Sweet Green Curry with Chicken

Name: Sweet Green Curry with Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 2/3 lb Chicken thigh meat, bone-in cut into 1-2 inch cubes, bones cracked; 2 2/3 cups Coconut milk divided; 1-2 Thai long chili sliced diagonally; 2 3/4 tablespoons Thai green curry paste; 7 Thai eggplants quartered, held in salted water; 2/3 cup Pea eggplants cleaned; 2 cups Thai sweet basil leaves and flower tops; 8 Kaffir lime leaves most with stems torn out, a few sliced thin for garnish; 3 Fresh green peppercorn bunches rinsed, kept on the bunch; 1 1/3 tablespoons Fish sauce to taste; 1 1/3 tablespoons Coconut sugar

Kaeng Kiew Waan Gai

Bone-in chicken and Thai eggplant simmered in green curry with fresh green peppercorn

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 20 min
Serves: 4
Heat: medium

Green curry may be the most recognized Thai dish worldwide, but bone-in chicken thigh makes a noticeable difference here, releasing extra flavor and fat into the sauce as it simmers that boneless breast can't match. The curry paste blooms in coconut cream until its oil separates out a vivid green, and whole bunches of fresh green peppercorn go in alongside kaffir lime for a distinctive, slightly floral heat. Thai eggplant gets pulled from the heat the moment it softens, since it keeps cooking on its own afterward, and a generous handful of Thai sweet basil folded in at the very end finishes the curry with the anise-like fragrance that's essential to getting the dish right.

Ingredients

2/3 lb Chicken thigh meat, bone-in (cut into 1-2 inch cubes, bones cracked)
2 2/3 cups Coconut milk (divided)
1-2 Thai long chili (sliced diagonally)
2 3/4 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
7 Thai eggplants (quartered, held in salted water)
2/3 cup Pea eggplants (cleaned)
2 cups Thai sweet basil (leaves and flower tops)
8 Kaffir lime leaves (most with stems torn out, a few sliced thin for garnish)
3 Fresh green peppercorn bunches (rinsed, kept on the bunch)
1 1/3 tablespoons Fish sauce (to taste)
1 1/3 tablespoons Coconut sugar

Directions

Cut the chicken meat from the bone into 1-2 inch cubes, and crack the bones for extra flavor. Pick the basil leaves. Quarter the eggplant and hold in salted water. Clean the pea eggplants, rinse the peppercorn bunches, and prep the kaffir lime leaves and chili.
Heat half the coconut milk in a lidded pot until bubbling. Stir in the green curry paste and fry over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until green oil starts to separate out — don't let it brown.
Add the chicken, stirring to coat. Cover and fry slowly for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until just starting to brown — it doesn't need to be fully cooked yet.
Stir in the coconut sugar until fully melted, cooking for another minute.
Add the remaining coconut milk, the green peppercorn bunches, and kaffir lime leaf pieces. Stir well and bring to a boil.
Add the Thai eggplant and pea eggplant. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, adding a little water if needed so everything stays mostly covered.
Remove from heat as soon as the eggplant just starts to soften — it should stay firm, not mushy. Taste: it should read sweet, a little spicy, and a little salty. Add fish sauce a little at a time if it needs more salt, or thin with a little extra coconut milk and water if too salty.
Let the pan cool for a minute, then stir in the basil until just wilted.
Ladle into a serving bowl, arranging chicken, eggplant, and peppercorns visibly on top. Garnish with sliced chili, a few basil leaves, and the slivered kaffir lime leaf. Serve with jasmine rice.

Notes

Pull the eggplant off the heat while it's just barely softening — it keeps cooking in the residual heat of the curry, so firm at this stage means properly tender by the time it's served.

Substitutions

Boneless chicken thigh can substitute for bone-in if preferred, though bone-in adds extra flavor to the sauce. Regular basil can be used in a pinch if Thai sweet basil (Horapah) isn't available, but holy basil or lemon basil are not good substitutes here.