed.
- Salt & White Pepper – Must be white pepper! Much more traditional in Thai cooking.
What you’ll have to get online or at an Asian Supermarket:
- Shrimp Paste – You only need a small amount of this because it’s very powerful! It’s integral to a green curry though, so don’t omit.
- Galangal – This is somewhat like ginger, but has a slightly more unique flavour. You actually might be able to find this in some regular stores at a stretch.
How to make Thai Green Curry Paste
Look I’m gonna level with you here. I promised a traditional Thai green curry, and that I stand by. BUT, do we need to be using a pestle and mortar to make a paste? Some argue yes, I argue no. I’ve got the go ahead from my step mum (the creator of this recipe) so that’s what I’m sticking with 😅. That and when I took a Thai cookery class in Thailand our teacher said it’s more than okay to make in a food processor too. So, that’s my justification!!
Thai Green Curry Paste in a blender
- High power – Make sure you’re using a high power blender, something with a bit of ‘umph’ behind it! Green curries are smooth and creamy, so you really want to blitz the ingredients into a smooth(ish) paste.
- Water – You may need to add a dash of water to form the paste, just to bring everything together.
What gives Thai green curry its colour?
It mainly comes form the green chilli and coriander. BUT, you’ll be surprised by how dim the colour actually is once you blitz everything together. To give it a more vibrant colour I recommend blitzing in some coriander leaves.
How do you store green curry paste?
You can absolutely make the paste ahead of time. It’ll last 1-2days tightly covered in the fridge, for longer you’ll want to freeze it.
Chicken Thai Green Curry
Once you’ve made the paste it’s all plain sailing from there. You can use a variety of different meats in green curry, but it’s most traditional to use chicken.
Chicken Thai Green Curry Ingredients
What you’ll find at your regular supermarket:
- Chicken – I use chicken breast, but you could use thigh. Must be boneless/skinless in both cases.
- Coconut Cream – Coconut milk is more traditional, but I prefer coconut cream for a slightly thicker texture and richer flavour.
- Chicken Stock – I recommend a low-sodium brand, just so you’ve got more control over the saltiness of the curry.
- Fish Sauce – Don’t worry if you don’t like fish, the flavour is very mellow. This is more so used as a salt substitute.
What you MIGHT find at your regular supermarket:
- Kaffir Lime Leaves – You’ll definitely find them at an Asian store, but I have found them (usually dried) at the supermarket!
- Thai Basil – Again, it’s rare but you can sometimes find fresh Thai basil in regular stores.
What you’ll have to get online or at an Asian Supermarket:
- Thai Eggplant – The cutest eggplant you’ll ever see! A non-traditional sub would be regular eggplant/aubergine.
- Palm Sugar – This isn’t a deal breaker as you could sub regular sugar, but if you can get it then go for it!
How to make Chicken Thai Green Curry
The curry itself is incredibly easy to make. 3 things just to keep in mind:
Fry the paste
A crucial step in a Thai green curry is frying the paste. This is a trick used in a lot of Thai cooking, and will help release the flavours in the paste. It will also steam out unwanted moisture.
Don’t fry the chicken
Although it’s tempting to fry the chicken in oil, you want to actually part-simmer the chicken to cook it. Once you’ve fried the paste for a couple of mins, stir in half your cream. That’s what you cook the chicken in.
Leave the basil
Instead of simmering the basil, you want to add it right at the last second. This way it keeps some of its texture and offers small fresh bursts of flavour.
Process shots: fry paste in oil (photo 1), add half coconut cream (photo 2), stir (photo 3), add chicken (photo 4), stir and simmer (photo 5), add second half of cream (photo 6), add chicken stock, sugar, eggplants, lime leaves and fish sauce (photo 7), simmer then add basil (photo 8).
Serving a Thai Green Curry
Once the chicken is cooked and the eggplants are soft, you’re good to go. Green curries have a fairly thin consistency so don’t worry about thickening the sauce. I love to garnish with a few slices of red chilli, just to add a pop of colour! Serve with basmati, sticky or jasmine rice.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this chicken Thai green curry shall we?!
How to make Thai Green Curry (Full Recipe & Video)
Chicken Thai Green Curry (from scratch!)
Equipment
- Powerful Food Processor/Blender
- Large Pot or Pan with Wooden Spoon
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Jug (for stock & Cream)
- Serving Spoon
Ingredients
Green Curry Paste (see notes)
- 5 Green Chillis, deseeded & diced (see notes)
- 1/4 cup diced Coriander Stalks & Roots (plus a handful of leaves to boost colour)
- 3 Shallots, finely diced
- 3 stems of Lemongrass, rough layers removed then finely diced
- 3 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1 packed tbsp finely diced or grated Galangal
- 1 heaped tsp Shrimp Paste
- 1 tsp Coriander Seeds, toasted in a dry pan then crushed (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Salt, White Pepper
Chicken Thai Green Curry
- 1lb / 500g Chicken Breast, diced into bite sized chunks
- 1x 14oz/400g can of Coconut Cream (can sub coconut milk - see notes)
- 1 cup / 250ml Chicken Stock
- 4 Thai Eggplants, halved if they're very small, quartered if they're not
- 6 Kaffir Lime Leaves, torn (see notes)
- 1 small bunch of Fresh Thai Basil, leaves only
- 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 tbsp Palm Sugar (can sub brown sugar, work to taste)
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- In a powerful food processor add green chillies, coriander roots & stems, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, crushed coriander seeds, white pepper and salt. Turn on motor and pulse into a fine paste. Stop and scrape the sides a few times, using a dash of water to form a paste if you need to. Blitz in a handful of coriander leaves to boost the green colour.
- Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil over medium high heat in a large deep pan. Add the curry paste and fry for 2-3mins (important to release the flavours and steam out the water). Stir in half your coconut cream, then add the diced chicken.
- Reduce to medium heat and cook the chicken for 5mins, or until nearly white through the centre, then stir in the rest of the coconut cream. Add chicken stock, eggplants, lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar. Give it all a good stir then simmer for 10mins, or until the chicken is cooked right through the centre and the eggplants have softened.
- Taste test for seasoning (more fish sauce for more saltiness, more sugar to sweeten) then stir through fresh basil leaves at the last minute.
- Serve over rice and enjoy (don't eat the lime leaves!).
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
If you’re after another authentic Thai recipe check out my Thai Fried Chicken, Thai Pork Toast or Thai Spring Rolls!
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Easy Curry Recipes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
- Chicken Curry in a Hurry
- Coronation Chicken Curry
- Sweet Potato Curry
- Leftover Turkey Thai Green Curry
- Butter Chicken
- Chicken Korma
Can you make extra paste and freeze it for future use? Thanks.
You sure can! C.
Definitely a great recipe, also did a red curry following your recipe. I however used a slightly different curry paste but very similar. Flavor was great and Highly comparable to restaurant quality.
So happy to hear it went down well! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂 C.
Recipe is awesome, Prepared it today and it came out delicious ❤️
So happy to hear, Pratima! 🙂