30-Minute Thai Green Curry

An easy authentic recipe for Thai Green Curry with eggplant and your choice of tofu, chicken or shrimp.  A fast and easy weeknight dinner that can be made in 30 minutes!  Use store-bought green curry paste or make your own homemade green curry paste. Video.

This delicious and authentic recipe for Thai Green Curry is one of my favorites- keep it simple with store-bought green curry paste  or for a fun authentic experience, make your own homemade green curry paste from scratch- either way, you’ll love it!

What I love about this Thai Green Curry recipe is how versatile it is. You can make it totally plant-based, loaded up with veggies and tofu, or add chicken or shrimp. The secret is the flavorful base- the green curry sauce! And today I’d walk you through how to make this super flavorful!

Thai Green Curry Video

Ingredients Notes!

• Shallot– Shallot offers much more flavor here than onion.
• Green curry paste (see notes for my favorite brand) or make your own! 
• Coconut milk– use full fat for the best results. Lite coconut milk will be runny.
• Protein: extra-firm tofu,  chicken breast, or shrimp
• Fish sauce ( or vegan fish sauce) adds so much flavor here!
• Eggplant: Thai eggplant or Japanese eggplant work nicely here- or sub regular globe eggplant in a pinch.
• Kaffir lime leaves – find these at Asian Market– can be fresh or frozen. I always purchase extra and store in the freezer.
• Thai basil ( or sub-regular basil- but THAI Basil Elevates)

Favorite Green Curry Paste

• My favorite store-bought brands are Maesri Green Curry Paste  (in a can) and Mae Ploy Green Curry Paste – available at most Asian Markets. Maesri and Mae Ploy can be quite spicy so start off with 3-4 tablespoons, until you are familiar with their spice level. You can always add a little more in the end. These both contain shrimp paste so not vegan.
• This Mekhala brand is vegan and organic- but flavorwise, you can’t beat the Maesri.
• Or make our Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste from scratch

3 Expert Tips:

• Start with a flavorful Green Curry Paste, and make sure to stir-fry it first to release the flavors.
• Add kaffir lime leaves to the broth
• Garnish with Thai Basil leaves

How to make Thai Green Curry

Step one:

Stir Fry the curry paste: Whether you are using homemade curry paste or store-bought green curry paste, one way to bring out the flavor is to stirfry the green curry paste in a little oil first, before adding any liquid or coconut milk. This will intensify the flavor and add a delicious depth.

Here I’ve used the homemade curry paste from the previous post, which honestly takes only a few minutes to make once you have the ingredients. But it requires a trip to the Asian Market.

Which I know is not convenient for everyone, and trust me, I actually do stock store-bought green curry paste in my pantry and have no problem using it. (This is my favorite brand.)

If using store-bought curry paste- saute a shallot first, then add the paste.

Step Two

Add the broth or stock and all prepped veggies. Add the kaffir lime leaves– optional but elevates.

Thinly sliced eggplant, bell pepper, and tofu right into the curry sauce to simmer. I usually just put them in raw, like they do in Thailand. Of course, you can add other quick-cooking veggies, like snow peas, zucchini, or mushrooms etc.

Other veggies to add to Thai Green Curry

• peas or snow peas
• asparagus
• baby spinach
• green beans
• mushrooms
• zucchini or summer squash

Step three

Simmer/ steam the veggies (covered) in the broth until tender. Cutting them small ensures faster cooking time. Check after a few minutes.

Step four

Prep the tofu (or chicken or shrimp). Cut the tofu into 3/4-inch cubes- and wait to add with the coconut milk.

If substituting chicken for the tofu -slice the chicken breast into very thin small strips  (1/4 inch thick) that way it will cook very quickly – and add the chicken to the broth with the veggies. 

If adding shrimp, wait to add with the coconut milk.

Step five

Once the veggies are just tender add the coconut milk.

Taste and season the green curry sauce with fish sauce, salt and sugar (or honey) and a squeeze of lime. Find the balance. Remember you’ll be serving this over rice, so you’ll want this quite flavorful.

Add the tofu or shrimp and just gently simmer until tofu is warmed through and or shrimp curl up a bit and turn pink.

