A veggie-laden, Thai-inspired green curry that you get on the table in about 15 minutes, using no-chop, no-prep frozen spinach and edamame beans, along with purchased carrot noodles and fresh baby bok choy.
This one is fast, filling, and flavourful – just like its tagline twin, our 15-Minute Thai Chickpea Curry, which is a red curry to this green one.
Ingredients
While there’s a relatively long list of ingredients in this green curry, most of them require no preparation at all and can be measured right into your wok or frying pan.
Vegetables…lots of them
Let’s start with the vegetables. We’re making a green curry in more ways than one, with three power house greens: spinach, edamame beans, and baby bok choy. We’re throwing in carrot “noodles” for a zazzle of colour. We bought them prepared, with our eyes on the clock, but if you have the time – and a spiralizer, go ahead and noodle your own. Alternatively, slice them into thin matchsticks.
All told, we put about 6 cups of veggies in. You could use a little less if you like, as few as 4 cups would be fine, or vary the proportions to suit your taste and what’s on hand. Just be sure to use vegetables that have equal cook times, or be prepared to add them in in stages.
Thai green curry paste
Thai green curry paste is a mix of dried and fresh spices, green chili peppers, and other ingredient such as lemongrass, shallots, and galangal, a member of the ginger family. No two homemade recipes are going to be alike, nor are all store-bought recipes. We like the Cock Brand Green Curry Paste, which is made from fresh green chilis, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, salt, galangal, cumin and coriander seeds. It’s a lot spicier than standard supermarket brands like Thai Kitchen. We use just one teaspoon of curry paste, but if you’re using Thai Kitchen, you’ll likely want several tablespoons as it is that much less flavourful. Read the label on your curry paste to check for the recommended amount. And remember, you can always add more – so start with a bit and go from there.
In this recipe, we fry off the curry paste in a little oil before adding the rest of the ingredients. This releases all the wonderful flavours and aromas in the curry paste. If you aren’t sure how much paste you want to use, start with the recommended amount on the label, add in the rest of ingredients and then taste and adjust from there – adding more curry paste if you think it needs it.
Will it be fish sauce or no-fish fish sauce?
Fish sauce is a funky, fermented, super salty sauce that add a certain umami flavour to many Thai dishes. We love Thai-inspired food here at not not nutritious, and although we’re not 100% plant-based, we’re all about making recipes that work across the spectrum of diets. If you’re pescatarian or omnivore, go ahead and use fish sauce, but if not, our no-fish fish sauce is an easy substitute made from Chinese black bean sauce, salt, and water. We used store-bought black bean sauce. Look for it in the Asian section of your grocery.
Coconut Milk
This recipe uses canned coconut milk. We prefer the full fat version, not the light version. You should be able to find coconut milk in the Asian section of your grocery store. When you open the can, you might find a thick layer of cream on top and more water-y milk underneath that. Sometimes, depending on the brand, you’ll find that the coconut milk is a more homogenous mixture. Either way, you can just dump it can right into the pot – just stir it until smooth if necessary.
This is a 1-pot dish…
We made this in our trusty wok, but you can use any large frying pan. Start by heating the coconut oil and then frying the curry paste and fresh ginger for a few minutes. After that you can literally just dump in the remaining ingredients, stir, and heat through.
Check the seasoning and add more soya sauce if it needs salt, some more orange juice for brightness (or lime juice works too), and no-fish fish sauce (or the real stuff if you’re not vegan) to add a funky depth to the the soy and citrus.
You might also like
- 15-Minute Thai Chickpea Curry (vegan or pork)
- Tom Kha Soup (vegan or with chicken)
- Thai Apple Salad (vegan or pescetarian)
- Lettuce Wraps (vegan or pork)
- 1-Pot Spicy Black Bean Soup
Printable Recipe Card
15-Minute Thai Green Curry
Materials
- 1 teaspoon green curry paste (See recipe notes, depending on the brand, you may need more)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons ginger, finely minced
- 1 3/4 cups coconut milk (About a 400 ml can – a little more or less is fine)
- 1 1/2 cup frozen spinach
- 1 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
- 2 cups baby bok choy
- 1 cup carrots (matchstick or noodles)
- 2 tablespoons soya sauce
- 2 tablespoons no-fish fish sauce (or vegan fish sauce, or just fish sauce)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar (any kind)
No-fish fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon black bean sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Stir in the curry paste and ginger and fry for about 3 minutes.
- Add in the remaining ingredient and stir and heat through. Taste and adjust seasonings: add more curry paste for spiciness, more soy sauce for salt, more citrus (orange juice or you could use lime as well) and more fish sauce or no-fish sauce for umami and depth of flavour.
Notes
About Green Curry Paste
See the post for detailed information, but keep in mind that not all store-bought green curry pastes are identical. We prefer Cock brand. This brand is spicier and more flavourful than the Thai Kitchen brand. If using Thai Kitchen, use start with 1 tablespoon and add more as desired.About No-Fish Fish Sauce
This is a quick substitute for fish sauce. If you’re not vegan, you can substitute with regular fish sauce.Nutritional Information
Nutritional information is an estimate only.Nutrition
Say Hello!
Made this? Thinking of making it and have a question? We’d love to hear from you!
2 comments
Delicious! I love the orange! I like a little heat, so used 2 teaspoons of Aroy-D brand green curry paste and it was great! A little kick, but not too hot!
Thank you! And thanks for the tip on the curry paste – good to know!