I am loving cooking curries at the moment, and this week I have made a Chicken Thai Green Curry! There are so many recipes for Thai Green Curry out there! They all differ slightly in the ingredients they use and how spicy they are, and my family can never quite remember which recipe they used last time and if it was good or not!
So, I have decided to write up the recipe for my version of a Chicken Thai Green Curry. A mash up of different recipes, with the amount of spice and extra ingredients that we enjoy in our curry!
What makes this Chicken Thai Green Curry “Thai”?
Obviously, the base flavours of any Thai Green Curry come from the curry paste. I use shop-bought green curry paste, but of course you could also make your own. Although also contained in the paste, I like to jazz it up a bit more by adding extra onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander!
Next, the two things that scream Thai Green Curry for me are Lemon Grass and Kaffir Lime Leaves. In my (humble) opinion, you cannot make this curry without them! The lime leaves are amazing, just opening the jar and smelling them reminds me of a Thai Green Curry! The leaves are dried, and you can find them in the spice section in the supermarket (I got mine from Morrisons).
Finally, our Thai Green Curry has always had a tablespoon of fish sauce in it. Now, this is something I DO NOT RECOMMEND you smell, haha! It is a truly potent smell that actually makes me gag (haha, sorry, TMI). But it actually tastes good once it´s in the curry and just adds that certain je-ne-sais-quoi that I think my Chicken Thai Green Curry cannot do without!
Play Around With This Recipe
Whilst baking is a science, cooking is an art and gives you a lot more wiggle-room for substitutions and experimentation! That´s basically how most of my recipes come to be! So, feel free to use this recipe as a base and play around with the ingredients and flavours. Here are a few suggestions:
COCONUT MILK
When it comes to the coconut milk, you can use either light or full-fat coconut milk. Both will work, so you can tailor the recipe to whatever suits you best. I actually find that using light coconut milk makes this Thai Green Curry in no way less creamy, so that´s what I usually tend to use.
TO CHICKEN OR NOT TO CHICKEN?
When it comes to the chicken, different parts of the chicken will make a difference in flavour. Whilst chicken breasts are leaner and make a “healthier” version of this curry, chicken thighs have a lot more flavour and are usually my cut-of-choice.
Of course, for a vegetarian version, you can simply leave out the chicken and replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock. Easy peasy. If you don´t use chicken, you might want to add a few more vegetables to the curry to bulk it up (see next).
VEGETABLES
When it come to veggies, for me, the most “traditional” green veg you´d find in a Thai Green Curry are mangetout or sugar snap peas. Of course, you could also substitute those for some (frozen) green beans.
I also quite like adding bamboo shoots to my Thai Green Curry. I love those, but unfortunately couldn´t find them in the shops when I was making this.
However, you can pretty much add any vegetable you like to this curry (preferably green though)! Especially if you are making this recipe veggie and are leaving out the chicken, you might want to add more vegetables to create some bulk. You could add some sliced courgettes, garden peas or some broccoli florets. The choice is yours!
Turning up or toning down the Spice
Everybody likes different levels of spiciness, and my family is no different. Whilst my dad and I enjoy a bit of heat, my mum and especially my sister cannot handle it at all – haha! Even when a curry is mild at best (according to my dad and I), my sister will empty half a tub of yoghurt on top so that she can eat it…
The main source of heat in this Thai Green Curry is the curry paste. Depending on what type you use (which brand or maybe even homemade), it will have varying degrees of spice. For this recipe below, I used 2 tbsp of Morrisons´ own-brand green curry paste. For me, that was a nice amount of spice, maybe I could have even done with a little more.
If you want a milder curry, start by adding one tablespoon and work your way up or down from there.
You can also add more or less of the green chilli to alter the spice-level of this curry.
When dealing with spice, it´s always good to bear in mind that dishes get hotter as the spice develops over time. So, if you are reheating leftovers the next day or have frozen some of the curry, it might be a little hotter than before.
