Thai Green Curry With Chicken, Eggplant and Oyster Mushrooms

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Whether you have a bad case of wanderlust like me, or you just want something vibrant and spicy for dinner, this authentic Thai Green Curry With Chicken, Eggplant and Oyster Mushrooms is seriously easy to make (30 minutes only) and takes me back to the bustling night markets of Thailand every time I make it!

With a special blend of green chilies, coconut milk, palm sugar, and lime, this curry hits every flavor profile -salty, sour, sweet, and umami and is irresistible. The succulent chicken pieces, meaty king oyster mushrooms, and melt-in-your-mouth eggplant is the closest thing I’ve eaten to authentic street-style Thai curry and we make it at least 1x a month in our home. It’s THAT good.

This Thai Green Curry is different than your local takeout joint.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m craving takeout, I always reach for Thai food. Thai green curry with chicken was my go-to comfort food in college, on Friday nights, during rainy days, after a long shift at work… the list goes on! Basically, any reason was reason enough for me to get some Thai curry.

After visiting Thailand back in 2019, I fell in love with the cuisine and then taught myself how to make authentic tasting Thai food at home.

It saved me tons of money and learning about the history of Thai cuisine was fascinating. I’ve said this many times before on the blog, but I believe that a large portion of enjoying food and drink is learning about the culture and heritage behind the dishes.

So how is this Thai green curry different from takeout? First, it is less sweet than the standard takeout curry. Lots of Thai restaurants are catered to Western taste, which means more coconut milk and sugar to create a milder taste. I am a fan of curries with more pungency, so this recipe is uses less of both ingredients.

The other difference is the ingredients. While a lot of curries contain vegetables like broccoli and zucchini, I love experimenting with different vegetables to create distinct tasting curries. Some of my favorite vegetables to use are eggplants and kai lan, which are both featured here!

You also will not see any soy sauce or oyster sauce in this recipe, as the Thai curry paste lends enough bold flavor to create that savory, tangy broth we are aiming for!

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Which Curry Paste is Best For Thai Green Curry?

Spice haters, I’m sorry but this one’s not for you. This Thai green curry is not playing games. The curry paste packs major heat and depending on how much you like to put in, this curry can easily make you sweat.

That being said, I can’t talk enough about how addictive it is. Nothing beats homemade curry paste from a mortar and pestle, but when I think of authentic tasting Thai green curry without the labor, I always reach for Mae Ploy Green Curry Paste.

I like Mae Ploy brand because it is not too sweet, which I find a lot of takeout Thai curries can be. It has a well-rounded blend of spicy green chilis, shrimp paste, and aromatics such as lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, and ginger.

I also love that it’s super accessible and can be found at grocery stores in the Asian aisle as well as local international markets. Their curry paste comes individually sealed in a bucket container, which is refrigerated after opening. They also make other curry pastes such as massaman, red, yellow, and panang.

Another solid brand is Maesri. Their canned curry pastes are great for someone who does not eat Thai food very often, and need something with a longer shelf life! It also happens to be one of the most accessible brands for Thai curry in the U.S.!

Best Cut Of Chicken For Thai Green Curry

For this recipe, either chicken thighs or chicken breast will work! Chicken thighs will be more juicy and tender, while chicken breasts will yield more uniform slices of chicken.

Based on your taste and health preferences, you can opt for either choice of chicken.

Thai green curry was the one dish that made me fall in love with spicy food

Here’s a little story about my complicated relationship with spice…

When I was younger, I couldn’t handle spice at all. Even a drop of Tabasco sent me running to the kitchen trying every remedy in the book to cool my mouth down- cold milk, a spoonful of sugar, glass after glass of ice water, all to no avail. I couldn’t believe people would want to eat something that’s so painful?!

I avoided spicy food for years until one day after school I went to an authentic Thai restaurant with my friend. Now I don’t know if this is standard procedure, but this restaurant was very hesitant to serve water.

As a result, we ate our meal with almost no water, which resulted in an eye-watering, mouth-numbing experience. The dish? Thai Green Curry. I’ll never forget that meal, and something inside me changed forever!

I can’t be sure if there’s science behind it, but from that day on I craved spicy food and sought it out wherever I went. Fast forward to my backpacking trip through Thailand, where I finally was able to sample authentic Thai curries and take culinary notes.

Visiting Thailand for the first time inspired me to cook more Thai food.

