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.
More Recipes Like This:
Thai Green Curry Chicken | Gaeng Khiao Waan Gai
Course: Recipes4
servings15
minutes15
minutesIngredients
- Thai Green Curry
400g Chicken, sliced
1 portion of Thai Green Curry Paste (store-bought, or recipe below)
1 cup Coconut Cream
1 cup Water
4-5 Makrut Lime Leaves
1 tbsp Fish Sauce, or to taste
1 tsp Sugar, or to taste
1 tbsp Lime Juice, or to taste
1 Carrot, sliced (or vegetable of choice)
1 Red Chilli
1 loose cup of Thai Basil
2-3 tbsps Vegetable Oil
- Thai Green Curry Paste
5 Green Chillies
5 Green Thai Bird’s Eye Chillies (more if you’re good with spice!)
1/2 medium bulb Onion
5-6 cloves Garlic
2 Lemongrass, inner white core
1 inch Galangal
1 tbsp Belacan or Dried Shrimp Paste
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Cumin
1 rind or zest of Makrut Lime
1 tsp White Pepper
2-3 Coriander/cilantro roots (or stems)
2-3 stalks Coriander/cilantro leaves
2-3 tbsps Water, for easier blending
Directions
- Blend all of the ingredients for the Thai Green Curry Paste until you get a smooth paste. You can also use a pestle and mortar or food processor if you’d like.
- To a pot, add some oil and over low to medium heat, add the curry paste. Continuously stir fry until the paste dries down slightly. It should also slightly fade in colour.
- Add coconut cream, and stir to combine with the curry paste. Let it come to a boil.
- Add the chicken next, and stir to combine with the paste.
- Once chicken surface is not pink anymore, pour in water, as well as the vegetables, if using. Tear in the lime leaves, and season with fish sauce and sugar.
- Stir to combine, and let this come up to a boil and fully cook the chicken.
- Once chicken cooks, turn off the heat and immediately add the Thai Basil. Stir to let residual heat wilt the leaves. Stir in lime juice.
- Serve immediately with rice!
Mimi says
Hello…I am allergic to shrimps ,what can I substitute with..
admin says
Hi Mimi! Don’t worry too much about it, just omit it from the recipe 🙂