Green Curry Chicken

Love eating Thai Green Curry Chicken at your favorite Thai restaurant? Just wait until you make it at home dear!

This Thai Green Curry Chicken is creamy, cozy, and full of that bold Thai flavor you crave, with tender chicken, coconut milk, green curry paste, Thai basil, eggplant, and just enough sweetness and fish sauce to make you sigh with delight after your first bite.

And the best part? It’s easier, cheaper, and even better than takeout once you know a few little Thai curry tricks!

What Is Green Curry Chicken

Green Curry Chicken is a classic Thai coconut curry made with green curry paste, coconut milk, chicken, Thai basil, fish sauce, palm sugar, and vegetables like Thai eggplant, peas, or pea eggplants.

In Thai, it’s called Gaeng Keow Wan Gai, which means sweet green curry with chicken. In this name, keow wan describes the curry’s soft, creamy green color, not a sugary-sweet flavor.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Authentic Thai flavor taught to you by a Thai cooking class instructor
• Easy enough for a weeknight, but special enough for guests
• Flexible with chicken, pork, eggplant, peas, or whatever veggies you can find
• Tastes even better the next day after all those herbs and spices have had time to mingle!

Green Curry Chicken Ingredients You’ll Need

• 2 tbsp cooking oil of your choice, I like coconut oil – Coconut oil highlights the coconut flavor, but use whatever neutral cooking oil you have on hand. It helps fry the coconut cream and curry paste so all that flavor blooms.
• 1 lb chicken breast or chicken thighs, thinly sliced – Thin slices cook quickly and soak up all that green curry flavor. Chicken thighs will stay a little juicier, but either works
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce, optional – Marinating the chicken in oyster sauce helps tenderize it and adds an extra savory layer of flavor.
• 3–4 tbsp Thai green curry paste – Start with less if you’re spice-sensitive and add more if you love heat. Mae Ploy or Maesri are great pastes, try to avoid Thai Kitchen curry paste since it doesn’t have much depth of flavorf.
• 1 can coconut milk, 13.5 oz – Chao Koh is my favorite! Try not to shake the can because you want that thick coconut cream to stay on top.
• ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro – Blending this into the coconut milk gives your curry even more fresh green color and herby flavor.
• 1 cup fresh Thai basil, divided – Use ½ cup blended into the coconut milk and the remaining ½ cup at the end. Thai basil adds that sweet, peppery flavor and gorgeous green color.
• 6 fresh makrut lime leaves, divided – Blend 3 into the coconut milk and tear the remaining 3 into the curry later for layers of that dreamy citrusy Thai aroma.
• 1 cup chicken broth or water – Loosens the curry so it’s perfectly spoonable over jasmine rice.
• 2–3 tbsp fish sauce , to taste – The salty, savory magic that brings the curry to life.
• 1–2 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar, to taste – Balances the heat, salt, and coconut milk.
• 1 cup frozen or fresh shelled peas, or small pea eggplants – Pea eggplants are traditional and fun if you can find them, but peas are a great grocery-store-friendly option.
• 1 lb small Thai eggplants,, cut into quarters, or 1 regular eggplant cut into bite-sized pieces – Thai eggplants give the curry that classic texture, but regular eggplant works too.
• ½ fresh red pepper, thinly sliced, or 1 fresh red Thai chili, julienned, optional – I love the bright pop of red against the green curry! Use a red bell pepper for color without extra heat, or a Thai chili if you want it spicy.

How to Make Green Curry Chicken

Step 1: Marinate the Chicken and Make the Green Herb Coconut Milk

Optional, but what I always do: Toss 1 lb thinly sliced chicken breast or thighs with 2 tbsp oyster sauce and let it marinate while you prep the curry. This helps tenderize the chicken and adds extra savory flavor.

Without shaking the 1 can coconut milk, scoop the thick coconut cream from the top into a small bowl and set aside.

Pour the remaining coconut milk, about 1 cup, into a blender. Add ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro, ½ cup Thai basil, and 3 makrut lime leaves. Blend until smooth.

Step 2: Fry the Coconut Cream

Add 2 tbsp coconut oil to a large pot over medium heat.

Add the reserved thick coconut cream and cook until it reduces and starts to look bubbly and glossy, almost like melted marshmallows.

Step 3: Fry the Green Curry Paste and Chicken

Add 3–4 tbsp Thai green curry paste to the coconut cream.

Fry for a few minutes, stirring often, until it smells so fragrant it soothes your soul and makes you smile. This step wakes up all those amazing curry paste flavors, so don’t skip it!

Add the 1 lb thinly sliced chicken and stir until every piece is coated in the curry paste.

Step 4: Add the Green Coconut Milk and Seasonings

Pour into the pot the blended coconut milk, cilantro, Thai basil, and makrut lime mixture.

Add 1 cup chicken broth or water, 2–3 tbsp fish sauce, and 1–2 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar.

Stir everything together and bring to a gentle boil.

Step 5: Simmer the Chicken

If you somehow found 1 cup pea eggplants, add them now too. Yay for you if you did!

If you’re using fresh or frozen peas instead, wait to add them so they don’t disintegrate. Lesson learned!

Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Step 6: Add the Eggplant, Peas, and Makrut Lime Leaves

Add 1 lb quartered Thai eggplants, 1 cup fresh or frozen peas if using, and the remaining 3 makrut lime leaves, torn into pieces.

Gently push the eggplant down into the curry at first so it’s mostly covered. This helps it cook evenly and prevents it from browning.

Simmer until the eggplant is tender enough to easily pierce with a fork. Turn off the heat as soon as it’s tender so it doesn’t overcook and turn mushy.

Step 7: Taste and Adjust

Taste your curry and adjust as needed.

Add another splash of fish sauce if it needs more salty-savory flavor, a little palm sugar if it needs sweetness, or more curry paste next time if you want more heat.

You’re looking for that Thai balance of creamy, salty, gently sweet, herbal, and spicy.

Step 8: Add the Thai Basil and Red Pepper

Stir in the remaining ½ cup fresh Thai basil and ½ fresh red pepper, thinly sliced, or a julienned Thai red chili if you want extra heat. If you haven’t already, turn off the heat and let the residual heat wilt the basil and soften the red pepper some.

Step 9: Serve

Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.

Spoon that creamy, fragrant green curry over the rice and enjoy!

Additions and Substitutions

• Chicken substitute: Pork, beef, shrimp, tofu, or mixed vegetables
• Thai eggplant substitute: Purple eggplant, Asian eggplant, zucchini, bamboo shoots, green beans, or bell peppers
• Pea eggplant substitute: Frozen peas or fresh shelled peas
• Thai basil substitute: Italian basil or holy basil
• Kaffir lime leaves substitute: Lime zest, or leave them out if needed
• Palm sugar substitute: Brown sugar or coconut sugar
• Coconut milk substitute: Heavy cream, or milk of choice
• Green curry paste substitute: Another kind of curry paste like red curry. The flavor will be less fresh/herbal.

Tips for the Best Green Curry Chicken

• Don’t shake the coconut milk cans. You want the thick coconut cream to stay on top so you can scoop it out and fry the curry paste in it.
• Start with less curry paste if you’re nervous. Thai green curry paste can be spicy! Start with 3 tablespoons, then add more at the end if needed.
• Don’t add peas too early. If you add peas at the beginning, they can get too soft and sad. Add them later so they stay pretty and sweet.
• Make it ahead if you can. Thai curries often taste even better the next day because all the herbs, curry paste, coconut milk, and fish sauce get to know each other overnight.

Behind the Green Curry Chicken Recipe

I have a confession to make.

We rarely make Green Curry Chicken at my house.

Crazy right?

You would think someone who loves cooking Thai food would make it at least once a month. And I do love it! Many Americans adore green curry. Many Thais adore green curry. I adore green curry.

But my Thai Hubby?

Not so much.

One thing I love about Thai food is how regional it is. Especially when Thai Hubby was growing up and more in the countryside, people ate much more of what was available and popular in their part of Thailand.

Thai Hubby grew up in Sukhothai, in northern Thailand, far from the coconut-growing regions of the south. Coconut curries weren’t as common in his home town as they are in the south. Coconut milk was something he associated much more with special desserts than savory dinners.

So even now, his brain still says: coconut milk = dessert.

We sometimes assume every Thai person loves every Thai dish, but of course that’s not true! Just like not every American loves hamburgers, not every Thai person is dreaming about coconut curry for dinner.

But we finally ended our green curry fast years ago when we planned to make Thai food for friends who love green curry.

After not eating it for so long, our taste buds were already getting excited on Thursday, and dinner wasn’t even until Saturday.

Then Saturday arrived, and our friends got sick, and weren’t able to make it.

But I had already bought fresh Thai eggplant and Thai basil, which meant Green Curry Chicken still had to happen.

And it was going to be all for Thai Hubby and me!

Since I hadn’t made it in a while, I was a little rusty. I threw in so much chicken that when Thai Hubby lifted the lid and peeked into the pot, he said, “Um, isn’t that a little dry?”

I agreed, so I added more broth, more green curry paste, fish sauce, and palm sugar until everything came back into balance.

Thai Hubby took a sip from his spoon.

“So good!”

And just like that, our green curry fast was officially over.

Maybe Green Curry Chicken will never be Thai Hubby’s first pick, but I’ll take a “So good!” from my coconut-curry-resistant Thai Hubby any day.

Are you like Thai Hubby? What’s a food from your own culture that everyone seems to love except you?

Green Curry Chicken Frequently Asked Questions

Want more cozy Thai curry recipes?

• Green Curry Spaghetti – A fun Thai fusion dinner with creamy green curry, chicken, veggies, and spaghetti noodles.
• Thai Red Curry with Salmon – Creamy, bold, and weeknight-friendly with tender salmon and rich red curry flavor.
• Chicken Massaman Curry – A warm, comforting Thai curry with tender chicken, potatoes, peanuts, and cozy spices.
• Green Curry Fried Rice – All those spicy, savory green curry flavors intensified in an easy fried rice dinner.
• Homemade Panang Curry Paste – A rich, fragrant homemade curry paste packed with chilies, Thai herbs, warm spices, and peanuts.

Let’s stay in touch dear!

And if you want to learn how to make it in person, come join one of my Thai cooking classes in Boone, NC!

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If you make it, I want to see! Take a pic and tag me on Instagram @thaifoodie!

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