Servings: 4 Prep: 15 mins Cook: 15 min Total: 30 mins
This is my favorite Thai dish, hands down. I LOVE IT! It’s action packed! It’s fresh, brightly colored, filled with veggies, soft and scrumptious chicken, a little sweet, a good deal spicy and outrageiously aromatic. Making this at home, especially with a fresh and homemade curry powder, will cause your home to smell better than any home has ever smelled …
… ever. It’s true!
This is a thick and gloppy curry, which is fantastic on miracle cauli-rice. I do have a confession, which is a bit odd, but … I use ice cream (sorbet, actually) to make this, when I’m in a pinch and I’ve got it lying in the freezer. I use about equal parts sorbet, with coconut milk and a bit of lime juice. I do this in place of the chopped aromatics, as they’ve already been infused into the sorbet! The end result is a decidedly sweet green curry, but I LOVE it that way, and without any real impact on my blood sugars, only my tongue is the wiser (and happier!).
Any which way you look at it, if you’re at home whipping up a batch of green curry, you’re home is a happy home. Yum.
Thai Green Chicken Curry
Print RateIngredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken cut into bite sized strips (breasts and/or thighs)
- 4 each garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp fresh galangal minced (substitution = 1 tbsp. ginger)
- 1 tbsp 'Swerve' or other sugar replacement
- 1/4 cup fresh green curry paste (substitution = 2 tbsp store bought)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 small green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 large japanese eggplant cut into half moons
- 2 each small green zucchini cut into half moons
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/4 bunch cilantro washed and large stems removed
- 16 leaves thai basil hand torn (substitution = regular basil)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together your chicken, garlic, galangal, curry paste, sugar equivalent and a bit of salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Heat your largest sauté pan (or wok, if you have one!) over high heat. When the pan is hot, add your coconut oil and swirl around to coat the pan. Immediately add your green peppers with a bit of salt and pepper. Sauté for about 1 minute.
- Add your eggplant and zucchini to the pan and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Toss the three ingredients together, then let the mixture sit on the high heat and "sear" for a minute or two. Flip it around and let sit for one more minute.
- Sort of slide all the ingredients to one side of the pan, so about 2/3rds of the pan is totally empty. Evenly sprinkle your chicken in this area and allow it to sear for about 1 minute. Toss the whole pan together and allow the ingredients to cook, sear and pick up some color (caramelize, or "turn brown") from the heat of the pan. This whole process is hot, fast and smoky, while being fun and smelling AMAZING.
- After about 2 minutes, add your coconut milk. The mixture SHOULD immediately boil rapidly. Turn the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for about 4 to 8 minutes. The mixture should thicken, like a stew. Toss in the fresh cilantro and thai basil, at the last moment.
- Taste and season with a bit of salt and pepper.
- Serve!
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* Learn More: More about this recipe and nutrition …
I’m not trying to play Gotcha, but am curious why you call for 1/4 cup green curry paste or 2 Tbsp (1 oz, or 1/8 cup) store bought? Is the store bought that much more concentrated?
Also, I am shocked at the carbs in Lemongrass…
Hi Eric, I agree, it seems counter intuitive, but I’ve used both store-bought and homemade and my opinion is that you’d need about half as much of the store-bought. My thinking is store bought is cooked down, concentrated, pastuerized, manipulated, twitterpated, etc. It’s like a rock hard pack of chilies and spices. Within this one there are shallots and garlic and a lot of just good old fashioned water from the fresh ingredients. So, having used both, this was a "gut check" on my part, and one I stand behind, but there may be some weak pastes out there … I’m not sure. Regarding the lemongrass, I also struggled with this and even started a whole discussion on Facebook about it. In the end, I believe the USDA is wrong on this one and that all plants have fiber, but … I can’t prove it. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DJFoodieDotCom/posts/579452505411743">Here's the discussion. Interesting reading!</a>