How to make the best Thai Green Curry Chicken from scratch!

Thai Green Curry or Gaeng Khiao Waan Gai is one of the most popular and well-known Thai dishes globally! In Singapore, we see it on the menus as well, although personally I rarely order it, preferring my Tom Yum instead. When I do order it, I do love it! It’s not as spicy or pungent as Red Curry (which I also love), and it has a unique freshness to it.

What Protein to Use for Thai Green Curry?

Chicken is the main protein used! You can use bone-in chicken, but boneless chicken pieces are more commonly used. While I mostly prefer chicken thighs, this is the one rare times I love this with boneless chicken breast! All of the versions I’ve had in Singapore and Thailand use chicken breast, so perhaps this is simply what I’m used to.

Optional, but you can marinade your chicken with fish sauce and white pepper for extra flavour! I like to do this when I’m more organised.

What Vegetables To Use?

The standard vegetables used would be Thai eggplants, but really you can use any vegetables! Hardier vegetables would work best since it is a curry. In this recipe, I used carrots – the orange offsets the green!

What do you need to make GOOD Thai Green Curry Paste

The curry paste is the most important thing in Thai Green Curry! You can easily buy the paste from the supermarkets – in fact, that’s the “traditional” modern way that is completely acceptable.

Funnily enough, I’ve never been able to find a paste off-the-shelves that I like (and I don’t eat this enough at home to experiment!), so I always just make my own. The ingredients are easy to find, being in Southeast Asia!

Green Chillies: Spur green chillies are very mild, and rarely spicy! Or at least not as spicy as its red counterparts.

Green Thai Bird’s Eye Chillies: This is where the real spice will come from (if that’s what you want!) Add as much as you want spice, or none at all for a mild curry.

Onion

Garlic

Lemongrass, inner white core

Galangal or Blue Ginger

Belacan or Dried Shrimp Paste

Coriander Seeds

Cumin

Rind or Zest of Makrut Lime: You can either grate off the skin, or use a vegetable peeler, which is what I did! Keep the lime for juicing as garnish!

White Pepper

Coriander/cilantro roots (or stems)

Coriander/cilantro leaves

Water

How to make AMAZING Thai Green Curry

1. Cooking off the Curry Paste

Add oil to a pot, and let it get hot. Over low to medium heat, add the Thai Green Curry Paste.

Continuously stir until the paste dries down, and it should turn a slightly faded green.

2. Add Coconut Cream or Milk

Once the paste dries down, add coconut cream or milk. Stir to incorporate, and allow it to come to a boil.

I used coconut cream, which is a cartoned version found commonly in our supermarkets.

If you have the canned versions, this would be it as well. Coconut milk would be the pure, freshly squeezed versions that you get in your local markets. It would be more liquid as well, but essentially they are both the same. If using coconut milk, add half the amount, and give it a stir. We are simply trying to get a coconut curry paste going here, not the final liquid curry version.

3. Cook the Protein and Season

Add the chicken next and tear in makrut lime leaves. Stir to combine.

Once chicken is coated with the paste, and the chicken surface is not pink anymore (no need to cook it fully at this stage), add water, fish sauce and sugar. Add as much water as you’d like gravy. Typically Thai Green Curry is a more watery curry, so more water should be added. No reason to decrease the amount if you want a thicker gravy though!

Add carrots here as well, or vegetable of choice.

Stir to combine and let it come to a boil. Add red chillies and let it simmer. Once chicken cooks through, turn off the heat.

4. Final Touch

With heat turned off, add basil leaves and lime juice.

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