[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":396},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:thai-green-curry":3,"recipe:country:thailand":178},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"romanized":7,"pronunciation":8,"countrySlug":9,"region":10,"emoji":11,"summary":12,"intro":13,"story":14,"whyThis":15,"tips":20,"substitutions":27,"variations":40,"serveWith":50,"storage":52,"faq":53,"equipment":69,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":74,"cookMinutes":75,"difficulty":76,"course":77,"diet":79,"mainIngredients":82,"ingredients":86,"instructions":132,"nutrition":159,"images":166,"keywords":170,"publishedAt":176,"updatedAt":176,"authorSlug":177},"thai-green-curry","Thai Green Curry with Chicken (Gaeng Keow Wan)","แกงเขียวหวาน","Kaeng khiao wan","geng KEE-ow WAHN","thailand","Central Thailand","🍛","Thailand's hottest classic coconut curry: chicken and eggplant simmered in green chile paste fried in cracked coconut cream, finished with thai basil, makrut lime leaf and fish sauce.","Green curry is the fieriest of Thailand's classic coconut curries — a sauce of fresh green chiles, lemongrass, galangal and shrimp paste, mellowed by coconut milk and perfumed at the last moment with thai basil and makrut lime leaves. Done right it tastes hot, herbal, salty and gently sweet all at once, with a sheen of green-tinted coconut oil on the surface. This version is honest about the home kitchen: it starts from a good store-bought paste — which is what many Thai home cooks use too — and doctors it with fresh aromatics, then leans on the technique that actually matters: frying the paste in cracked coconut cream until your kitchen smells like a curry shop.","Kaeng khiao wan translates as \"sweet green curry\", and the name is the first thing to get straight: most Thai cooks will tell you the \"sweet\" refers to the pleasant, pale-green color of the sauce — the way English speakers might say \"sweet-looking\" — rather than a promise of sugar. It is, in fact, usually the hottest of the standard coconut curries, built on fresh green bird's eye chiles where red curry uses dried red ones.\n\nBy Thai standards it is a young dish. Coconut-milk curries belong to the central plains, where coconut palms are abundant and where the royal and Bangkok kitchens refined curry-making into a precise craft, and green curry in its recognizable form appears in Thai cookbooks only in the early twentieth century, during the late Rattanakosin period. The deeper roots are older: the technique of pounding wet aromatic pastes — chiles, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste — in a stone mortar is the foundation of the whole curry family, with the chiles themselves arriving from the Americas via trade centuries earlier.\n\nThe canonical pairing is chicken or beef with small, bitter Thai eggplants and makrut lime, the sauce loose enough to flood a plate of jasmine rice — Thai curries are closer to soups than to the thick gravies of Indian cooking. A beloved Bangkok variation ladles it over fresh rice noodles (khanom chin) instead. In Thailand the paste question is settled pragmatically: pounding your own is the gold standard and a dying daily practice, and most households buy paste from a trusted market vendor or a supermarket tub. What separates a good green curry from a dull one is less whose hands made the paste than whether the cook fried it properly in coconut cream — the step this recipe refuses to let you skip.",[16,17,18,19],"Uses store-bought paste without pretending otherwise, and doctors it with fresh garlic, lime leaf and basil stems so it tastes freshly made.","Teaches the cracked-coconut-cream fry — the single technique that separates fragrant curry from paste soup.","Chicken thighs stay juicy through the simmer where breast would turn stringy.","The sauce is seasoned to the Thai template — salty first, then sweet — with exact tasting checkpoints.",[21,22,23,24,25,26],"Buy Thai-made curry paste (Maesri, Mae Ploy and Aroy-D are widely available) — the small cans and tubs from Thailand are noticeably