What green curry means
Green curry is a Thai curry made with green curry paste and coconut milk. Its Thai name, kaeng khiao wan, means sweet green curry, where sweet refers to the pale green colour rather than a sugary taste. The paste is made from fresh green chillies, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, coriander root, makrut lime zest, shrimp paste and spices, pounded together. To make the curry, the paste is usually fried in thick coconut cream until it is fragrant and the oil starts to separate, which deepens its flavour.
Coconut milk and stock are added along with chicken, beef, pork, fish balls, prawns or tofu, and vegetables such as Thai aubergines, pea aubergines, bamboo shoots or green beans. The curry is seasoned with fish sauce for saltiness and palm sugar for sweetness, then finished with Thai basil, makrut lime leaves and sliced red chilli. The result is creamy, fragrant and fresh, with a lively heat that can be fierce. It is usually served with steamed jasmine rice, though in Thailand it is also eaten with rice noodles or flatbread.
Green curry is one of the most popular Thai dishes in Britain and is widely available ready-made. You will see green curry on Thai restaurant menus, in takeaway menus and in recipes using ready-made or home-made paste.