This week I was craving Thai green curry. I love all things curry but there is something extra special about the combination of sweet, salty, and sour flavors found in Thai curries. Thai green curry is made with the protein of your choice, green curry paste, coconut milk, and veggies. It’s a very easy, one-pot dish that’s ready in 40 minutes start to finish, and is absolutely perfect with rice or rice noodles.

Relative to Indian or Bangladeshi curries, Thai curries are easy to make because you can get by with curry paste from the store. If you were to make a curry paste from scratch, this recipe would be more difficult. After lots of experimentation over the years, I keep coming back to the approach below as my favorite way to make Thai green curry.

The brand of curry paste affects how salty and spicy the curry will be. I use a brand named Mae Ploy as I like its balance of flavors. If you want mild curry, start with 2 tablespoons of curry paste at the beginning. You can add more curry paste later if needed, and I typically use about 3 tablespoons in the end (I like a fair amount of spice).

I make this with chicken but you can use something else or make it meat free if you like (tofu, tempeh or seitan). You can add pretty much any vegetable to this curry. I typically use whatever I have on hand. You can use green beans, snap peas, carrots, eggplants, or the veggies below.

The sauce tastes amazing! Using store-bought curry paste makes this dish really easy and does not sacrifice taste or flavor. I hope you give this one a try!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken thigh, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 13.5 oz. can full fat coconut milk
• 2-3 tbsp. green curry paste
• 2 1-inch long pieces of lemon grass, bruised
• 1/2 cup green bell peppers, cut into 3/4 inch dice
• 1 cup red bell peppers, cut into 3/4 inch dice
• 1 cup yellow onion, cut into 3/4 inch dice
• 1 8 oz. can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
• 3 lime leaves, torn
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tbsp. palm sugar
• 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 green onion, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup cilantro, rough chop
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 tsp. salt or to taste

Instructions

Place green onion, cilantro, and a 1/4 cup of water in a blender and blend until smoothly pureed and set aside.

When you open a can of coconut milk, there will be a thick layer of coconut cream on the top of the can. Scrape it out and place it in a wide mouth saucepan.

Save the rest of the coconut milk. We’ll be coming back to it later. Cook the coconut cream over medium-high heat for around 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Continue this process until the coconut milk bubbles and is reduced and coconut oil starts to separate from the coconut milk. If the oil doesn’t separate after it has been reduced , it’s okay to proceed with the recipe.

Add the curry paste, lemon grass, and sauté, stirring constantly for about a minute or two until aromatic. Add chicken to the pan and stir to mix with the paste.

Add the lime leaves, remaining coconut milk, chicken stock, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Add peppers, onions, and bamboo shoots to the pan and stir. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until peppers are cooked to your liking. I like mine not too soft. Turn off the heat, then add the lime juice and cilantro/green onion puree.

Stir and taste for seasoning. Add more fish sauce or sugar if needed. Remove excess oil from the top if you like with a spoon.

Serves 6

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram.