I love making Thai curry at home - as long as I cheat and use a can of Thai curry paste. Now, I am an adventurous home cook, and buy lots of specialty ingredients, but Thai curries use a lot of things I would never need again. That's where curry paste comes in. It has all the chiles, aromatics, herbs and spices that make up a Thai chili. Turns out, I'm not the only one who likes a shortcut - lots of Thai home cooks use curry paste instead of making their own base. 2 I like a lot of curry flavor, so I use an entire 4 ounce can, but you can cut back to a couple of tablespoons if you want less heat.
Speaking of heat, green curry gets that bright green color from the main ingredient - Thai green chiles. This is not a dish for the faint of heart - it packs some heat with its Thai flavor.
Speaking of the color - I thought green curry would be a hard sell to my kids, but once they tried it, they fell in love with the Thai combo of hot, sour, sweet, and salty flavors.
I love my pressure cooker for quick curries. I can replace an hour of simmering with ten minutes under pressure and get tender chicken in a bright, spicy, green broth. I add green beans at the end - they would be cooked to mush in the pressure cooker, but a quick simmer gives an extra crunch to the dish.
Recipe: Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry
Equipment
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
Description
Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry - replace an hour of simmering with ten minutes under pressure, and get tender chicken in a bright, spicy, green broth.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced thin
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ inch piece of ginger, peeled and crushed
- Cream from the top of a 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
- ½ cup green curry paste (a whole 4-ounce can)
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch by ½-inch strips
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- The rest of the 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
- 1 cup chicken stock or water
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (plus more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (plus more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (plus more to taste)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 12 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
Garnish and Sides
- Minced cilantro
- Minced basil (preferably Thai basil)
- Lime wedges
- Jasmine rice
Instructions
Saute the aromatics: Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in the pressure cooker pot until shimmering. (Use Sauté mode in an electric pressure cooker.) Stir in the onion, garlic, and ginger, and saute until the onion starts to soften, about 3 minutes.
Fry the curry paste: Scoop the cream from the top of the can of coconut milk and add it to the pot, then stir in the curry paste. Cook, stirring often, until the curry paste darkens, about 5 minutes.
Pressure cook the curry: Sprinkle the chicken with the kosher salt. Add the chicken to the pot, and stir to coat with curry paste. Stir in the rest of the can of coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes in an electric PC or 8 minutes in a stovetop PC. Quick release the pressure in the pot.
Finish the curry: Remove the lid from the pressure cooker, then set it over medium heat (Sauté mode in an electric pressure cooker.) Stir in the lime juice and the green beans, and simmer the curry until the green beans are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Taste the curry for seasoning, adding more soy sauce (to add salt) or brown sugar (to add sweet) as needed. Ladle the curry into bowls, sprinkle with minced cilantro and basil, and serve with Jasmine rice.
Notes
Don't shake the can of coconut milk - you want the solid layer of cream on the top and the liquid underneath. That lets you fry the coconut cream with the curry paste, then add the liquid later
I like my curry hot, so I use ½ cup of curry paste, the entire 4-ounce can. If you want to cut back on the heat, only use ¼ cup of curry paste.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Thai
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup of curry
- Calories: 338
- Sugar: 4.8 g
- Sodium: 919.9 mg
- Fat: 17.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.8 g
- Protein: 33.2 g
- Cholesterol: 141 mg
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker White Rice
Pressure Cooker Korean Braised Short Ribs
Pressure Cooker Massaman Beef Curry
Instant Pot Thai Yellow Curry
My list of Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Jon says
Just awesome so easy now one of our favorite meals tastes as good as a restaurant and very easy to make thank you
Anita says
This is a really good quick recipe. I changed up a few things since I had other ingredients I wanted to add. I used chicken breast meat and browned them first on sauté in the pressure cooker using 1-2 T of coconut oil. I removed the chicken, and then cooked the onions, garlic and ginger. I also added chunks of butternut squash, about 2 cups, used 2 T of fish sauce ( I left out the salt, sugar and soy sauce) added the chicken back and pressure cooked for 7 minutes. The squash makes it sweet and spicy enough for us with 2 T of green chili paste. I also added a handful of basil with asparagus and fresh peas instead of the green beans. It was delicious. I will definitely make it again!
