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Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan)

March 17, 2008 |

Of all the Thai curries we’ve tasted, this is probably our favourite. We’ve tried various recipes for Thai green curry. The first was THIS ONE (with vegetarian substitutions) from the Prince of Wisconsin.

We loved it, even with runny eyes, smoking ears, and flaming intestines.

Then, we experimented with two other recipes from cookbooks. Very very good, but Pel’s has bolder, fresher flavours.

The guy likes his food HOT - too hot for wimps like us. We made a few changes.

1. We’ve toned down the heat. This is a good idea for two reasons. It doesn’t set us on fire. And it cuts down on how much coconut milk we use. He uses coconut cream plus coconut milk. We use light coconut milk.

2. For that interesting umami flavour derived from fermented foods, Pel uses shrimp paste. We use fermented bean curds (tao hu yee). To be honest, it doesn’t make much of a difference to the flavour. Leave it out if you don’t have it.

3. Instead of nam pla (fish sauce), we used a combo of tamari (natural soy sauce) and low-sodium Better than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base. Maggi Seasoning Sauce works too, on its own, or combined with soy sauce. These ingredients have a lot of sodium, so don’t add salt to the curry paste.

Unlike the Thai red and yellow curries, fresh green chillies are used instead of the dried red variety. To get a deeper green, increase the cilantro in the curry paste.

Check out our PICTORIAL GLOSSARY of common Thai ingredients.

Previously posted:
Thai Red Curry (Gaeng Daeng)
Thai Yellow Curry (Gaeng Garee Puk)

A classic dish - one that brings the richness and beauty of Thailand to your home.

THAI GREEN CURRY PASTE (Namprik Gaeng Keow Wan)
from Elaichi et Cetera

We make a big batch of this paste and freeze it in 2/3 cup portions

Dry-roast until aromatic:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp whole white or regular peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp aniseeds (or fennel)

Blend to a powder with
a pinch each of turmeric and nutmeg.

Chop up
3 tbsps garlic
3 tbsps coriander roots and/or stems
1/2 cup loosely packed chilli-leaves (we used a mixture of Thai basil and cilantro)
2.5 cups mixed mild and hot fresh, green chillies, seeded
**we use 2.25 cups poblanos and hot serrano or bird chillies for the remaining 0.25 cups
2 tbsps galangal, peeled and minced
4 tbsps (about 2 stalks) lemon grass, crisp inner flesh
3 tbsp kaffir lime leaves or zest
2 tbsp shallots or onions

Blend to a fine paste with
the powdered spices,
2.5 tsps fermented bean curds (optional)

Pel uses a mortar and pestle. The bums @ Jugalbandi use a food processor.

THAI GREEN CURRY (Gaeng Keow Wan)
from Elaichi et Cetera

… pictured with kaffir lime leaves.
We cheated a bit here. Pel uses coconut cream (the thickest part of coconut milk extract) and cooks it down until the oil separates and gives out a caramelised flavour. Since we didn’t use coconut cream, we added coconut oil for the roasted nutty flavour.

Heat
1 tbsp coconut oil

add
2/3 cup of green curry paste (Namprik Gaeng Keow Wan)

Fry for 4-5 minutes on medium heat until fragrant.

Add about 6 cups combined of diced firm tofu and veggies
(green jackfruit, bamboo shoots, zucchini, Thai eggplants, long green beans, peas, bell peppers, button mushrooms, etc).
**we used 3 cups firm tofu and a combo of sliced bamboo shoots and zucchini

Fry for 2 minutes until the veggies are well coated with the paste.

Add 3.5 cups light coconut milk

and simmer until the veggies are almost cooked.

Add
1 tbsp veggie bouillon paste (or a cube),
3-4 tbsps light soy sauce
6 torn kaffir lime leaves

and
jaggery/palm sugar/sugar (1 tbsp or to taste)

Check seasonings. If you want it spicier, add a couple of torn Thai bird chillies.

Simmer for another 3 minutes until the veggies are cooked.

Garnish with a handful of Thai basil or basil. Serve with rice.

Whenever we serve Thai Green Curry at a party, we get asked for the recipe. With veggies, tofu, or chicken, served with rice or naans, it’s a great and unusual addition to the menu. It goes to Ilva @ Lucullian Delights - current hostess of the Heart of the Matter event, where the theme is Party Foods.

What’s important … by Cynthia @ Forgive Me My Nonsense.

bamboo shoots, Chilli, Chillies/Peppers, Cilantro/Coriander-Leaves, Gaeng Keow Wan, Galangal, Garlic, green curry paste, Kaffir lime leaf, Lemongrass, poblano-pepper, shallots, Thai basil, Thai green curry, Thailand, Tofu, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, Zucchini

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32 Comments so far

Pelicano on March 17, 2008 11:13 am
LOL! I feel sorry for all of the external/internal mischief that recipe caused…you poor dears. :-)
Splendid re-enactment of the crime, and a gorgeous photo to boot- sure to inspire interior design everwhere!

P.S. With my final blending, I was a bum too.
Kalai on March 17, 2008 11:25 am
Absolutely gorgeous! I’ve never tried making green curry at home, but this sounds delicious and do-able! Thanks for sharing!
Kaykat on March 17, 2008 11:28 am
Rock!

