Chicken Thai Green Curry with Thai Aubergines

A Creamy, Fragrant Curry with a Gentle Bite

This chicken and aubergine Thai green curry combines tender chicken, Thai aubergines and sweet Thai basil in a creamy coconut sauce, ready in about 20 minutes. It’s comforting yet full of flavour, and quick enough for a midweek dinner.

Thai aubergines are the star here. They soak up the curry sauce as they soften, and their slight bitterness balances the sweetness of the coconut milk, so every spoonful tastes rounded rather than rich.

At a glance

• Heat: medium. Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste is 2/5, and you can add fresh chilli for more

• Ready in: about 35 minutes

• Key ingredients: Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste, coconut milk, chicken breast, Thai aubergines, Thai sweet basil

• Make it vegan: swap the chicken for tofu, and the fish sauce and shrimp paste for soy sauce (the paste itself is vegan)

• Serve with: steamed jasmine rice or rice noodles

What is Thai Green Curry?

Thai green curry is called gaeng kiaw wan (แกงเขียวหวาน), which means “sweet green curry”. It’s creamy, gently sweet and spicy. Versions from central Thailand are often sweeter and milder than southern ones.

Many people assume the green colour comes from coriander leaves, but it actually comes from green chillies. They give the curry both its colour and its heat. Not sure how it compares with red? See Which Is Hotter: Green or Red Curry?

This recipe uses Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste, made from Jum’s family recipe with green chillies, lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime (kaffir lime), stone-ground the traditional way. It’s vegan, gluten free and 100% natural with no added sugar, and it won a Great Taste Award.

What Are Thai Aubergines?

Thai aubergines are small, round, green-and-white aubergines about the size of a golf ball, widely used in Thai curries. They’re firmer and slightly more bitter than the large purple aubergines common in the UK, and they hold their shape well in a simmering curry.

You’ll usually find them in Asian supermarkets, sometimes labelled “Thai eggplant”. Can’t find them?

• Regular aubergine: cut into chunks and add a few minutes later, since it softens faster

• Pea aubergines: tiny and more bitter, and also traditional in green curry

• Courgette or bamboo shoots: a milder alternative

To prepare them, cut them into quarters just before cooking, as they brown quickly once cut.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste (35g), half a pack

• Full-fat coconut milk (400ml). Keep the thick cream from the top of the tin to fry the paste in

• Chicken breast (350g), thinly sliced

• Thai aubergines (250g), quartered

• Palm sugar (1 tbsp) to round out the heat

• Fish sauce (2 tbsp) for saltiness, or soy sauce for a vegan version

• Shrimp paste (1 tbsp, optional) for a more traditional depth

• Thai sweet basil, a large handful to finish

How to Make Chicken and Aubergine Green Curry

1. Fry the paste. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and fry the green curry paste until fragrant.

2. Add the coconut cream. Stir in about 100ml of the thick cream from the top of the tin, then add the fish sauce, palm sugar and shrimp paste (if using). Simmer lightly.

3. Cook the chicken. Add the sliced chicken and stir until coated and cooked through.

4. Simmer. Pour in the remaining coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Add the aubergines. Cook for about 10 minutes, until tender but not mushy.

6. Finish. Stir in the Thai basil, plus sliced chilli if you like it hotter. Serve with jasmine rice and a squeeze of lime.

Tips for the Best Result

• Use full-fat coconut milk. The thick cream on top gives the sauce its richness.

• Watch the aubergines. Take them off the heat as soon as they’re tender, or they turn mushy.

• Adjust the heat. For a milder curry, use less paste or add more coconut milk.

• Swap the protein. Prawns, beef or tofu all work. For a classic version with potatoes, try our Chicken Thai Green Curry with New Potatoes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use regular aubergine in Thai green curry?

Yes. Cut it into chunks and add it a few minutes later than Thai aubergines, as it softens faster.

What gives Thai green curry its colour?

Green chillies, not coriander leaves. They provide both the colour and the heat.

Is Thai green curry spicy?

It’s medium. Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste is 2/5, milder than our red curry paste (3/5).

Can I make this curry vegan?

Yes. Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste is vegan. Use tofu instead of chicken and soy sauce instead of fish sauce and shrimp paste.

Chicken Thai Green Curry with Thai Aubergines

Course

Thai Green Curry

Cuisine

Thai

Season / Occasion

Quick Weeknight

Calories

285.6

A recipe by Jatuporn (Jum) ★★★☆☆ 3.0· 41gluten-freenut-free

Serves − 4 +

Metric Imperial

Prep

10 min

Cook

25 min

Total

35 min

Difficulty

Easy

Cooking times shown are for the base recipe — allow extra time when making larger quantities

Tender chicken, Thai aubergines, and fresh basil in a fragrant green curry sauce—ready in 25 minutes. This is authentic Southern Thai cooking, made with Mae Jum's stone-ground paste.

Ingredients

• 35 g Thai Green curry paste
• 1 tbsp coconut oil/vegetable oil
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 500 g chicken breast
• 250 g Thai aubergine
• — Sweet Thai basil to garnish
• — Green chillies to garnish
• — Fresh lime juice

Method

1

Chop Thai aubergines into chunks. Cut them into quarters rather than smaller pieces so they hold their shape during the longer simmer and absorb the sauce without turning mushy, they should be tender but still intact when the curry is ready to serve.

2

Thinly slice chicken breast into thin, even strips. Slicing thinly ensures the chicken cooks quickly and evenly, and thin pieces absorb the curry sauce more effectively, giving you a more flavourful and tender result throughout.

3

Heat the oil on med/high heat in a saucepan and fry curry paste to build aroma. Stir constantly for 2 minutes, the paste should become deeply fragrant and the oil should begin to separate before you move on.

4

Add 100ml coconut milk to loosen the mix and bring to a light simmer, then blend in the fish sauce and palm sugar. Taste the sauce at this point, it should be a good balance of savoury and lightly sweet before the chicken goes in.

5

Add chicken breast, lightly stir fry meat until it is coated. Then add the remaining coconut milk and bring the heat up to simmer for 5 minutes. The chicken should be just cooked through at this stage before the aubergines go in.

6

Add aubergines and cook for a further 10-12 mins, or until the Thai aubergines are soft. If necessary, add water to thin the sauce. The aubergines are ready when they yield easily to a spoon with a little pressure, but haven't collapsed entirely and still hold their shape.

7

Remove from heat and stir in chillies and a handful of sweet Thai basil. Adding the basil off the heat preserves its vivid colour and fresh fragrance, it should wilt gently rather than cook. Serve up with a lime on the side and jasmine rice or rice noodles. Enjoy!

Nutrition per serving

285.6kcal

Calories

16.3g

Fat

10.9g

Carbs

33.4g

Protein

1.8g

Fibre

628.8mg

Sodium

Used in this recipe

Thai Green Curry PasteAdd to basket