more potent than Western supermarket-brand jars.","Do not shake the coconut milk cans. You want the thick cream from the top for frying the paste, and the thin milk underneath for the sauce.","Fry the paste until the oil visibly separates and stains green around the edges and the raw smell turns rounded and fragrant — under-fried paste is the number one cause of flat curry.","Season in this order: fish sauce for salt, then palm sugar to round it. The finished sauce should land salty-hot with sweetness in the background, not the reverse.","Tear the makrut lime leaves and remove the center stem before adding — torn leaves release far more aroma.","Add the basil off the heat. Thirty seconds of simmering turns it black and slick.",[28,32,36],{"original":29,"swap":30,"note":31},"Thai eggplants (small round or pea eggplants)","Regular eggplant in bite-size chunks, or green beans","Both are common in Thailand too. Regular eggplant is softer and less bitter; add it a few minutes earlier so it cooks through.",{"original":33,"swap":34,"note":35},"Thai basil (horapha)","Italian basil plus a few mint leaves","Loses the anise note but keeps the fresh-herb lift. Do not simmer either kind.",{"original":37,"swap":38,"note":39},"Palm sugar","Light brown sugar","Use marginally less. White sugar works at a pinch but tastes flatter.",[41,44,47],{"name":42,"description":43},"Green curry with beef","Thin-sliced beef instead of chicken, a classic pairing — add it later in the simmer so it stays tender.",{"name":45,"description":46},"Khanom chin kaeng khiao wan","The curry ladled over fresh thin rice noodles instead of rice — a beloved market breakfast in central Thailand.",{"name":48,"description":49},"Vegetarian green curry","Firm tofu, bamboo shoots and extra vegetables, with soy sauce replacing fish sauce — check the paste, as traditional ones contain shrimp paste.",[51],"Steamed jasmine rice — the curry should be loose enough to flood it — with a crisp cucumber salad on the side for cooling contrast.","Green curry keeps 3 days refrigerated and, like most curries, tastes deeper on day two; the basil will darken, so fish it out and add fresh leaves when reheating. Reheat gently on the stove without boiling hard, which can split the coconut milk. It freezes acceptably for 2 months — the eggplant softens, but the sauce survives. Cook fresh rice to serve.",[54,57,60,63,66],{"question":55,"answer":56},"Why is it called \"sweet green curry\" if it isn't sweet?","The Thai name kaeng khiao wan is usually explained as describing the curry's appealing pale-green color — \"wan\" (sweet) used the way English uses \"sweet-looking\" — not its taste. A proper green curry is actually the hottest of the classic Thai coconut curries, seasoned salty-first with only background sweetness from palm sugar.",{"question":58,"answer":59},"Is store-bought green curry paste acceptable?","Yes — many Thai home cooks buy paste from market vendors or supermarkets rather than pounding their own daily. The quality move is choosing a Thai-made brand (Maesri, Mae Ploy, Aroy-D) and frying the paste properly in thick coconut cream until the oil separates, which wakes up its aromatics. That technique matters more than who pounded the paste.",{"question":61,"answer":62},"How spicy is Thai green curry?","As served in Thailand, genuinely hot — it is built on fresh green bird's eye chiles and is typically the fieriest of the standard coconut curries. Made at home from store-bought paste, heat depends heavily on the brand: Mae Ploy runs hot, Maesri medium. Start with less paste and add more next time; you cannot take chile out of a finished curry.",{"question":64,"answer":65},"What is \"cracking\" coconut cream and why does it matter?","Cracking means simmering thick coconut cream until its water evaporates and the oil separates out, leaving a bubbling, oily base. Frying the curry paste in that oil blooms its aromatics the way frying spices does in Indian cooking. Skipping it and just boiling paste in coconut milk produces the thin, flat curry many home cooks are disappointed