Leftover Turkey Thai Green Curry

Looking for what to do with Leftover Turkey? Look no further than this easy and delicious Turkey Thai Green Curry!

The Ultimate Leftover Turkey Curry

A curry is the perfect lunch the day after a big turkey feast. It offers a beautiful contrast to a roast dinner and quite literally spices up turkey to new heights. Thai green curry is one of my all time favourite curries and works PERFECTLY with leftover turkey. First things first, let’s see what you’ll need:

Turkey Thai Green Curry Ingredients

• Turkey – Leftover skinless turkey diced into large bite sized pieces.
• Thai Green Curry Paste – The difference between a cheap curry paste and quality paste is huge. You’ll find the the best green curry pastes at Asian stores or online. You can use supermarket pastes, but do consider adding some extras in to boost the flavour (more on this in the recipe card).
• Coconut Cream – You can use coconut milk, it’ll just be slightly less rich in flavour and slightly thinner in texture.
• Aubergine/Eggplant – It’s more traditional to use Thai Eggplant, but a regular eggplant subs just fine.
• Thai Basil – You’ll be able to find this in some supermarkets and definitely at an Asian supermarket. At a push you can sub regular sweet/Italian basil.
• Kaffir Lime Leaves – You’ll be surprised by how many stores sell these. They’re usually dried in the herb/spice section or Asian section. They of course also sell them in all Asian supermarkets, usually frozen. In my opinion there is no good substitute for these. They give that iconic flavour to the curry!
• Sugar – Balances out the spice/salt in the curry.

Can I use leftover chicken instead of turkey?

Yep! I’ve tried this many times with chicken and it works perfectly.

How to make Thai Green Curry

Honestly one of the easiest curries you’ll ever make, especially because the meat’s already cooked.

Fry the paste

An important step is frying the paste before you add any of the other ingredients. This will help release/develop the flavours. The difference is noticeable so I don’t recommend skipping this step!

From there it’s just a case of adding in all your ingredients, giving it a good stir then simmering until the turkey and eggplant is cooked through. Shouldn’t take any longer than 15mins in total. Although if you’re using coconut milk you might want to spend a little longer simmering, just to reduce and thicken the curry.

One other thing to note is the size of your turkey chunks. I recommend keeping them quite large, just so the chunks don’t turn to mush when simmering. If you’re using smaller chunks of meat or meat that’s been pulled, I recommend adding it near the end, just to avoid stringy turkey in the curry!

Can I use fresh meat in this curry?

Yep! If you want to make it from scratch you totally can and it’s just as easy. More on this in the recipe card notes.

Process shots: heat oil in pot (photo 1), add paste (photo 2), fry for a few mins (photo 3), stir in coconut cream (photo 4), add chicken stock (photo 5), add aubergine/eggplant, basil, lime leaves, turkey and sugar and simmer (photo 6).

And there we have it! All my top tips for the perfect leftover turkey curry.

If you’re after another delicious Thai recipe check out my Thai Fried Chicken!

For more similar recipes check out these beauties too:

Leftover Turkey Recipes

• Leftover Turkey Pasta
• Leftover Turkey Tacos
• Leftover Turkey Grilled Cheese

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for the turkey curry shall we?!

How to make Leftover Turkey Thai Green Curry (Full Recipe & Video)

5 from 5 votes

Leftover Turkey Thai Green Curry

By: Chris Collins

Looking for what to do with Leftover Turkey? Look no further than this easy and delicious Turkey Thai Green Curry!

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 3

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Equipment

• Medium/Large Pot with Wooden Spoon
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Jug (for stock)

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups / 300g Leftover Turkey, cut into large bite sized pieces (see notes)
• ▢ 1 small Aubergine/Eggplant, cut into bite sized pieces
• ▢ 1x 14oz/400g can of Coconut Cream (can sub coconut milk)
• ▢ 1 cup / 250ml Chicken Stock
• ▢ 3 tbsp Thai Green Curry Paste
• ▢ 4 Kaffir Lime Leaves, torn in half
• ▢ 1 small bunch of Thai Basil, leaves only
• ▢ 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• ▢ 1 tsp Sugar
• ▢ Salt, to taste

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• Heat 1 tbsp veg oil in a pot over medium heat, then add 3 tbsp curry paste. Fry for a few mins (this is important to release the flavours) then stir in coconut cream until nice and smooth.
• Pour in chicken stock then add turkey, aubergine/eggplant, Thai basil, lime leaves, sugar and salt to taste. Give it a good stir and leave to simmer until the aubergine/eggplant softens and the curry starts to thicken.
• Serve up and enjoy. P.s. don't eat the lime leaves!

Video

Notes

a) Turkey - You'll want to dice it into large chunks, just so it doesn't fall apart and become stringy as it simmers. If your turkey is in small chunks, or you've pulled it with forks, add it a couple mins before the curry has finished cooking, just so it doesn't go to mush.

b) Can I sub chicken? - Yep! Leftover chicken works perfectly here.

c) Can I use raw meat? - Yep, 2 medium sized breasts (14oz/400g in total) should suffice. Cook the paste in your oil, add about 1/4 of your coconut cream until bubbling and that's what you'll cook your meat in. Once white throughout, continue with the following steps. 

d) Curry Paste - Try and grab one from an Asian store. The cheap ones from the supermarkets are pretty ropey! However, if your green curry paste is lacking flavour then consider adding one of all of the following: 1 clove of garlic, 1 shallot, 1 tbsp coriander/cilantro, 1 green chilli. 

e) Where can I find Thai Basil/Kaffir Lime Leaves? - You can actually get these in a few different supermarkets in the UK. I know Thai basil is sold in Tesco and Kaffir Lime Leaves are usually sold dry in the spice or Asian section. You can sub regular sweet/Italian basil if you can't find Thai basil. In my experience there isn't a great sub for Kaffir lime leaves, these are what give you that classic green curry flavour. Asian supermarket will definitely sell them, usually frozen.

f) Calories - whole recipe shared by 3:

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Nutrition

Calories: 457kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.12g | Protein: 21.28g | Fat: 35.05g | Saturated Fat: 25.695g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.594g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.062g | Trans Fat: 0.077g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 930mg | Potassium: 1105mg | Fiber: 7.4g | Sugar: 11.24g | Vitamin A: 464IU | Vitamin C: 7.7mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2.85mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

If you loved this Leftover Turkey Thai Green Curry Recipe then be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a question? Give me a shout in the comments below!