Kim says
I've made this multiple times... thank you for the technique and recipe! I used the same brand can of yellow curry instead, and along with the green beans at the end, I toss in a sliced red bell pepper (needs something red, this is completely aesthetics lol) as well as half a can of sliced bamboo shoots and baby corn! SO GOOD!
Susan says
This is in my Instant Pot as I type! Used a hybrid of your recipe and that of Nom Nom Paleo's Thai Beef Curry (but used chicken breast instead). Smells delicious and can't wait to devour. Thank you for a great recipe and methodology. Will follow up with results soon.
Susan says
I'm trying a hybrid of your recipe and Nom Nom Paleo's Thai Beef Curry (but using chicken) tonight with red curry paste. Can't wait and will let you know how it turns out. Thank you for the recipe idea and methodology!
Noah says
I can't wait to try this recipe! I have maybe a general instant pot question tho: any tips for changing the meat to shrimp? Or is shrimp not a good idea for instant pot cooking? My mom doesn't eat chicken for moral reasons so I'll need to mix it up a bit if I make it for her next time she comes over. Thanks!
Mike V says
Shrimp is not a good idea for instant pot cooking - it cooks way too quickly to cook under pressure.
xhepera says
As Mike V says, shrimp cooks much to quickly for the pressure cooker. I love green curry and I love it made with shrimp. Just add the shrimp at the very last and let it simmer briefly. That's what I do when making it the traditional way. And it's what I'll do if I want shrimp when I use Mike's PC method.
Sheri says
This is a winner! Husband loved it and I'm eating it for breakfast this morning. It was a little soupy, so I might add just a touch of corn starch next time, but all in all, it's perfect. I will try your curry as well becaue I used Thai Kitchen curry and used almost the entire jar and it wasn't spicy enough for me. I will probably add a touch more fish sauce as well for personal taste. Thanks!!!
Sarah says
Dad, I made this with Thai Kitchen red curry paste (trying to use up what I had on hand) and it was scrumptious. The sauce...to die for! The chicken...so tender! Thanks for the great recipe!
Mike V says
You're welcome!
Christine Taufique says
Love it! This was the first recipe I tried in the instant pot and it was a big hit with my family and friends. Followed recipe exactly as written, perfect! Chicken was tender and spice was just right.
Mike V says
You're welcome - glad you liked it!
Faina says
the results were tasty, but the curry was more soup like - should i add less of the chicken broth, or what do you suggest to make it more saucy and less soupy
Mike V says
That's the style of Thai curries - they aren't very thick. You can cut back on the chicken broth, or simmer it to thicken up once it is cooked.
Aaron Friedman says
I use cornstarch.
Jackie says
Mike I love this recipe! For me this is another winner for me. This will be a recipe I will make again many times. By the way I used the whole 4 oz curry paste but it still wasn't that hot for me. What should I do to make this more spicy?
Mike V says
I do two things to up the heat: 1. Add Sriracha hot sauce. 2. Slice up a Jalapeno pepper and lay a few slices on top.
Sigrid Trombley says
Jackie,
You could also use those skinny Thai red chiles. They're small but really pack a wallop. They should be available in your supermarket or an Asian market if there's one in your community. And since this is a Thai curry they would be most appropriate.
Aaron Friedman says
I made this with the red curry paste and a little cornstarch at the end and loved it. The canned curry was much better than I expected. Next time I'm going to try the Masaman paste since it was a little spicy for the kids (my son, my daughter wouldn't touch it). It's an excellent technique. Thanks.
Aaron Friedman says
What's your curry paste recommendation. Where do you get yours?
Mike V says
I get cans of maesri from my local Asian market(s) - they all seem to carry it.
Sigrid Trombley says
Mike,
Looks delicious. I love green Thai curry. The finished curry photo has something red in it - what is it?
Sigrid
Mike V says
Sriracha hot sauce 😉
FredW says
"Float the new potatoes on top of the liquid in the pot"
Didn't see potatoes in the ingredient list.
Also, you mention in the notes about adding the rest of the coconut milk. Where exactly?
Thanks!
Mike V says
Cut and paste will be the death of me. Fixed the recipe. And that was "the rest of the can" - in other words, the non-cream liquid in the can of coconut milk.