by.",{"question":67,"answer":68},"Is green curry gluten-free and dairy-free?","As written here, yes: coconut milk contains no dairy, and the sauce is seasoned with fish sauce, which is naturally gluten-free. If you use store-bought paste, scan the label — reputable Thai brands are typically just chiles, aromatics and shrimp paste, but formulations vary, so a quick ingredient check is worthwhile for celiac-level sensitivity.",[70,71,72],"Wide heavy pot or deep sauté pan","Wooden spoon or spatula","Sharp knife and cutting board",4,20,30,"easy",[78],"main",[80,81],"dairy-free","gluten-free",[83,84,85],"chicken","basil","fish-sauce",[87,92,96,100,106,110,113,116,120,124,127],{"ref":83,"qty":88,"unit":89,"name":90,"group":91},600,"g","boneless chicken thighs, in bite-size pieces","For the curry",{"qty":93,"unit":94,"name":95,"group":91},800,"ml","coconut milk (two cans, unshaken)",{"qty":73,"unit":97,"name":98,"note":99,"group":91},"tbsp","Thai green curry paste","Maesri, Mae Ploy or Aroy-D; start with 3 tbsp if heat-shy",{"ref":101,"qty":102,"unit":103,"name":104,"note":105,"group":91},"garlic",2,"clove","garlic, finely chopped","freshens store-bought paste",{"qty":107,"unit":89,"name":108,"note":109,"group":91},250,"Thai eggplants, quartered","or regular eggplant in chunks, or green beans",{"qty":73,"unit":111,"name":112,"group":91},"piece","makrut lime leaves, torn, center stem removed",{"ref":85,"qty":102,"unit":97,"name":114,"group":115},"fish sauce, plus more to taste","For seasoning",{"qty":117,"unit":97,"name":118,"note":119,"group":115},1,"palm sugar, chopped","or light brown sugar",{"ref":84,"qty":117,"unit":121,"name":122,"group":123},"cup","thai basil leaves (horapha), stems reserved","For finishing",{"qty":117,"unit":111,"name":125,"optional":126,"group":123},"large red chile, sliced diagonally",true,{"ref":128,"qty":129,"unit":89,"name":130,"group":131},"rice",300,"jasmine rice, for serving","For serving",[133,138,142,145,148,152,156],{"title":134,"text":135,"timerSeconds":136,"tip":137},"Crack the coconut cream","Spoon the thick cream from the tops of both cans into a wide pot over medium heat. Simmer, stirring, until the water cooks off and the cream turns glossy and starts to sizzle in its own separated oil, 5–8 minutes.",420,"If your coconut milk refuses to split (some brands are stabilized), just proceed once it is thick and bubbling — the curry will still work.",{"title":139,"text":140,"timerSeconds":141},"Fry the paste","Add the curry paste, chopped garlic and a few bruised basil stems to the sizzling cream. Fry, stirring and scraping, until the paste darkens slightly, smells rounded and intensely fragrant rather than raw, and the oil around it is stained green, 3–4 minutes.",210,{"title":143,"text":144},"Coat the chicken","Add {qty:chicken} of chicken pieces and stir to coat every piece in the fried paste. Cook until the outside of the chicken has fully lost its raw pink color, 2–3 minutes.",{"title":146,"text":147},"Build the sauce","Pour in the remaining coconut milk, add the torn lime leaves and bring to a gentle simmer — bubbles at the edge, not a rolling boil. Discard the basil stems once the sauce is fragrant.",{"title":149,"text":150,"timerSeconds":151},"Simmer with the eggplant","Add the eggplant and simmer uncovered until the chicken is cooked through and the eggplant is tender but not collapsing, 10–12 minutes. The sauce should stay pourable — loose enough to flood rice, thinner than a Western stew.",660,{"title":153,"text":154,"tip":155},"Season and taste","Stir in the fish sauce and palm sugar, then taste against the Thai template: salty first, hot, with sweetness in the background and no raw-paste edge. Adjust with more fish sauce for depth or a little more sugar to round the heat.","Taste with a spoonful of rice, not the sauce alone — the curry is seasoned to be eaten over rice and will taste too intense by itself.",{"title":157,"text":158},"Finish with basil","Take the pot off the heat and stir in the thai basil leaves until they just wilt and turn glossy. Serve immediately over jasmine rice, topped with sliced red