This Thai green curry recipe is packed with comfort and flavor, plus it’s easy to make. Green curry made with eggplant, red bell pepper, lemongrass, and coconut milk is a cozy, warm dish for any weeknight dinner!
In this recipe
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Tips for the best Thai green curry
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Make it your own
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Adjustments and Variations
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What kind of coconut milk to use
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How to store and warm up
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What to serve it with
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Please say hello to guest author Garrett McCord, who shares a favorite green curry eggplant recipe. This is as good as any I’ve had at a restaurant! ~ Elise
Two essential tips for the best Thai green curry
The first is that you need to blow and fry eggplants to enhance their unique flavor.
Second, you need to lightly sauté your curry paste to unlock its true potential. Only then will you have a curry worth eating.
Here’s how to make this green curry recipe your own
Using these rules, this easy green curry is as easy as it gets, and it will easily rival or surpass any green curry you’ve eaten at a restaurant. While I love the flavor of eggplant in this dish, you might as well use chicken or shrimp.
I highly recommend using makrut lime leaves when you can find them as they add a definite floral citrus flavor that cannot be substituted. However, you can make this recipe without them, and while the curry doesn’t have a truly authentic flavor, it’s still absolutely delicious.
Adaptations and variations of green curry
- Substitute soy sauce or coconut aminos for the fish sauce to make it vegetarian.
- Replace bamboo shoots with water chestnuts.
- Replace the brown sugar with coconut blossom sugar.
- Add a squeeze or two of lemon juice to tame the spice.
- Add fried mushrooms.
- Replace the Japanese eggplant with regular eggplant.
What kind of coconut milk to use
Use unsweetened, full-fat canned coconut milk. Do not use chilled coconut milk.
How to store and reheat this dish
Store leftover green curry, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Microwave in a saucepan over medium-high heat until warmed through. Add a little more coconut milk to thin the sauce if it has thickened.
What do you serve with Thai green curry?
White rice is usually served with Thai green curry, but you can also serve this dish with:
- Brown rice
- Andean millet
- cauliflower rice
And while this may be a one-bowl meal, if you’re looking for a side dish to add to your meal, serve it with Asian coleslaw.
More Thai recipes to try!
- Thai noodle salad with peanut sauce
- pad Thai
- Green Thai curry with chicken
- Quick Green Curry Chicken with Zucchini Noodles
- Tom Yum Soup (spicy Thai soup with shrimp)
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Aubergine green curry
There are a few special ingredients in this curry. Most can be found at an Asian market or in well-stocked grocery stores.
For a vegetarian curry, swap out the soy sauce or coconut aminos for the fish sauce.
ingredients
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vegetable oil
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2 Japanese eggplantscut into bite-sized pieces
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2 1/2 tablespoon Green curry paste
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1 can coconut milk
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1 lemongrass stemcut into 3 pieces and crushed
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3 makrut lime leaves
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1 tablespoon fish sauce
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1 tablespoon Brown sugar
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1 can bamboo shoots
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1 red bell peppercored, cut into sticks
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1/4 Cup Thai basil or sweet basil leaves
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1 to 3 all Thai chili peppersdepending on heat preference
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Lime, Per garnishOptional
method
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Fry eggplant:
In a wok or deep pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add eggplant pieces and stir-fry until skin is lightly browned and blistered and eggplants are soft inside and lightly seared, about 3 to 4 minutes.
The aubergine will absorb the oil, if some of the aubergine pieces aren’t getting any oil, add a little more oil.
Remove from the stove and set aside in a bowl.
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Heat curry paste, add half of the coconut milk:
Add another tablespoon of vegetable oil to the wok over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste — be careful as the oil will splatter — and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 20-30 seconds.
Add half of the coconut milk and mix, simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
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Add the lemongrass, makrut, fish sauce, brown sugar and the remaining coconut milk:
Bring the mixture to a boil.
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Add the bamboo shoots, cooked eggplant and peppers:
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until all ingredients are slightly softened.
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Stir in the basil and chillies and remove from the heat:
Serve over rice with lime wedges on the side.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 412 | calories |
| 26g | Fat |
| 48g | carbohydrates |
| 7g | protein |
