This Thai Green Curry with Shrimp tastes fresh, slightly sweet, and not too spicy. It comes together quickly and easily in less than 30 minutes. Using store-bought curry with fresh basil gives it an authentic flavor.
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Ingredients you'll need
Notes and substitutions
- Shrimp: Use large shrimp as they are less likely to overcook. You can also use boneless chicken, pork, fish balls, or go meatless with tofu or chickpeas.
- Thai green curry paste: Not all curry pastes are the same; go with Thai brands like Maesri, Mae Ploy, or Aroy-D. You will need about 2 tablespoons, depending on how spicy you like. You can freeze the rest for months on end.
- Coconut milk: Use full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream (without sugar) for a richer, creamier sauce. Avoid watered-down "light" coconut milk.
- Makrut or Kaffir lime leaves: An optional ingredient already present in the curry paste. It's not easy to find, but it adds a wonderful aroma.
- Vegetables: You can also use snow peas, zucchini, squash, chayote, cauliflower, broccoli, bamboo shoots, yardlong or green beans, and baby corn. If you like mushrooms, sear them on high heat to brown them and cook out all the liquid before adding them to the curry.
- Thai basil leaves: A great way to add freshness and make it more authentic is to add fresh Thai basil leaves. It tastes similar to Italian basil or sweet basil with anise or licorice-like flavor.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Rinse the shrimp and dry them on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
Set a 4-quart Dutch oven (or a pot) over high heat. Add oil and sear 12 ounces of shrimp for about a minute on each side. Transfer them to a plate.
Step 2: Lower to medium heat and add a little oil. Sauté 3 garlic cloves and 1 shallot until slightly softened, about 30 seconds.
Add 2 tablespoons of curry paste; use less if you want it less spicy. Bloom it by sautéing for about a minute to release the flavors and aromas, being careful not to burn them.
Step 3: Add 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk, ¼ cup of water, 3 kaffir lime leaves (if using), 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt (use less for table salt). Mix and let it simmer. Taste and adjust as needed.
Step 4: Add 12 ounces of eggplant and partially cook it for about 2 minutes.
Step 5: Add 1 red bell pepper and 1 pound of asparagus. Mix them and cook for about 2 more minutes, until the eggplant is soft and the asparagus is tender-crisp.
Step 6: Bring the shrimp back.
Step 7: Gently mix in about a cup of Thai basil leaves. Turn off the heat.
Thai Green Curry with Shrimp is best served with rice. You can also pair it with quinoa, naan, or roti.
You may also like Homemade Pad Thai and Crab Fried Rice, or other Asian-inspired dishes like Salt and Pepper Shrimp, Chili Garlic Shrimp, and Soy And Ginger Fish.
Recipe FAQs
Thai green curry is made with green chilies and a creamy coconut base. Its complex flavors include galangal, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro root, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, ginger, shrimp paste, and spices. With such a combination of fresh ingredients, the dish is well-balanced and bursting with flavor.
Thai red curry is made with dried red chilies, lemongrass, galangal, cilantro root, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste, and spices. Green curry contains similar ingredients but uses fresh green chilies. In the US, green curry is typically milder than red curry, but it's the opposite in Thailand. Yellow curry is a mild curry with curry powder and turmeric, where it gets its yellow color.
You can make it a day ahead and keep it in the fridge. Undercook the vegetables if you intend to eat them later. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stove.
Yes, it freezes well. The texture of the vegetables may change, but the dish will be just as delicious.
Other seafood recipes you may like
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📖 Recipe
Thai Green Curry with Shrimp
Equipment
- 4-quart Dutch oven (or a pot)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces shrimp peeled & deveined (see note)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small shallot thinly sliced; sub:red onion
- 2 tablespoons green curry paste (see note)
- 1 can (14-ounce) coconut milk (see note)
- 3 kaffir lime leaves sliced thinly; optional (see note)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce sub:soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt use less for table salt
- 12 ounces eggplant cut into 1-inch thick cubes or rectangles (see note)
- 1 medium red bell pepper cut into strips (see note)
- 1 pound asparagus cut into 2-inch sections (see note)
- 1 cup (loosely packed) Thai basil leaves (see note)
- Oil for searing and sautéing
- Ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the shrimp and dry them on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
- Set a 4-quart Dutch oven (or a pot) over high heat. Add oil and sear the shrimp for about a minute on each side. Transfer them to a plate.
- Lower to medium heat and add a little oil. Sauté garlic and shallots until slightly softened, about 30 seconds.
- Add 2 tablespoons of curry paste; use less if you want it less spicy. Bloom it by sautéing for about a minute to release the flavors, being careful not to burn them.
- Add coconut milk, ¼ cup of water, kaffir lime leaves (if using), fish sauce, sugar, and salt. Mix and let it simmer. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Add eggplant and partially cook it for about 2 minutes.
- Add red bell pepper and asparagus. Mix them and cook for about 2 more minutes, until the eggplant is soft and the asparagus is tender-crisp.
- Bring the shrimp back.
- Gently mix in Thai basil leaves. Turn off the heat.
Video
Notes
- Shrimp: Use large shrimp as they are less likely to overcook. You can also use boneless chicken, pork, fish balls, or go meatless with tofu or chickpeas.
- Thai green curry paste: Not all curry pastes are the same; go with Thai brands like Maesri, Mae Ploy, or Aroy-D. You will need about 2 tablespoons, depending on how spicy you like. You can freeze the rest for months on end.
- Coconut milk: Use full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream (without sugar) for a richer, creamier sauce. Avoid watered-down "light" coconut milk.
- Makrut or Kaffir lime leaves: An optional ingredient already present in the curry paste. It's not easy to find, but it adds a wonderful aroma.
- Vegetables: You can also use snow peas, zucchini, squash, chayote, cauliflower, broccoli, bamboo shoots, green or yardlong beans, and baby corn. If you like mushrooms, sear them on high heat to brown them and cook out all the liquid before adding them to the curry.
- Thai basil leaves: A great way to add freshness and make it more authentic is to add fresh Thai basil leaves. It tastes similar to Italian basil or sweet basil with anise or licorice-like flavor.
Bim says
I prepared this recipe yesterday for dinner, is easy to make and the most important thing is, it’s so yummy! My family enjoyed the dinner w/out rice( we are avoiding carbs as much as possible for health reasons). Thank you Nora for another easy to make and yummy recipe. Will surely share this to my friends.
Nora Rey says
Wow! That's wonderful! I'm happy you enjoyed preparing this for dinner and that your family loved it.