chile.",{"calories":160,"protein":161,"carbs":162,"fat":163,"fiber":164,"sugar":165,"estimated":126},720,36,62,38,5,9,[167],{"src":168,"alt":169},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fthai-green-curry\u002Fhero.svg","Bowl of pale-green Thai curry with chicken, eggplant and thai basil beside jasmine rice",[171,9,172,83,173,174,175],"green curry","coconut milk","gaeng keow wan","thai basil","curry paste","2026-08-18","dishroute-kitchen",{"items":179,"total":184,"page":117,"limit":394,"hasMore":395},[180,206,230,257,282,308,328,347,369,376],{"slug":181,"title":182,"nativeName":183,"countrySlug":9,"baseServings":102,"prepMinutes":164,"cookMinutes":184,"difficulty":76,"course":185,"diet":188,"mainIngredients":190,"images":193,"keywords":197,"publishedAt":205,"updatedAt":205,"authorSlug":177},"khai-jiao","Khai Jiao (Thai Deep-Fried Puffy Omelette over Rice)","ไข่เจียว",10,[186,78,187],"breakfast","street-food",[189,80],"pescatarian",[191,85,192],"eggs","jasmine-rice",[194],{"src":195,"alt":196},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkhai-jiao\u002Fhero.svg","Puffed golden Thai omelette with lacy crisp edges sitting on steamed jasmine rice with a stripe of chili sauce",[198,199,200,201,202,203,204],"khai jiao","thai omelette","fried egg","fish sauce","street food","thai breakfast","rice plate","2026-08-19",{"slug":207,"title":208,"nativeName":209,"countrySlug":9,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":74,"cookMinutes":75,"restMinutes":210,"difficulty":76,"course":211,"diet":213,"mainIngredients":216,"images":220,"keywords":224,"publishedAt":205,"updatedAt":205,"authorSlug":177},"mango-sticky-rice","Khao Niao Mamuang (Thai Mango Sticky Rice)","ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง",240,[212],"dessert",[214,215,81,80],"vegetarian","vegan",[217,218,219],"sticky-rice","coconut-milk","mango",[221],{"src":222,"alt":223},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmango-sticky-rice\u002Fhero.svg","Mound of glossy coconut sticky rice beside fanned slices of golden mango, drizzled with coconut sauce and toasted sesame",[225,226,227,172,228,229],"mango sticky rice","khao niao mamuang","thai dessert","glutinous rice","vegan dessert",{"slug":231,"title":232,"nativeName":233,"romanized":234,"countrySlug":9,"region":235,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":236,"cookMinutes":237,"difficulty":238,"course":239,"diet":241,"mainIngredients":242,"images":245,"keywords":249,"publishedAt":205,"updatedAt":205,"authorSlug":177},"khao-soi","Khao Soi Gai (Chiang Mai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup)","ข้าวซอยไก่","Khao soi gai","Chiang Mai",25,40,"medium",[78,240],"soup",[80],[83,85,243,101,244],"lime","onion",[246],{"src":247,"alt":248},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkhao-soi\u002Fhero.svg","Bowl of golden coconut curry noodle soup with a chicken leg, crisp fried noodle nest, shallots and lime wedge",[250,251,252,253,254,255,256],"khao soi","chiang mai","curry noodle soup","northern thai","coconut curry","egg noodles","lanna",{"slug":258,"title":259,"nativeName":260,"romanized":261,"countrySlug":9,"region":262,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":74,"cookMinutes":263,"difficulty":238,"course":264,"diet":266,"mainIngredients":267,"images":270,"keywords":274,"publishedAt":205,"updatedAt":205,"authorSlug":177},"larb-gai","Larb Gai (Isan Minced Chicken Salad with Toasted Rice)","ลาบไก่","Laap kai","Isan",15,[78,265],"appetizer",[80,81],[83,243,85,268,128,269],"mint","scallions",[271],{"src":272,"alt":273},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Flarb-gai\u002Fhero.svg","Warm minced chicken salad piled with mint, shallot and scallion, dusted with toasted rice powder, beside sticky rice",[275,276,277,278,279,280,281],"larb","laap gai","isan","thai salad","minced chicken","toasted rice powder","lao food",{"slug":283,"title":284,"nativeName":285,"romanized":286,"countrySlug":9,"region":287,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":288,"restMinutes":289,"difficulty":76,"course":290,"diet":292,"mainIngredients":293,"images":297,"keywords":301,"publishedAt":205,"updatedAt":205,"authorSlug":177},"moo-ping","Moo