I was *just* thinking of doing a thai curry post this week - maybe I’ll go for a veggie panang. I’d rather visit Juggu-baby for red, yellow and green curries
Happy Cook on March 17, 2008 11:30 am
Delicious. I have never made home made paste, always used shop bought.
You want us to use mortar and pestle, while you lazy bones use food processor.
kalva on March 17, 2008 11:47 am
Great one… never ever dared to make thai green curry… Nice one guys!!
Asha on March 17, 2008 11:56 am
I can’t wait for April and May, so I can start planting some of those yummy Poblanos or Thai chillies this year. Makes me happy just thinking about that! Green paste and soup sounds good, enjoy.
I baked a celebration bread to gift to somebody for Easter.That would be my last post at Aroma, can’t wait until I see that big blue Ocean!:)
musical on March 17, 2008 1:13 pm
Yay! Love the green curry! The green curry paste is so versatile-i always use the left over paste as marinade for over-roasting fingerling potatoes and mushrooms And you made your curry with coconut oil-hurray to that Where do you find bamboo-shoots?

fresh in the thai store, or canned in any grocery store. - b.
shankari on March 17, 2008 1:22 pm
Delicious Bee dont do this to me..I just cant seem to find Kaffir lime leaves even in Asian stores here. I usually use the zest of lime
Cham on March 17, 2008 2:08 pm
Curry is very attractive. I am lack of ingredients to make it right way
anuzi on March 17, 2008 2:10 pm
Thai curries is one a huge comfort food for me. and the spicier the better!! and as always I bow down to you artistic eyes….your pics always leave me breathless
dhivya on March 17, 2008 2:27 pm
wow!yummy
Rainee on March 17, 2008 2:27 pm
I love you collection of ceramics. And, I can’t wait to try this out come summer.
Siri on March 17, 2008 2:39 pm
Nice curry.. I am yet to lay my hands in Thai Cuisine

Siri
Laavanya on March 17, 2008 3:18 pm
Green curry is very flavorful! Looks great - thanks for a tried and tested recipe.
Vani on March 17, 2008 6:01 pm
I’ve always used store-bought pastes. Must try to make it froms scratch the next time. Love the pot & the picture!
Cynthia on March 17, 2008 8:11 pm
Ah, maybe the heat from Pel version will clear my sinuses
Ramya's Mane Adige on March 17, 2008 8:29 pm
We love thai curries too!!! But never tried making them at home…. Love the pic of the curry… The pot esp!! Thanx for the recipe!
arundati on March 17, 2008 9:19 pm
never ever tried making thai curries at home….half the ingredients are just impossible to get in hyd…..for me it has always been eaten at a restaurant…..and i love it…so am imagining the flavour and aroma of home cooked thai curries….i think i am missing the real deal by a huge gargantuan margin!! sigh!!
Miri on March 17, 2008 10:18 pm
You wondered whether there is anything we don’t get in India anymore….well most of these ingredients! The curry looks delicious and lip smacking - I love green curry even more than Red curry…bring on the heat!
Nags on March 17, 2008 10:25 pm
hehehe.. can you still call this thai green curry if you change the original recipe to this extend? but i really admire the ability to replace and substitute ingredients.. i cant figure that out for nuts!
sunita on March 18, 2008 2:44 am
raaga on March 18, 2008 3:27 am
I made this last week :-) love love love it. :-)
Rachna on March 18, 2008 6:57 am
looks yummy… i gotta find a thai store now…
Kamini on March 18, 2008 7:09 am
Looks divine. I did not know that Thai Basil/Cilantro leaves were referred to as chilli-leaves. Is this Thai terminology?

Kamini.

no they are not the same. we used one in lieu of the other.
rina on March 18, 2008 7:21 am
Always a fan of Thai curries…Thanks for sharing…
shilpa on March 18, 2008 7:48 am
Ohh Pel’s recipe…by default, you need to either use half the quantity of chilies he mentioned or be ready to suffer the smoking ears ;). Someone at my blog once mentioned that non-Indians can’t take hot-spicy dishes and I sent them to Pel’s blog .

As usual…Gorgeous pictures…I love that pot in the second pic. Its so cute.
Sri Gogji on March 18, 2008 8:12 am
Oh…you sweet, green people…!
ilva on March 18, 2008 8:20 am
Thank you so much for this delightful dish for our party table, HotM is all the richer for it!
Kalyn on March 18, 2008 7:38 pm
It sounds fabulous. What a great idea to make a lot and freeze in the size you need. I never thought of doing that with curry paste. And I vote for the food processor too!
Anita on March 19, 2008 11:44 am
Come now guys - you can’t leave out shrimp paste and fish sauce and say that it makes no difference! That’s what makes it taste and smell Thai! Without those it might as well be… Keralite?

it tasted keralalite all right, but much fresher with all the green stuff, galangal, lemongrass, etc.
Johanna on March 20, 2008 5:55 am
that’s a lot of chillis but an interesting recipe- I bet it smells magnificent!
Ann on March 20, 2008 8:11 am
Sounds wonderful… and what a beautiful presentation!