With the success of my Thai Massaman Curry (which is a smooth, rich, mild peanut-flavored curry), I wanted to graduate to the next level of spice in the Thai curry world and Green Curry is just that.
This is going to be made absolutely perfectly (and quickly and conveniently) in the Instant Pot and will hands-down rival the best of any Green Curry you’d be served at one of your favorite Thai restaurants. Loaded with chicken and green veggies playing in a rich and zesty bed of a creamy curry, this one is an absolute knockout!
Here’s How I Made It! (scroll to the bottom for the fully-written recipe):
Start off with a pretty white onion…
…and slice it up longways into pieces like this.
Then take a green bell pepper…
…and also slice it longways and then slice each strand in half.
Grab a lime…
…and juice it.
Then take some chicken thighs (the best kind of chicken for a curry)…
…and slice into bite-size pieces.
Now go to your Instant Pot and add in some vegetable oil and heat it up.
Once heated, add in the onion and peppers…
…along with some green beans.
Sauté everything in the pot for a few minutes.
Then add in some crushed garlic…
…and crushed ginger.
Stir and sauté for a moment longer.
Time to add the chicken…
…and some Thai basil or fresh tarragon.
Sauté until the chicken for a few moments until it’s pinkish-white in color. (It shouldn’t be fully cooked now – that’ll happen when we pressure cook).
Time to add in the coconut milk! (NOTE: Make sure it’s unsweetened AND that it sounds like there’s water in the can when you shake it. You don’t want a super thick coconut milk for this or you’ll have issues with it coming to pressure!)
Add it to the pot…
…along with a can/jar of green curry paste! The better stuff is on the left which can be found here or in good markets with international aisles BUT the one on the right can be found in most markets and is perfectly great to use too. Just make sure it’s GREEN curry paste as that makes a difference in the end result!
Add only some of the green curry paste now (saving the rest for later)…
…and give everything in the pot a good stir.
Finish it off by adding in some fish sauce (NOT to be confused with fish oil. This stuff is pungent in scent but believe me when I tell you it makes flavor magic when cooked with everything else)…
…light brown sugar…
…cumin…
…coriander…
…and bamboo shoots.
Stir everything together well one last time, secure the lid and cook at high pressure.
When done, it’ll look and smell like your favorite Thai restaurant!
Now add in the remaining green curry paste from the can/jar.
Give everything a final stir and let it rest for a few moments to cool down a bit so the flavors come together even more.
Grab a bowl, add in some perfect Jasmine rice or brown rice (that you can totally make ahead of time)…
…and drape that AMAZING Green Curry over it.
OR if you don’t feel like rice, just eat it as is! It’s perfect that way too and like a wonderful green curry stew!
Either way, get ready to serve this up to some serious Thai curry lovers…
…or your own lover.
Watch then react with glee as they give you approval…
…and lick your spoon clean! THIS GREEN CURRY IS THE REAL DEAL GUYS!
ENJOY!
Instant Pot Thai Green Curry
Seeing as I'm obessed with Thai food, I had to create a Green Curry. This is so easy and tastes like the real deal. Leave out the chicken and add more veggies to keep it vegetarian.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1 large white onion, cut longways into 1/4″ strips
- 1 large green bell pepper, cut longways and then sliced in half into 1/2″ strips
- A handful of green beans, rinsed and trimmed with stems removed
- 1 tbsp of crushed garlic
- 8 oz can of bamboo shoots, drained
- 4 oz can/jar of green curry paste, divided (make sure it is a green curry paste as other pastes will provide different results! This can typically be found at any international market in the asian section or is easily available online)
- 1 tbsp of crushed or minced ginger (I use Squeeze Ginger which many Costcos have in the spice section!)
- 1.5 – 2 lbs of boneless/skinless chicken thighs or tenders, cut into bite-size chunks
- 13.5 or 14 oz can of coconut milk (make sure it feels and sounds like water is sloshing around inside when you shake the can as some coconut milk brands are very thick. We need this to be a liquid consistency)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3 tbsp of fish sauce (NOT to be confused with fish oil!)
- 1 tbsp of light brown sugar
- 1 tsp of coriander
- 1 tsp of cumin
- A handful of Thai basil leaves OR fresh tarragon
Instructions
- Add the vegetable oil to the Instant Pot, hit “Sauté” and “Adjust” so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting. After 3 minutes of the oil heating up, add the onion, peppers and green beans and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute longer
- Then, add in the chicken and Thai basil (or tarragon) and stir with everything else for about 3 minutes (it shouldn’t be cooked much here at all – just tossed until it becomes a pinkish-white color)
- Next, add in the coconut milk and deglaze (scrape) the bottom of the pot and then add in 3 tbsp of the green curry paste (save the rest for later), brown sugar, cumin, coriander, lime juice, fish sauce and bamboo shoots. Stir very well
- Secure the lid and hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and then hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 6 minutes. Quick release when done
- Stir in the remaining curry paste and let sit for 5 minutes to cool down a bit before serving so the flavors combine even more
- Serve over Jasmine rice or brown rice and top with some additional Thai basil or tarragon
- Enjoy!
Jeffrey's Tips
You can easily double the recipe if feeding more!
Want it vegetarian or vegan? Skip the chicken and just add more veggies!
Speaking of which, you can add any veggie of your choice really! If you add potatoes, pressure cook for 8 minutes though. And be wary that broccoli and cauliflower will turn to mush when pressure cooked that long.
Want it with beef instead of chicken? Great! Same cook time.\
If you have leftovers, this will thicken up in the fridge and taste GREAT cold too!
Want a more mild, peanut-flavored curry? Try my Thai Massaman Curry as well!
Elena
Another favourite I keep cooking time and again. It was my second dish made in the Instant Pot (first being your whole chicken). Absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing this gem with us
Brenna
When you say pressure cook 8 minutes of using potatoes, do you mean just do 8 minutes instead of 6? Also, do you put them in during step 1 with the other veggies?
David Grant
I feel like the coconut milk separated and it didn’t have the same consistency as I’d expected.
Jeffrey
Make sure you use the type I specified in the recipe card: it must be thin and unsweetened like water – not thick and lumpy.
Kno
Top notch recipe that has that authentic Sukhumvit street vendor taste. Proper Thai style. Highly recommend tossing in a few fresh kafir lime leaves but other than that it’s good to go. Well done, Jeff.
Ross
One of my favorite recipes! I come back to this recipe at least five times a year. It’s delicious, pretty hands-off, and comes together quickly for dinner/meal prep.
Jeffrey
I’m so glad you love it!