Ping (Thai Grilled Coconut Pork Skewers)","หมูปิ้ง","Mu ping","Bangkok",12,480,[187,291,78],"snack",[80,81],[294,101,295,85,296],"pork-shoulder","cilantro","black-pepper",[298],{"src":299,"alt":300},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmoo-ping\u002Fhero.svg","Charred grilled pork skewers glazed dark brown on a street grill, served with a basket of sticky rice",[302,303,304,202,305,306,307],"moo ping","thai pork skewers","grilled pork","coconut marinade","bangkok breakfast","sticky rice",{"slug":309,"title":310,"nativeName":311,"romanized":312,"countrySlug":9,"region":10,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":288,"cookMinutes":313,"difficulty":76,"course":314,"diet":315,"mainIngredients":316,"images":318,"keywords":322,"publishedAt":205,"updatedAt":205,"authorSlug":177},"pad-kra-pao","Pad Kra Pao Moo (Thai Holy Basil Stir-Fry with Fried Egg)","ผัดกะเพราหมู","Phat kaphrao mu",8,[78,187],[80],[317,84,101,191,128,85],"ground-pork",[319],{"src":320,"alt":321},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fpad-kra-pao\u002Fhero.svg","Plate of jasmine rice topped with chili-flecked minced pork and holy basil, with a lacy fried egg on top",[323,324,325,326,200,202,327],"pad kra pao","holy basil","thai stir-fry","minced pork","quick dinner",{"slug":329,"title":330,"nativeName":331,"romanized":332,"countrySlug":9,"region":333,"baseServings":102,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":184,"difficulty":238,"course":334,"diet":335,"mainIngredients":336,"images":338,"keywords":342,"publishedAt":176,"updatedAt":176,"authorSlug":177},"pad-thai","Pad Thai (Tamarind Rice Noodle Stir-Fry)","ผัดไทย","Phat thai","Central Thailand \u002F Bangkok",[78,187],[80,81,189],[337,191,85,269],"shrimp",[339],{"src":340,"alt":341},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fpad-thai\u002Fhero.svg","Plate of pad thai noodles with shrimp, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts and a lime wedge",[343,344,9,345,346,202,337],"pad thai","noodles","stir-fry","tamarind",{"slug":348,"title":349,"nativeName":350,"romanized":351,"countrySlug":9,"region":262,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":74,"cookMinutes":352,"difficulty":76,"course":353,"diet":355,"mainIngredients":356,"images":359,"keywords":363,"publishedAt":205,"updatedAt":205,"authorSlug":177},"som-tam","Som Tam Thai (Green Papaya Salad Pounded in a Mortar)","ส้มตำไทย","Som tam thai",0,[265,354],"side",[80,81,189],[243,85,101,357,358],"tomato","dried-shrimp",[360],{"src":361,"alt":362},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsom-tam\u002Fhero.svg","Green papaya salad heaped on a plate with cherry tomatoes, long beans, chilies and crushed peanuts beside a clay mortar",[364,365,277,278,366,367,368],"som tam","green papaya salad","papaya","mortar and pestle","no-cook",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"romanized":7,"countrySlug":9,"region":10,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":74,"cookMinutes":75,"difficulty":76,"course":370,"diet":371,"mainIngredients":372,"images":373,"keywords":375,"publishedAt":176,"updatedAt":176,"authorSlug":177},[78],[80,81],[83,84,85],[374],{"src":168,"alt":169},[171,9,172,83,173,174,175],{"slug":377,"title":378,"nativeName":379,"romanized":380,"countrySlug":9,"region":10,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":263,"cookMinutes":74,"difficulty":76,"course":381,"diet":382,"mainIngredients":383,"images":385,"keywords":389,"publishedAt":176,"updatedAt":176,"authorSlug":177},"tom-yum-soup","Tom Yum Goong (Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup)","ต้มยำกุ้ง","Tom yam kung",[240],[80,81,189],[337,384,243,85],"mushrooms",[386],{"src":387,"alt":388},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftom-yum-soup\u002Fhero.svg","Bowl of hot and sour tom yum soup with shrimp, mushrooms, lemongrass and cilantro",[390,240,9,337,391,392,393],"tom yum","lemongrass","galangal","hot and sour",24,false,1787360065753]