Thai Green Curry

Where This Goes Wrong

Full-fat coconut milk only. Light coconut milk cannot crack and the curry will taste thin.

Fry the paste properly — three minutes, not thirty seconds. This is where the flavour is made.

Thai basil is not Italian basil; its anise note is central. If unavailable, use extra lime leaves.

How to Make Thai Green Curry

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1. Open the tin of coconut milk without shaking it and spoon the thick cream from the top into a wok. Reserve the thin milk below.

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2. Heat the thick cream over medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring, until it splits and clear coconut oil pools at the edges.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

3. Add the curry paste and fry it in that oil for 3 to 4 minutes, pressing and stirring, until intensely fragrant and darkened.

   Mark done Start 3 min timer

4. Add the chicken and stir to coat, cooking 3 minutes until sealed.

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5. Pour in the reserved thin coconut milk and the coconut cream, add the lime leaves, and bring to a gentle simmer.

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6. Add the aubergine and bamboo shoots and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until the aubergine is tender.

   Mark done Start 10 min timer

7. Season with the fish sauce and palm sugar, tasting as you go — it should be salty, then sweet, with heat behind it.

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8. Take off the heat and stir in most of the Thai basil, the sliced chillies and the lime juice.

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9. Serve with jasmine rice, scattered with the remaining basil.

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Related guide: Choosing rice.

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After You've Cooked It

Refrigerate 3 days, freeze 2 months. Add fresh basil and lime on reheating to revive the aromatics.

Swaps and Variations

• If coconut is a problem, a cooking cream (dairy or plant-based) can stand in for the coconut milk in a sauce; the dish will lose the coconut flavour and taste noticeably different.
• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.

Good With

• A cold lager or an off-dry Riesling
• Serve with jasmine rice and a cucumber salad
• Finish with fresh mango

Thai Green Curry Nutrition

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: a cooked weight is worked out with raw figures, so those lines run high; part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.