Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan)

About This Recipe

Thai green curry (Gaeng Keow Wan — literally 'sweet green curry') is the most fragrant of Thailand's curry family. The green colour comes from fresh green chillies, Thai basil and kaffir lime leaves. Unlike Indian curries, Thai curries use coconut milk as the base and are cooked quickly at high heat.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 600 gchicken thighs(boneless, sliced)
• 400 mlcoconut milk(full-fat)
• 200 mlchicken stock
• 3–4 tbspgreen curry paste(store-bought or homemade)
• 150 gThai aubergines(or baby aubergines, quartered)
• 100 gbamboo shoots(sliced)
• 2 tbspfish sauce
• 1 tbsppalm sugar or brown sugar
• 6kaffir lime leaves(torn)
• Large handfulThai basil leaves
• 2red chillies(sliced, to garnish)
• 2 tbspcoconut oil or vegetable oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Fry the curry paste

   Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add green curry paste and fry, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until fragrant and darkened. This blooms the aromatics in the paste.

   Frying the paste in oil before adding liquid is the key technique that unlocks depth of flavour.

2. 2

   Add coconut cream

   Add just the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk can. Stir-fry with the paste for 3 minutes, breaking the cream, until oil separates — this is 'cracking the coconut cream'.

3. 3

   Add chicken

   Add chicken pieces. Stir to coat in the paste and coconut cream. Cook 3–4 minutes.

4. 4

   Add liquids and vegetables

   Add remaining coconut milk, stock, aubergines, bamboo shoots and kaffir lime leaves. Simmer 10–12 minutes until chicken is cooked and aubergines are tender.

5. 5

   Season and finish

   Season with fish sauce (for saltiness and umami) and palm sugar (for balance). Taste — it should be spicy, fragrant, slightly sweet and salty. Finish with Thai basil leaves.

Variations

• •

  Vegetarian: replace chicken with tofu and vegetables. Use soy sauce instead of fish sauce.

• •

  Prawn green curry: add large prawns in the last 3 minutes — they cook quickly.

Storage

Keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat gently — do not boil or the coconut milk splits.

Frequently Asked Questions