Green Curry Chicken – Thai Style

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.

If red curry is the high school homecoming queen, then green curry is kind of like red curry’s shy best friend. Just as good (maybe better), but a little on the mellower side. I’ll stop anthropomorphizing food now.

I love this green curry chicken, because it’s one of those useful fridge-cleaning recipes. I’ll let you in on a secret. I decided to blog this recipe kind of last minute, and 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.

You’ll need:

• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil (divided)
• 2 lbs chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• one 4 oz. can green curry paste
• 5 cups mixed vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, zucchini, bamboo shoots and/or red bell peppers
• 1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk (about 1 2/3 cups)
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• 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 (preferably Thai basil, but any basil will do in a pinch)
• steamed jasmine rice, to serve
• coriander leaves, to garnish (optional)

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.

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. 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.

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Easy Green Curry Chicken

This green curry chicken recipe is amazingly easy––simple enough for dinner any night of the week.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Chicken and Poultry

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: green curry

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 504kcal

Author: Sarah

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.

Notes

Nutrition info does not include rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 515mg | Potassium: 650mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 8135IU | Vitamin C: 14.7mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 4mg