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Thai

Gaeng Keow Wan (Thai Green Chicken Curry)

A Thai green chicken curry with coconut milk, green curry paste, Thai eggplant, makrut lime leaves and Thai basil.

Published and reviewed by Kitchgrow on 7 September 2026Updated

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Gaeng Keow Wan (Thai Green Chicken Curry)

40 mintotal

Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min

Serves
2
Difficulty
Medium
Spice
Medium
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Ingredients

Quantities are for 2 servings.

You'll need: Stovetop.

Thirty-five minutes. Most of it is simmering; the paste-frying at the start takes two minutes and matters more than any of it.

Method

  1. Heat the measured neutral oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry the green curry paste until fragrant and slightly darker.

  2. Add a small splash of coconut milk and stir until the paste looks glossy.

  3. Add the chicken and stir until the outside turns opaque.

  4. Pour in the remaining coconut milk, add makrut lime leaves, fish sauce and palm sugar, then simmer gently.

  5. Add Thai eggplant and green beans. Cook until the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables are tender but not mushy.

  6. Loosen with the measured water only if the curry becomes too thick.

  7. Turn off the heat and fold in Thai basil and sliced bird's eye chile before serving.

How to tell it's done

The sauce should be creamy and pourable, the chicken tender, and the eggplant soft but still intact.

Getting it right

Tip

Frying the curry paste before adding most of the coconut milk helps the curry taste rounded instead of raw.

What to serve it with

Serve hot with jasmine rice so the rice can absorb the coconut curry sauce.

Common mistakes

The curry tastes raw and harsh.
Fry the paste in oil until it darkens and smells sweet before anything else joins it. This step is not optional — green curry paste added straight to coconut milk keeps a raw, grassy edge no amount of simmering removes.
The sauce splits into oil and water.
Keep it at a gentle simmer. Coconut milk boiled hard separates, and while a little surfacing oil is wanted in Thai curries, a hard boil takes it past that into a broken sauce.

Substitutions

  • Use Chicken Breast instead of Chicken Thigh if needed, but cook gently because it dries faster.
  • Use Green Beans in place of Thai Eggplant if Thai Eggplant is unavailable; the curry will be less traditional.
  • Check Green Curry Paste labels for shrimp paste, fish sauce, soy or gluten depending on brand formulation.
  • Use Thai Basil if possible; regular basil gives a softer, less peppery flavor.

Storing and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge and the flavour deepens overnight. It freezes for two months, though the coconut milk can look grainy on thawing — reheat gently and stir. Add the basil fresh each time.