Authentic, home-style Thai food cooked with love is off in another dimension of deliciousness. I spent time in Chiang Mai and worked my way down to Phuket and the southern island of Koh Yao Yai. Every region has its own unique cuisine, but I kept finding myself ordering green curry, even in the blazing, humid temperatures.

Green curry (Kaeng Khiao Wan) is considered to have originated in Central Thailand, with coconut milk being a key ingredient in many central Thai dishes.

It was here where I learned the technique of poaching chicken thighs in coconut milk, which yields tender, succulent meat. I also learned about what ingredients are used to make green curry.

The green curry paste is made from ground green chilies, shallots, shrimp paste, garlic, lemongrass, makrut lime leaves, galangal, cumin, coriander, and salt.

How To Guarantee The Best Thai Curry

Balance is key with Thai curry, as it can’t be too creamy, too sour etc. So tasting often and adjusting as needed is recommended.

If the curry is too rich or flat: You have added too much coconut milk. Add a little water or curry paste to thin out the broth.

If the curry is too spicy: You have added too much curry paste. Add a little coconut milk to balance the spice.

If the curry is too salty: You probably have added too much curry paste or salt. Add some water and palm sugar.

If the curry is too sweet: You have added too much palm sugar. Add some extra curry paste, or salt and lime juice if you are ok with the spice level.

Other Variations of Thai Green Curry With Chicken

The lovely part of this Thai green curry recipe is that you can literally add any protein or vegetables to the base! Here are some of my favorite ingredients to use in this curry:

• bamboo shoots
• green beans
• baby corn
• red bell peppers
• sliced carrots
• kai lan (Chinese broccoli)
• makrut lime leaves (also known as kaffir lime leaves, but here’s why you won’t see me use the term).
• snow peas

What to serve with Thai Green Curry With Chicken

Thai curry is best served with hot white rice, like Jasmine rice or sticky rice. You can also serve this curry with wide rice noodles or even glass noodles for a different but equally delicious dish.

Since the curry can be quite fiery, I recommend keeping cold drinks on hand for friends and family to wash it down with! Since this Thai green curry has chicken, eggplant and oyster mushrooms starring in it, a lighter tasting beverage would match the flavors really well.

The 5 Pillars of Thai Curry

There are 5 styles of curry that are generally accepted as the “pillars” of Thai curry. They are:

• Green Curry
• Red Curry
• Yellow Curry
• Penang Curry
• Masaman Curry

While all of these curries are phenomenal in their own right, my favorite of all is by far Green Curry or Kaeng Khiao Wan.

Storing Leftover Thai Curry

Thai curry is freezer friendly! I recommend pouring cooled curry into freezer safe ziplock bags and squeezing the air out to prevent ice crystals. When ready to serve, simply thaw and reheat on the stove and serve with rice. The freezing may change the texture of the vegetables slightly, so be gentle when stirring the curry during reheating.

To store in the fridge, I always recommend glass containers as they are microwave safe, and do not hold smells like the plastic containers do. To reheat simply empty into a pot on the stove and reheat over low heat, or microwave!

Thai green curry will last up to 7 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer.

Thai Green Curry With Chicken, Eggplant, and Oyster Mushrooms Recipe

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil or coconut oil
• 4 tbsp Mae Ploy Green Curry Paste
• 2 king oyster mushrooms, hand torn into strips
• 1 cup fresh green beans, halved
• ½ cup chopped kai lan (Chinese broccoli)
• 2 cups full fat coconut milk
• ½ lb. chicken breast or chicken thighs, thinly sliced
• 1 white onion, halved and thickly sliced
• 1 Japanese eggplant or 4 Thai eggplant, cut into rounds
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp palm sugar
• 2 limes halved
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• hot cooked jasmine rice
• sliced Thai basil, optional

INSTRUCTIONS 

• In a large deep saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering.
• Add the onions, mushrooms, eggplant and green curry paste and stir fry for a minute or two until fragrant.
• Add 1 cup of coconut milk to the pan and bring to a boil. Add chicken and onions and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Add in the remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Add in 1/2 cup water if the mixture looks too dry. Simmer gently for 15 minutes until vegetables soften.
• Add in the green beans and kai lan, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes until cooked through and vegetables are bright green.
• Serve with lime wedges, cilantro, Thai basil and hot jasmine rice.

If you love curries like this, check out some of these other easy recipes!

• Spicy Wontons With Chili Scallion Oil
• Bibim Guksu (Korean Spicy Cold Noodles)
• Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps