Thai Green Chicken Curry Recipe (2024)

Thai Green Curry Paste:

• ▢ 3-6 green chillies - depending on how spicy you like it - you could reduce further to 1 or 2 and remove the seeds for less heat
• ▢ 6 spring onions (scallions) - roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 lemongrass stalks - outer leaves remove, inner stalk roughly chopped (replace with 2 tsp lemon grass paste if preferred)
• ▢ 1 thumb-sized piece ginger - peeled and roughly chopped (replace with 2 tsp ginger paste if preferred)
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic - peeled and roughly chopped
• ▢ 6 kaffir lime leaves
• ▢ zest and juice of 1 lime
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ¼ tsp white pepper
• ▢ ½ tbsp cumin
• ▢ 1 tbsp ground coriander
• ▢ 1 tsp shrimp paste - (check for gluten-free if needed)
• ▢ 2 tsp fish sauce
• ▢ 1 large bunch coriander (cilantro) - stalks too

Chicken Curry:

• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 4 chicken breasts - cut into bite-size chunks
• ▢ 4 heaped tbsp homemade Thai Green Curry Paste - (see above)
• ▢ 1 chicken stock cube - crumbled (use bouillon for gluten-free)
• ▢ 400 ml (14 oz) tin full-fat coconut milk
• ▢ 1 bunch of broccoli - broken into small florets
• ▢ 150 g (1 cup) sugar snap peas/snowpeas
• ▢ ½ cup bamboo shoots - from a tin, drained
• ▢ 1 tsp light brown sugar

To Serve:

• ▢ boiled rice
• ▢ Thai basil leaves
• ▢ freshly chopped red chillies

• Start by making the curry paste. To a high-powered blender, add the green chillies, spring onions, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, kaffir limes leaves, zest and juice of 1 lime, salt, white pepper, cumin, ground coriander, shrimp paste, and fish sauce. Pulse until fully combined.

  3-6 green chillies, 6 spring onions (scallions), 2 lemongrass stalks, 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, 4 cloves garlic, 6 kaffir lime leaves, zest and juice of 1 lime, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp white pepper, ½ tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1 tsp shrimp paste, 2 tsp fish sauce

• Add the large bunch of fresh coriander (stalks too) and pulse again until smooth. You might need to scrape down the sides a couple of times to ensure it's fully combined. Put to one side.

  1 large bunch coriander (cilantro)

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken and fry for 5-6 minutes until just cooked through. Add the curry paste you made earlier - you need about 4 heaped tbsp. Stir and cook through for 2-3 minutes.

  2 tbsp olive oil, 4 chicken breasts, 4 heaped tbsp homemade Thai Green Curry Paste

• Sprinkle on the stock cube, stir and pour in the coconut milk. Heat through until the coconut milk is very hot but not boiling.

  1 chicken stock cube, 400 ml (14 oz) tin full-fat coconut milk

• Add in the broccoli, sugar snap peas (snow peas) and bamboo shoots and stir together. Heat through for a few more minutes, stirring often until the vegetables are lightly cooked, but still crisp.

  1 bunch of broccoli, 150 g (1 cup) sugar snap peas/snowpeas, ½ cup bamboo shoots

• Stir in the sugar.

  1 tsp light brown sugar

• Serve over rice topped with Thai basil and freshly chopped red chillies.

  boiled rice, Thai basil leaves, freshly chopped red chillies

Can I make a vegetarian Thai green curry instead?

Yes! Replace the chicken with mushrooms, roasted sweet potato or quorn. Replace the fish sauce with a vegetarian fish sauce replacement Thai Taste do one). It's difficult to replace the shrimp paste, but I've heard that a good alternative is miso paste - as it's got that nice salt, umami flavour. You'll also need to replace the stock cube with a vegetarian stock cube.

Which Thai curry is the spiciest?

Green Thai curry is considered to be the spiciest - as green chillies (of the same variety) are usually hotter and sharper than red chillies.

Red Thai Curry comes next, and Yellow Thai curry is the least spicy.

Can I replace the coconut milk?

The coconut milk is quite important for a more authentic Thai flavour, but you can replace the coconut milk with 250ml (about 1 cup) of stock and 150ml (about ½ cup plus 2 tbsp) of double/heavy creamy. You may need to thicken the sauce slightly with a cornstarch slurry made of 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch, mixed with 5 tbsp of cold water. Stir it in slowly to the hot curry before serving - until you achieve the desired thickness.

Can I make a lower fat/calorie Thai green curry?

Yes, here's my low fat Thai green chicken curry that uses frylite instead of oil, a smaller amount of (half-fat) coconut milk and stock. It's still really delicious though.

Can I make Thai Green Curry ahead and freeze it?

Yes. The veggies won't be quite as crunchy, but this curry can be made ahead and reheated. Cook the curry as per the instructions, then cool quickly, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Reheat in a pan over a medium heat (don't boil rapidly or it may split) until piping hot throughout.

To freeze the curry, cook as per the instructions, cool quickly, cover and freeze. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then reheat in a pan over a medium heat (don't boil rapidly or it may split) until piping hot throughout. You may need to add a splash of coconut milk or cream as it will be of a slightly thinner consistency after freezing.

Can I refrigerate the Thai green curry paste?

Yes, any extra curry paste can be placed in a sealed container and placed in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Nutritional information is per serving (without rice).