Thai Green Chicken Curry
A fragrant, fresh green curry with tender chicken thighs, creamy coconut and a hit of lime and basil. Ready in under an hour.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 4 tbsp Thai green curry paste, shop-bought or homemade
- 400 ml coconut milk, full-fat, one tin
- 600 g boneless chicken thighs, skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp palm sugar, or light brown sugar
- 3 kaffir lime leaves, lightly torn
- 150 g Thai pea or baby aubergines, halved, or use courgette
- 100 g green beans, trimmed and halved
- 1 red chilli, sliced, to garnish
- 1 handful Thai basil leaves
- 1 lime, juiced, to taste
There is a moment when you fry green curry paste in coconut cream and the whole kitchen fills with the smell of lemongrass, lime leaf and chilli. That is the heart of this dish. Using chicken thighs keeps everything juicy, and a careful balance of fish sauce, sugar and lime at the end is what separates a good curry from a great one. Taste and adjust as you go.
Equipment
Method
- 1
Open the tin of coconut milk without shaking it and spoon the thick cream from the top into a wok or deep frying pan. Set over medium-high heat.
- 2
Let the coconut cream bubble and split until the oil separates and it smells nutty, then stir in the green curry paste and the oil.
4 min
- 3
Fry the paste, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly and becomes deeply fragrant. This blooms the spices and is the key to a flavourful curry.
3 min
- 4
Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat them thoroughly in the paste, cooking until they are sealed and no longer pink on the outside.
5 min
- 5
Pour in the remaining coconut milk along with a splash of water, then add the torn lime leaves. Bring to a gentle simmer.
3 min
- 6
Add the aubergines and green beans and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender but still have a little bite.
12 min
- 7
Season the curry with the fish sauce and palm sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust the balance of salty and sweet.
- 8
Turn off the heat and stir through a squeeze of lime juice and most of the Thai basil. Taste one final time, looking for a balance of salty, sweet, sour and hot.
- 9
Serve in bowls over steamed jasmine rice, scattered with sliced red chilli and the remaining basil leaves.
Chef's tips
- Split the coconut cream before adding the paste. Frying the paste in that hot fat is what unlocks the aromatics.
- Add lime juice only at the very end and off the heat, otherwise the fresh sourness cooks out and turns flat.
- Balance is everything. Keep tasting and nudge with fish sauce for salt, sugar for sweetness and lime for sour until it sings.
- If your paste is mild, fry in an extra chilli or two; if it is fierce, an extra splash of coconut milk tames the heat.
Make it your own
- Swap the chicken for firm tofu and use a vegetarian curry paste with soy instead of fish sauce for a plant-based version.
- Add raw king prawns in the last few minutes instead of, or alongside, the chicken for a seafood twist.
Storage & make-ahead
Keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days and the flavour deepens overnight. Reheat gently in a pan, loosening with a little water or coconut milk; it also freezes well for up to 2 months.
Nutrition / per serving
Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients and portion size.