This Thai green curry chicken is not only restaurant-worthy and so delicious, it’s easy enough to make any night of the week. The ultimate one-pot meal, with a variety of colorful veggies and protein, it’s also super nutritious!
Ever since I posted my easy red curry recipe (still one of my favorite things to make on a busy weeknight…when all I want to do is sit on the couch in my pajamas with a big bowl of something over rice), I’ve been itching to make a Thai green curry chicken recipe as well.
It’s just as flavorful, with a spice-packed 4 ounces of green curry paste, but a bit more brothy and fragrant.
Use Whatever Veggies You Have on Hand
I love this green curry chicken, because it’s one of those useful fridge-cleaning recipes. I’ll let you in on a secret. When I first blogged this Thai green curry, it was a last minute decision.
I’d planned on going out to the grocery store to buy ingredients. But…lo and behold, I realized that I already had chicken thighs in the freezer and cans of green curry paste, bamboo shoots, and coconut milk in the pantry.
I dug through the fridge and found a couple of carrots, a lone crown of broccoli, and a couple of zucchini. I quickly realized that I didn’t have to go out and buy ingredients at all––I could cobble something together with what I already had. This green curry chicken recipe is forgiving like that.
You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand, and it’ll taste amazing no matter what. Recently, I decided to re-photograph and tweak the recipe, and I used a slightly different set of veggies: red bell pepper, green beans, mushrooms, onions, and bamboo. Use whatever you and your family like/have on hand.
(Looking for the old version of the recipe from 2016? Scroll down to the end of the post!)
Here’s a quick guide on how to prepare each vegetable:
- green beans (trimmed and cut in half crosswise)
- bell pepper (thinly sliced)
- bamboo shoots (julienned)
- carrots (thinly sliced)
- Mushrooms (sliced or torn)
- Zucchini or yellow squash (halved lengthwise and thinly sliced)
- Broccoli (cut into small florets)
- Eggplant (cut into small pieces)
Thai Green Curry Chicken: Recipe Instructions
Add the chicken pieces to a medium bowl, along with the cornstarch, water, oyster sauce, and 1 tablespoon of oil.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Sear the chicken pieces in the skillet until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
If there are a lot of chicken bits stuck to your pan, deglaze with a little water. Then add the sliced onions and cook until translucent. Add the curry paste. Cook for 5 minutes.
A Note on Green Curry Paste:
We’re using a generous helping of paste in this recipe, because we like our green curry super pungent and yes, spicy. If you’re more spice averse and want a milder version, start with half that amount and then taste. You can always add but you can’t take away!
Add the vegetables, and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, and the seared chicken pieces. Bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 8 minutes. After the curry has finished simmering, stir in the sugar, fish sauce, and basil. Serve with steamed rice.
People will fault me for this, because that’s Italian basil in that there pot. But I couldn’t get myself to the Asian grocery store for the Thai basil, and honestly, Italian basil is okay if you can’t find Thai basil!
It might not be the authentic thing to use, but when my choices are: “green curry with Italian basil” and “no green curry,” I will ALWAYS pick the first choice.
And you’re done! Serve all that green curry chicken with steamed rice, garnished with cilantro if desired.
As you can see, green curry is definitely a wetter dish than red curry. It’s almost soupy. This is what I’ve found to be true when I’ve had it at Thai restaurants, and I love it. Soaking up all that sauce with freshly steamed jasmine rice is the best.
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Recipe
Easy Green Curry Chicken
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast (thinly sliced)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola, vegetable, or avocado oil, divided)
- 1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
- 4 ounces green curry paste (or 2 ounces for milder curry)
- 5 cups mixed vegetables (such as green beans, bell pepper, bamboo shoots, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, and/or eggplant)
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk (1 can—about 1 2/3 cups)
- 1¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ cup basil leaves (Thai basil or sweet basil)
- steamed jasmine rice (to serve)
Instructions
- Add the chicken pieces to a medium bowl, along with the cornstarch, water, oyster sauce, and 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Sear the chicken pieces in the skillet until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- If there are a lot of chicken bits stuck to your pan, deglaze with a little water. Then add the sliced onions and cook until translucent. Add the curry paste and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the vegetables and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, and the seared chicken pieces. Bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 8 minutes. After the curry has finished simmering, stir in the sugar, fish sauce, and basil. Serve with steamed rice.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Facts
Old Version of recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola or vegetable oil, divided)
- 2 lbs chicken thighs (900g, cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
- 4 ounces green curry paste (115g)
- 5 cups mixed vegetables (such as broccoli, carrots, zucchini, bamboo shoots and/or red bell peppers)
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk (about 1 2/3 cups)
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock (355 ml)
- 5 kaffir lime leaves (lightly bruised, optional)
- 1 teaspoon chili oil (or 1 red chili, de-seeded and chopped, optional)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 cup basil leaves
- steamed jasmine rice (to serve)
- cilantro (to garnish, optional)
Instructions:
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. Toss the chicken pieces in 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon oil until well-combined. Sear the chicken pieces in the skillet until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
If there are a lot of chicken bits stuck to your pan, deglaze with a ¼ cup of water. Then add the sliced onions to the skillet and cook until translucent. Add the curry paste and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the vegetables and cook for 30 seconds. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, lime leaves (if using), chili (if using), and the seared chicken pieces. Bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. After the curry has finished simmering, stir in the fish sauce, sugar, and basil. Serve with steamed rice.
