Wondering what to do with green curry paste? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 9 recipes to put it to work.

What is green curry paste?

Green curry paste is the aromatic base of Thai green curry, a vivid emerald blend pounded from fresh green chillies and herbs. The usual line-up is lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallot, kaffir lime and coriander root, with a little shrimp paste for depth.

The colour comes from the green chillies and herbs, and despite looking mild it is often the hottest of the Thai curry pastes.

The flavour is bright and citrusy up front, with a deep savoury hum from the shrimp paste underneath. Spoon it straight from a tub and it works, though a fresh pounded batch tastes greener and livelier.

Most Western kitchens reach for a store-bought tub, and a good one is excellent. Mae Ploy and Maesri are the brands cooks trust most.

How to Use It

Fry the paste first; never just dump it into liquid. Spoon a couple of tablespoons into a little hot oil or the thick cream skimmed off the top of a can of coconut milk, and cook it two to three minutes until it smells fragrant and the oil splits out.

This blooming step is what separates a flat curry from a great one. It wakes up the aromatics and cooks off the raw edge before any liquid goes in.

Then pour in the rest of the coconut milk, add your protein and vegetables, and simmer. That is the whole method behind dishes like Gaeng Kiow Wahn Gai (Green Chicken Curry) and Thai Green Curry Chicken with Basil, where the paste does almost all the flavour work.

It is not only for curry. A teaspoon stirred into a marinade or a noodle soup carries the same lemongrass and chilli punch, as in the Lemon Grass Seafood Combination.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Green curry leans on coconut milk and Thai basil, balanced with fish sauce, palm sugar and a squeeze of lime. Chicken, prawns, firm white fish, and Thai eggplant are the classic partners; finish with torn basil off the heat.

The most common mistake is going in blind on heat. The pale green colour fools people, but a typical paste is fierce, so start with one to two tablespoons per can of coconut milk and taste before adding more.

The second mistake is skipping the sugar and fish sauce. Without a little palm sugar to round it and fish sauce for salt and depth, even a good paste tastes sharp and one-note.

Balance is the point of a Thai curry.

Substitutes

Yellow or red curry paste is the easiest swap when green is what you lack. Both are milder and earthier, red leaning warmer from dried chillies, so expect a different colour and a rounder, less herbal flavour.

For something closer, stir chopped fresh green chilli and basil with a little lime zest into red or yellow paste to push it back toward green. It will not be identical but lands in the right neighbourhood.

There is no clean one-for-one for the fresh herbal lift of real green paste. If a recipe is built around it, it is worth buying a tub rather than improvising.

Buying and Storing

Curry paste comes in small tubs or foil pouches, usually in the international aisle. Check the label for shrimp paste and fish sauce if you need it vegetarian, since many brands include them; vegan versions exist but are not the default.

An unopened tub keeps for many months at room temperature, well past a year in most cases. Once opened, keep it sealed in the fridge and use it within about a month, as the fresh aromatics fade and the surface can darken.

To keep a tub longer, freeze it. Spoon the paste into an ice cube tray, freeze it solid, then pop out a cube or two whenever you cook; it holds its punch for several months frozen.

Quick facts

Where to find green curry paste: Green curry paste is usually found in the asian section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

绿咖喱酱

British (UK) term

Green curry paste

en français

pâte de curry vert

en español

pasta de curry verde

Recipes using green curry paste

There are 9 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 9 recipes