Green curry paste fried in the thick cream from a can of coconut milk until it smells like a Bangkok street stall, then simmered with chicken thighs, eggplant, green beans and red pepper, and finished with basil and lime. Rich, fragrant and gently spicy, over cauliflower rice.
- Time
- 40 min (15 prep + 25 cook)
- Servings
- 4
- Per serving
- 550 kcal
- Protein
- 35 g
Ingredients
- 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk, full-fat, not shaken
- 4 tbsp thai curry paste, green; choose one with no added sugar or soy
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised and cut in 5 cm (2-inch) pieces
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 1/3 lb chicken thigh, sliced in bite-size pieces
- 1 medium eggplant, cut in 2 cm (3/4-inch) cubes
- 2 cups green beans, trimmed and halved
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
To serve
- 6 cups cauliflower rice, fresh or frozen
- a pinch salt
- 1/2 cup leaves fresh basil, Thai basil if you can find it
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Steps
- Without shaking the can, spoon the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk into a large pot over medium heat. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes, stirring, until it starts to look oily at the edges. Add the curry paste, garlic and ginger and fry for 2 minutes, stirring, until very fragrant and a little darker.
- Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and the broth, stir to dissolve the paste, then add the lemongrass, fish sauce and honey. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the chicken and simmer gently for 7 minutes, with small bubbles rather than a rolling boil.
- Add the eggplant, green beans and red pepper and simmer for 8–10 minutes, until the eggplant is soft and the chicken reaches 165°F.
- While the curry finishes, cook the cauliflower rice with the pinch of salt in a large dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, for 5–6 minutes, uncovered, until hot and the steam has gone.
- Take the curry off the heat and lift out the lemongrass. Stir in the basil and lime juice, then taste and adjust with a little more fish sauce for salt or honey if it needs roundness. Serve over the cauliflower rice. It keeps 4 days in the fridge and tastes even better on the second day; reheat gently. Without the cauliflower rice it freezes 3 months.
Good to know
How hot is it?
With 4 tablespoons of a jar paste it has a medium warmth. Thai brands vary widely, so use 2 tablespoons if you are cooking for children, or 6 for a proper Bangkok heat. Most Thai pastes are just chilies, herbs, salt and shrimp paste, but read the label for sugar or soy.
Should I use light coconut milk?
You can, at about 76 instead of 60, but it is thinner and less fragrant, so simmer it a few minutes longer. The first step works only with full-fat milk, so fry the paste in a teaspoon of avocado oil instead.
Can I add makrut lime leaves?
Yes, if you can find them. Tear 4–6 leaves and add them with the broth; they give the curry its unmistakable citrus perfume.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 91
- Protein
- (26%)
- 6 g
- Fat
- (57%)
- 6 g
- Carbohydrates
- (17%)
- 5 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 210 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2199 kcal goes into the pot and 2630 g of ingredients comes out as about 2425 g of food: 91 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.