Mae's Authentic Thai Green Curry
Fragrant Thai green curry with chicken and vegetables. A family recipe from Bangkok to Sydney's Newtown, made from scratch.
The Story Behind This Recipe
My mother's recipe from Bangkok - Nina Pongpanit
My mother - we call her Mae (Thai for mother) - arrived in Sydney from Bangkok in 1995, bringing with her a battered notebook filled with her own mother's recipes written in Thai script. For the first few years, she struggled to find the right ingredients, making do with whatever the limited Asian grocers in Newtown could provide. But her green curry - gaeng keow wan - was always perfect, no matter what.
What makes Mae's green curry special is that she makes the curry paste from scratch. While many Thai-Australian families eventually started using store-bought paste (which Mae admits are quite good now), she insisted on pounding fresh ingredients in her granite mortar and pestle. "The paste is the soul of the curry," she'd say in her Thai-accented English. "You can taste the love when you make it yourself."
Growing up in our Newtown terrace, I'd wake on Saturday mornings to the rhythmic thud-thud-thud of Mae's pestle hitting the mortar, the smell of lemongrass and galangal filling the house. She'd spend 30 minutes pounding - green chilies, shallots, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, coriander roots, shrimp paste - until it became a smooth, fragrant paste. "Your arm gets tired," she'd laugh, "but this is how Thai mothers show love."
The curry itself is a balance of flavors that Mae can achieve without measuring anything - the spicy heat from the paste, the creamy richness from coconut milk, the savory depth from fish sauce, the sweetness from palm sugar, and the brightness from Thai basil and lime leaves. She serves it the traditional way: with jasmine rice, the curry ladled generously over the top, with sides of cucumber slices and Thai basil.
This recipe represents the Thai-Australian experience - maintaining authentic traditions while adapting to life in a new country, teaching the next generation, and gathering family around food that tastes like home. When I make Mae's curry now for my own children, using her mortar and pestle and her handwritten recipe (which I finally had translated), I feel connected to three generations of Thai women, all showing love through that rhythmic pounding and perfect balance of flavors.
"Every recipe tells a story, and every story brings us closer to the heart of home."
Adjust Servings
Scaled Ingredients:
💡 Tip: Cooking times may need adjustment when scaling. Larger batches may take longer, smaller batches may cook faster.
Ingredients
For the Green Curry Paste
For the Curry
For Serving
Pro Tips
- • Making paste from scratch takes time but the flavor is incomparable. Make double and freeze half.
- • If using store-bought paste, choose Thai brands like Maesri or Mae Ploy for authenticity.
- • Splitting the coconut cream before adding paste creates a richer, more authentic curry.
- • Don't boil the curry vigorously - gentle simmering prevents the coconut milk from splitting.
- • Fresh makrut lime leaves make a huge difference - frozen are okay, dried are not worth it.
- • Balance is everything - taste and adjust the fish sauce/sugar/lime juice until it's perfect.
- • For vegetarian version, use tofu and replace fish sauce with soy sauce.
Storage
Curry keeps refrigerated for 3-4 days and freezes beautifully for 3 months. The flavors deepen overnight. Store curry paste refrigerated for 2 weeks or frozen for 6 months.
Instructions
- 1
Make the curry paste from scratch (or use 1/3 cup quality store-bought paste and skip to step 4). Toast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and white peppercorns in a dry pan for 2 minutes until fragrant. Grind to a powder. Wrap shrimp paste in foil and toast in the pan for 2 minutes per side.
5 minutes - 2
In a large mortar and pestle (or food processor), pound the chilies first until broken down. Add lemongrass, galangal, and pound to a paste. This takes about 5 minutes of steady pounding - Mae says the pestle should make a rhythmic thud-thud sound.
5 minutes - 3
Add garlic, shallots, coriander roots, and continue pounding. Add the toasted spice powder, shrimp paste, lime leaves, and pound until you have a smooth, fragrant paste. This takes patience - about 20-30 minutes total. The paste should be aromatic and smooth. If using a food processor, you may need to add a tablespoon of water.
25 minutes - 4
Heat oil in a large wok or deep pan over medium-high heat. Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of the can (reserve the thinner milk below). Fry the coconut cream for 3-4 minutes until it splits (separates) and becomes oily - you'll see oil pooling.
4 minutes - 5
Add the curry paste to the split coconut cream. Fry for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until deeply fragrant and the rawness is cooked out. The paste should darken slightly and smell amazing. Mae says, 'Your neighbors should be able to smell this.'
5 minutes - 6
Add the chicken pieces to the paste. Stir to coat each piece thoroughly with the curry paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is sealed and starting to cook through.
4 minutes - 7
Add the remaining coconut milk and chicken stock. Stir well to combine. Add the torn lime leaves. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Don't boil vigorously or the coconut milk will split and become oily.
5 minutes - 8
Add the eggplant (Thai eggplant is traditional but regular eggplant works). Simmer for 8-10 minutes until the eggplant is tender but not mushy. Thai eggplant should still have some bite.
10 minutes - 9
Add the green beans and capsicum. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the beans are tender-crisp and bright green. They should still have some crunch - Mae never overcooks her vegetables.
4 minutes - 10
Season with fish sauce and palm sugar. Taste and adjust - the curry should be a perfect balance of spicy (from chilies), salty (fish sauce), sweet (palm sugar), and rich (coconut milk). Mae tastes and adjusts at least three times.
- 11
Remove from heat and stir through most of the Thai basil leaves, reserving some for garnish. The basil should wilt into the curry but still be bright green and fragrant. Don't cook the basil - just let the residual heat wilt it.
- 12
Serve immediately in bowls over jasmine rice. Garnish with reserved basil leaves and sliced red chilies. Serve with cucumber slices on the side - the cool cucumber cuts through the richness of the curry perfectly.
Ingredient Substitutions
Nutrition Information
Per serving (approximate)
You Might Also Like
Related recipes will appear here once more recipes are added