This Thai green curry is vibrantly flavored with green curry paste cooked in creamy coconut milk then simmered with slivers of chicken, bell peppers, zucchini, and peas to make a quick and easy 30-minute meal.
Following in the great tradition of easy dinners to cook on a weeknight, this Thai green curry with chicken is a prize winner. Even better, it brings all your needed daily food groups into one bowl—with quickly cooked fresh vegetables and just one chicken breast that stretches the whole meal. Even better-er, it’s frigging delicious.
In this classic Thai dish, thinly sliced chicken breast is gently braised in a fragrant coconut milk sauce simmered with green curry paste. While green curry is considered the hottest of Thai curries, in this dish it’s mellowed by the sweetness of the coconut milk and tartness of fresh lime juice. The vegetables are added to the mix where everything lightly bubbles and flavors mingle. Served with steamed jasmine rice and topped with salty peanuts, slivers of limey red onion, and cilantro sprigs, this wholesome dinner is on the table in 30 minutes or less.
What’s In Green Curry
This green curry gets the load of it’s flavor from jarred or packaged green curry found at many markets. Look for authentic Thai green curry like Mae Ploy Green Curry or Maesri Green Curry for the best flavor.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Red bell pepper
- Green bell pepper
- Zucchini
- Frozen peas
- Long-grain white rice such as jasmine rice
- Red onion
- Limes
- Canola oil
- Thai green curry paste
- Coconut milk—use a whole-fat coconut milk like Aroy-D so the sauce doesn’t break when cooked
- Cilantro
- Fish sauce—use a high quality fish sauce like Red Boat for best flavor
- Peanuts
How to Make Green Curry
Prepare the rice and lime-infused red onion. I like white rice with this dish but you can certainly substitute a nutty brown rice if you prefer. Prepare the rice first so it finishes cooking at the same time as the curry. To make thinly sliced red onion more mild, add them to a small bowl with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt to rest and mellow while the rest of the meal cooks.
Sauté the curry paste in oil before adding the coconut milk. Cooking the curry paste before mixing with the coconut milk releases the oils in the paste and takes away it’s raw flavor. Start the oil and paste on low heat to avoid burning yourself as it will sizzle and pop. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer to infuse the green curry flavor, simmering for 5 minutes.
Add the Chicken and Veggies
Add thinly sliced chicken breast to the curried coconut milk. There’s no frying in this recipe. Instead, the chicken steeps and cooks in the curried coconut milk, absorbing the flavor and staying tender.
Add the vegetables to the curry. Don’t over cook the vegetables in the sauce. This dish is best when the zucchini still holds plenty of body and the peppers have a bit of snap.
Finish the curry with fish sauce and lime. A good quality fish sauce adds the distinct Thai salted flavor with lime balancing the curry’s heat.
Serve it up. Top the curry with peanuts, cilantro and/or Thai basil, and slivered red onion over steamed white rice. Be sure to add another generous squeeze of fresh lime juice before eating.
Recipe Substiutions and Additions
- Swap out the zucchini for green beans, chopped broccoli, green pea pods, chopped cabbage, or carrots.
- Add the slivered red onion (minus the lime and salt) to cook directly in the sauce instead of using as a topping
- Add bamboo shoots for texture
- Skip the chicken and add tofu instead. If using crispy fried tofu, add the tofu at the end of cooking.
- Double the sauce and eat it like a soup
- Try cashews instead of peanuts
- Spoon the curry over softened rice noodles instead of rice
Thai Green Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain white rice such as jasmine rice
- ¼ small red onion thinly sliced
- 6 tablespoons lime juice divided
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
- 1 14- ounce can coconut milk
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast , thinly sliced against the grain
- 1 cup zucchini sliced into half moons
- 1 cup red bell pepper seeded and cut into ½-inch chunks
- 1 cup green bell pepper seeded and cut into ½-inch chunks
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ½ cup cilantro leaves roughly chopped
- roasted peanuts
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package directions or my instructions for perfectly cooked white rice here. Add the sliced red onion to a small bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice and a generous pinch of kosher salt. Toss to coat and set aside.
- In a high-sided skillet or large saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of canola oil with the green curry paste and bring to medium-low heat. Cook while stirring often until the curry is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and water and whisk until the curry paste is smooth. Raise the heat to medium, stir in the fish sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the sliced chicken and cook for 1 minute. Add the zucchini, bell pepper chunks, and cilantro and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender, then stir in the peas and the remaining 3-4 tablespoons lime juice.
- Serve over rice and top with slivered pickled onion, peanuts, cilantro, and a generous squeeze of fresh lime.