What Can You Do If The Curry Is Too Spicy?
If the Thai Green Curry is far too hot for your liking and has past the point where you think you will enjoy eating it, you can always “save it” by adding some brown sugar. This will counterbalance the spice and make the dish milder again. Start with 1tsp of sugar, taste, and then add in more, a teasopoon at a time until it reaches the right heat for you (Or should I say until it heats the spot? Haha, very bad joke I am sorry).
What Could You Serve Your Thai Green Curry With?
The best way to serve any curry, is on a bed of freshly boiled, fluffy white basmati rice! Check out my cooking basics post to find out how to cook rice perfectly!
For a healthier option, you could also serve this with cauliflower rice. I often buy this microwave-from-frozen cauliflower rice from Morrisons, which I can highly recommend.
To serve, sprinkle over some freshly chopped coriander (if you like coriander, of course) and an extra squeeze of lime juice.
Also, I really love to have some naan bread with this Thai Green Curry. I know, naan breads are more commonly served with Indian curries… But I don´t really care – I love naan bread so I have it with this Thai curry, too! You can use shop-bought naans or make you can make your own: My 2-Ingredient Naan Breads are really quick and easy to make and are also great for freezing!
Another Great Freezer-Friendly Recipe for Meal Prep!
This Chicken Thai Green Curry is another one of my freezer-friendly recipes! You can even freeze it with the rice! I like to take a Tupperware and half of it with rice, the other half with some of this curry! Stick it in the freezer and you have a super speedy dinner option for a night where you cannot be bothered to cook! Simply defrost and microwave it for a few minutes and you are good to go!
If you are looking for more freezer-friendly curry recipes, why not check out my Creamy Chicken and Coconut Curry (Keto), my Red Lentil Dhal or my favourite Chicken, Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry?
Chicken Thai Green Curry with Mangetout and Rice
Recipe
Ingredients (serves 4):
- Olive oil
- 750g chicken thighs, bones removed and cut into chunks (about 500g once bones removed)
- 1 medium white onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
- 1-2 green chilli peppers, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
- ½ tbsp plain flour
- 400ml (1 can) coconut milk (light or full-fat)
- 1 chicken stock cube (dissolved in 300ml boiling water)
- 2-3 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 stick lemongrass, end bashed
- ½ tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tbsp brown sugar (optional)
- Juice of 1 lime
- Freshly chopped coriander, to serve (optional)
Method:
- Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the diced chicken thighs and cook over a high heat until it starts to brown. At this stage, you are just wanting some colour on the chicken, it doesn´t have to be completely cooked yet. Don´t add so much chicken to the pan at once that it starts to boil rather than fry and crisp up. You might need to do this in two batches if your frying pan isn´t big enough.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the pan, leaving the juices behind. Put the chicken into a bowl and set aside for now.
- Turn down the heat, and add the onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli to the chicken juices in the pan (if there isn´t a lot you can add a little more oil). Fry for a few minutes until the onions start to soften.
- Add in the curry paste and stir until the onion mix is fully coated in the paste. Cook for about 2 minutes to cook out the rawness of the spice, before stirring in the flour.
- Dissolve the chicken stock cube in 300ml of boiling water, then add the stock to the pan alongside the coconut milk. Bash the end of the stick of lemongrass with a rolling pin (this will help release the flavour) and add it to the pan, followed by the lime leaves and fish sauce.
- Stir, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for about 5-10 minutes to reduce. Once the curry has started to thicken, stir in the chicken you set aside earlier and cook for 5 more minutes.
- At this stage, it is good to taste the curry and season with salt and pepper. If the curry is too hot for your liking, you can add some brown sugar to balance out the spice.
- Finally, add the mangetout and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more!
- Remove the lemon grass and lime leaves, then squeeze in the juice of a lime before serving.
- Serve with some freshly cooked white basmati rice (find tips for cooking rice here), scatter with some fresh chopped coriander, and why not try out these 2-Ingredient Naan Breads, too?
