No.59 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Thai green curry

Made famous by David Thompson

Photo: Kenamparo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Thai Food, 2002.

Gaeng keow wan is the most ordered Thai curry abroad. Thompson's book, the deepest in English, shows how a homemade paste changes everything.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Thai Food.

Ingredients

• For the paste: 10 green bird's eye chiles and 3 long green chiles, chopped
• 1 tsp coriander seeds and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 1/2 tsp white peppercorns, ground
• 2 tbsp chopped lemongrass (tender part)
• 1 tbsp chopped galangal
• 1 tsp chopped makrut lime zest (or 4 lime leaves, chopped)
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro roots or stems
• 3 Asian shallots and 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp shrimp paste and 1/2 tsp fine salt
• For the curry: 1 cup (240 ml) coconut cream
• 2 cups (480 ml) coconut milk
• 1 lb (450 g) boneless chicken thighs, sliced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• 6 Thai eggplants, quartered (or 1 cup peas or zucchini)
• 4 makrut lime leaves, torn
• 1 large handful Thai basil leaves
• 1 long red chile, sliced

Steps

1. Pound the paste in a mortar, starting with the hardest ingredients (chiles, lemongrass, galangal) with the salt, adding the rest one at a time, until fine and smooth, 15 to 20 minutes. Or blend with a splash of water.
2. Bring the coconut cream to a boil in a wok or heavy pan, stirring, until it 'cracks': the oil separates and the cream looks curdled, about 5 minutes.
3. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of the paste and fry in the oil, stirring constantly, 5 to 8 minutes, until very fragrant and the raw smell of garlic and shallot is gone.
4. Add the chicken and stir to coat, then add the fish sauce and palm sugar.
5. Add the coconut milk and eggplants, bring to a simmer and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and the eggplant tender.
6. Taste: it should be hot, salty, a little sweet and rich. Adjust with fish sauce and sugar.
7. Stir in the lime leaves, basil and chile and serve at once with jasmine rice.

Chef's tips

• Leftover paste keeps a week in the fridge or 3 months frozen.
• A good store-bought paste (Mae Ploy, Maesri) is a fine shortcut.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Thai Food by David Thompson: get the book, No. 30 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

← No. 58Japanese chicken curry→ No. 60Chicken biryani