Green Thai Chicken Coconut Curry

5 from 4 votes

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Thai food is such a delight. It is intense in flavor and tastes exotic in the best way. Green Thai Chicken Coconut Curry is sweet, creamy, spicy to taste and has the most fragrant sauce. It’s a recipe that you’ve got to try. If you love curry like I do, try my pumpkin chicken curry , or my vegetable curry !

green curry over rice in white bowls

Green Thai Chicken Curry is of our favorite dishes and we eat it at least once a month. It takes a few oddball ingredients, but I don’t mind finding and buying them because I know I’ll use them over and over again, even if they are just for this dish. The cilantro, lime, and fish sauce aren’t optional garnishes, they really make the dish and it wouldn’t taste nearly as good without them.

Table of Contents:

Why You’ll Love this Recipe:

  • Very delicious flavorful recipe!
  • Can be made to your liking of spiciness
  • Makes amazing leftovers
  • Stores well in the fridge or freezer!

The recipe is very flexible and I have some suggestions if you are curious about substituting veggies or anything else. Curry is one of those things that only improve with time. The longer it can cook the better. It’s always phenomenal the second day, so plan on left overs.

Curry pastes varies from brand to brand. Ask around for suggestions of friends, hit up the local Asian market, and when you find a good one stick with it! I recommend Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste. It tends to be little bit spicier than others but you can pick it up from Walmart or Target today. 

Ingredients:

top view of green curry in a red dutch oven with a wooden spoon
  • Oil – essential to any curry.
  • Green curry paste– the base of the flavor. Can be spicy so use as much or as little as you want.
  • Onion and garlic– adds a bitter and robust dimension of flavor
  • Chicken breast
  • Ginger – a kick of flavor
  • Coconut milk– adds a creaminess and helps bring the flavors together
  • Fish sauce– like stated above, this is not an optional ingredient. It makes the dish taste so flavorful.
  • Soy sauce– a little saltiness
  • Sugar– just a little sweetness to balance the spice
  • Potatoes– these will soften and absorb so much flavor
  • Carrots– color and crunch
  • Peas– a delicious addition
  • Cilantro– another non optional ingredient.
  • Limes– lime juice marries all the flavors together
  • Rice– you choose what kind

See recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Recipe Instructions

  1. Heat the oil and green curry paste over medium heat in a large pot.
  2. Add the onions and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes
  3. Add the raw chicken and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
  4. Stir in the ginger, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar.
  5. Add the potatoes and carrots. Allow the the curry to gently simmer, uncovered, until the mixture thickens and the vegetables are cooked through, 45 minutes to an hour. Add the peas 5 minutes before serving.
  6. Serve on top of hot rice and then sprinkle with chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice.
green curry over rice in white bowls

Frequently Asked Questions:

What makes curry spicy?

The spiciness comes from the curry paste, so if you don’t like it hot start with less. If you like a little heat add a bit more. We like a medium heat and I’ll normally do about 3 tablespoons of curry paste.

What is the difference between red curry and green curry?

Red curry is traditionally hotter and gets it’s color from using a lot of chilies. Green curry tends to be less spicy, more subtle and sweet and obviously green in color from the ingredients that are in it. 

What goes with Thai green curry chicken?

I highly recommend serving it over rice. The rice is so delicious with the sauce and completes the meal. You could also put Thai green curry chicken over rice noodles or a salad but rice is always my go-to.

close up of green curry in a red dutch oven

More Stovetop Pot Meals to Consider:

green curry over rice in white bowls
5 from 4 votes

Green Thai Chicken Coconut Curry

Thai food is such a delight. It is intense in flavor and tastes exotic in the best way. Green Thai Chicken Coconut Curry is sweet, creamy, spicy to taste and has the most fragrant sauce. It’s a recipe that you’ve got to try.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients 

  • 1/4 cup oil, (oil, peanut, coconut)
  • 2-5 Tablespoons green curry paste
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pounds chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 cans coconut milk
  • 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
  • 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 4 potatoes, cubed
  • 4 carrots, sliced
  • 1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen
  • 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 2 limes cut into wedges
  • hot cooked rice
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Instructions 

  • In a large soup pot or dutch oven heat the oil and green curry paste over medium heat. Stir to combine and cook for 3-5 minutes. You are giving the oil and curry paste a chance to marry and this is an important step.
  • Add the onions and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes over medium heat. If the mixture seems to be sticking to the bottom of the pan just add a little more oil as needed. A little sticking is ok, but you don’t want to burn it.
  • Add the raw chicken and cook until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the ginger, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir to combine.
  • Add the potatoes and carrots. Allow the the curry to gently simmer, uncovered, until the mixture thickens and the vegetables are cooked through, 45 minutes to an hour.
  • Add the peas 5 minutes before serving.
  • To serve, dish the hot curry on top of hot rice and then sprinkle with chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice, and if it needs more salt, additional fish sauce on top.

Notes

  • The cilantro, lime, and fish sauce aren’t optional garnishes, they really make the dish and it wouldn’t taste nearly as good without them.
  • Curry is one of those things that only improve with time. The longer it can cook the better. It’s always phenomenal the second day, so plan on left overs.
  • Potatoes are a great base, but feel free to add just about anything else you have on hand. Sometimes I don’t add chicken either… just skip that step and add lots more veggies.
  • Curry pastes varies from brand to brand. Ask around for suggestions of friends, hit up the local Asian market, and when you find a good one stick with it!
  • The spiciness in this dish comes from the curry paste, so if you don’t like it hot start with less. If you like a little heat add a bit more. We like a medium heat and I’ll normally do about 3 tablespoons of curry paste. It has a kick but isn’t so hot my kids won’t eat it, it would be way too hot for my Mother-in-law though…

Nutrition

Serving: 1 of 8 servings, Calories: 515kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 73mg, Sodium: 1108mg, Potassium: 1260mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 5977IU, Vitamin C: 28mg, Calcium: 66mg, Iron: 5mg
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5 from 4 votes (1 rating without comment)

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30 Comments

  1. Steffanie Dilts says:

    5 stars
    My 6-year-old wasn’t sure about the way it smelled at first, but told me he was ready to try it. Then he exclaimed, “That is the best thing I have ever *tasted*!” Delicious recipe, Melissa, as usual. I will confess I did throw in a bag of cubed hashbrowns because I didn’t have time to cut and cook potatoes, but it was simply lovely, anyway. I took your advice and did not skimp on the fish sauce, lime, cilantro, etc.