Don’t over boil the coconut milk or you’ll lose the lovely sweetness. 

Step five

Garnish with Thai basil ( which adds the BEST flavor! ).

TIP: Thai basil is one herb I always try to plant in a pot (usually found at farmers’ markets) because you can’t always find it at the regular grocery store – it is mostly found in Asian markets.

How to serve Thai Green Curry

Serve the flavorful Thai Green Curry over rice, garnish with Thai Basil and a lime wedge.  Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in the fridge.

More Thai Recipes you may like

• Authentic Green Curry Paste
• Thai Red Curry Paste
• Thai Green Curry Noodle Soup
• Thai Pineapple Curry
• 15 MINUTE THAI COCONUT CURRY NOODLE SOUP (KHAO SOI)
• Easy to Make Pad Thai w/ Chicken, Shrimp or Tofu
• Thai Fish Curry
• Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)
• Instant Pot Thai Curry Chicken
• 20 Delicious Easy Thai Recipes!

Thai Green Curry Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 22 reviews

• Author: Sylvia Fountaine| Feasting at Home
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x
• Category: Main, vegetarian main
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Thai
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

An easy authentic recipe for Thai Green Curry with eggplant and your choice of tofu, chicken or shrimp.  A fast and easy weeknight dinner that can be made in 30 minutes!  Use store-bought green curry paste or make your own homemade green curry paste.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1/2x1x2x

• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
• 2–4 Tablespoons store-bought green curry paste (see notes) or 1/2 cup homemade green curry paste
• 1 cup veggie or chicken broth
• 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cubed ( not silken) or chicken breast (thinly sliced- see notes) or shrimp ( raw, peeled and de-veined)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce ( or vegan fish sauce)
• 1 Japanese eggplant, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 6–8 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup fresh Thai Basil leaves, torn (or sub regular basil)
• additional lime wedges for garnish

Other additions or substitutions:  snow peas, asparagus, green beans, zucchini, mushrooms, fresh chopped spinach leaves

Serve over rice or black rice

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Instructions

1. Set the rice to cook if using.
2. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven over medium heat, and saute the shallot. Turn your fan on, and stir-fry green curry paste for 2-3 minutes. Add the broth or stock and scrape up all those delicious browned bits. Add the kaffir lime leaves, and veggies, bring to simmer and cover. (Feel free to add chicken now if using.)
3. Once veggies are just tender ( 3-5 minutes) stir in the coconut milk,  salt, sugar and fish sauce.
4. Add the tofu ( or shrimp) and bring to a gentle simmer, simmering uncovered until tofu is warmed through (and shrimp is cooked- pink and curled) Try to prevent this from coming to a hard boil – a gentle simmer will help preserve the coconut’s sweetness.
5. Add a squeeze of lime and taste, adding more lime if needed. If you need more sweetness, add more sugar.  More depth, add salt or fish sauce. Find your balance. 😉
6. TIP: Remember you will be serving this over rice, which will mellow out the intensity of flavor- so I like to keep this on the slightly salty/flavorful side.
7. Add the fresh basil leaves and serve with lime wedges over rice.

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Notes

If using store-bought green curry – keep in mind- all brands vary in heat and salt levels. You may not need as much salt and perhaps less fish sauce- so add both to taste.  Bump up the flavor with sauteed chopped shallots (saute first, then stir fry with the curry paste) and add kefir lime leaves and a few slices of galangal to the curry sauce. My favorite brands are Maesri (in a can) and Mae Ploy – available at most Asian Markets. Maesri and Mae Ploy can be quite spicy so start off with 3-4 tablespoons, until you are familiar with their spice level. You can always add a little more in the end.

If substituting chicken for the tofu, thinly slice it (1/4 inch thick slices) and add it directly to the stock or broth or feel free to poach it separately in salted water or broth for just a few minutes before adding to the curry sauce.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: -calculated without the rice
• Calories: 279
• Sugar: 6 g
• Sodium: 1648.1 mg
• Fat: 21.9 g
• Saturated Fat: 12.1 g
• Carbohydrates: 14 g
• Fiber: 3.6 g
• Protein: 8.6 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg