Most of the time when we get a craving for Thai food we go out to eat. However, this Thai Green Curry Shrimp dish is the exception. I found a basic Thai Shrimp Curry recipe years ago in Bon Appetit (Feb 2008). I loved the “base” of the dish (the coconut milk, broth, and Thai flavorings), but I wanted more vegetables. The Bon Appetit recipe only uses onion and tomato, and I’m not a fan of tomato in my curry dishes, especially green curries. So as you can see here, I’ve changed it up a bit.
This shrimp curry recipe uses onion, bell pepper and mushrooms and lots of them. This combination, along with the shrimp, provides many flavors as well as textures. It is a very easy dish to make and comes together quickly. One can be sitting down to eat within 30 minutes. I know it is not “authentic” Thai, but the green curry flavor is there and very close to the flavor of the green curries we order at local Thai restaurants. OH…..and it’s spicy! The green curry paste adds, not just Thai curry flavor, but Thai curry heat as well, and what a wonderful heat that is.
If you don’t have shrimp or don’t eat shrimp, then you can make a Thai Chicken Red Curry with just a few changes. To see the chicken curry recipe, please be sure to check out the Kitchen Notes below. And if you don’t eat meat at all, then replace the meat with tofu and use either the green curry or the red curry paste. We’ve used tofu with red curry paste and it was excellent.
An easy and delicious shrimp stew that was adapted from a February 2008 recipe in Bon Appetit. Can be served with either white or brown rice.
“*” See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 1 Tbsp. peanut oil
- 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped*
- 1 small to medium bell pepper, any color, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups fresh crimini mushrooms, quartered or 1 can straw mushrooms, drained*
- 2 – 5 tsp. Thai green curry paste* (adjust amount for mild, medium, hot)
- 2 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce
- 1 – 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup chicken or seafood stock*
- 1 tsp. honey or 2 tsp. sugar
- 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro or fresh Thai basil*, chopped
- lime wedges, 1 for each serving
- 2 cups liquid (1 cup chicken broth, 1 cup water)
- 1 cup rice (brown or white)
- To start the rice bring 2 cups liquid to a boil. Add the rice, cover and bring to a simmer. Turn to heat to low and let simmer 20 minutes for white rice, 45 minutes for brown rice.
Heat peanut oil in wok or large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add onion and bell pepper and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- If using fresh mushrooms, add them now and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the sesame oil and curry paste. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add fish sauce, broth, coconut milk and honey. Bring to a boil and reduce heat for a simmer until the rice is done.
About 3 minutes before serving, add the shrimp (and straw mushrooms if using) to the curry. Cook for 3 minutes. Shrimp should be pink and just cooked through. Stir in the cilantro.
- Scoop ½ to 1 cup rice into bowls. Top with shrimp and vegetables and the desired amount of curry sauce.
- Squeeze a wedge of lime over each serving and enjoy!
How to cook Brown Rice in 30 minutes
Seafood stock – Make a simple seafood stock with the shrimp shells. Just add the shells to 2 cups water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and use. For a spicy stock, add 1/2 tsp. cajun spice or red chile spice.
Onion – The medium onion can be substituted with two bunches of scallions, white chopped into 1″ lengths and green tops diced. Cook the white part of the scallions with the bell pepper. Add the green tops with the shrimp and fresh herbs at the end.
Mushrooms – I normally use only fresh or frozen vegetables, but I make an exception with canned straw mushrooms. I have to admit that I’m a sucker for these mushrooms and they are my favorite with this dish. If using fresh mushrooms, crimini mushrooms are best, not just for their flavor, but for their texture as well. Notice in the recipe instructions, that the canned mushrooms are added with the shrimp, and the crimini are added after cooking the onion and bell pepper.
Thai Green Curry Paste – Thai Kitchen brand is the brand I use. There may be a better brand out there, so use what you like. Green curry paste is quite spicy; therefore, we usually use about 3 teaspoons for a medium heat and 5 teaspoons for those nights when we want it hot.
Fresh Herbs – If you don’t eat or don’t have fresh cilantro nor Thai basil, sweet basil is a good substitute.
I find that the best pot for cooking rice is a heavy pot with a glass lid. The glass lid lets you see what’s going on in the pot without lifting the lid. To test to see if the rice is done, all you have to do is tilt the pot, and if you see any liquid, it’s not done.
Thai Red Curry Chicken Variation – Substitute the following:
- Thai red curry paste for the green curry paste
- 2 cups of uncooked chicken (cut into bite size strips) for the shrimp. Add to the wok after cooking the onion and bell pepper for 4 minutes. You could also use leftover chicken. If the chicken is cooked then add the chicken at the end with the fresh herbs.
- Fresh parsley, Thai basil or sweet basil instead of cilantro
Vegetarian/Vegan Version – As I mentioned earlier, tofu can be substituted for the chicken or the shrimp in either of these curries. Add the tofu about 5 minutes before serving. Substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth and omit the fish sauce. The fish sauce does add a distinctive flavor to this dish, so if you know of a substitute, then use it; otherwise, just leave it out.
Because it is extremely easy and quite delicious, this Thai Green Curry Shrimp is in the top 20 of my “Quick & Easy Meal Ideas“. It’s hearty, healthy, spicy, and packed with flavor.
Oh my goodness MJ, your photos are just gorgeous. Your food looks so vibrant and delicious and it is a curry… I know how hard that can be to do. Sharing all over, of course!
Thanks so much Bam and thanks for sharing all over!! 🙂
I probably eat Thai food once a week because I really love the curry and basically everything. Yet, I haven’t made the curry at home yet. This is very inspiring post for me, MJ!!! I love the thought of being accessible to Thai food at home… usually after kids are done with their activities, roads and freeways are so crowded to go eat out, but I insist to go especially if it’s my Thai restaurant. I think I’d be much happier if I can make curry at home and avoid the crazy traffic! Thanks for sharing this recipe, MJ!!
As busy as you are Nami, this is the perfect Thai dish to make at home. Simple, delicious and comes together really fast. And it gets eaten just as fast. 🙂
Love a super spicy green curry paste. And you’re right…no tomatoes. A little lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves are nice though, if you can find them. This is a gorge bowl of curry!
Thanks!!! You know, I do have some kaffir lime leaf powder in the pantry. Next time I make this I’m going to add some of that. Thanks!
Green Curry is my favorite and this one looks delicious packed full of all these vegetables and shrimp!
What a coincidence! I had Thai curry (red) two days in a row this weekend! It was pork and green peppercorns (fresh peppercorns) curry and I had to go and buy the Thai groceries through a snow tempest (a rare thing in my city) but it was worth it.
Your bowl of soup looks fabulous (the bowl is lovely too; not only the content!). I love your idea to add more vegetables. In Thailand several dishes are served, never just one curry or one soup, so it’s normal the recipes lack some stuff… I always add more meat too. I am sure the green curry alone is enough to create delicious Thai flavours.
(By the way, all the Thai restaurants I know use the same ready-to-cook commercial curry pastes we all can buy and I suppose it’s the same in most Western countries, so you shouldn’t feel you do anything “non-authentic”.)
Thanks so much Sissi! pork and green peppercorn Thai sounds pretty awesome! I’ve never heard of that combination. You really need to share that one with us. 🙂 Isn’t that a cool bowl? I wish now that I had bought two of them instead of just one for my blog photos. I’ve always been a big believer in having more vegetables in a soup or stew than meat so I usually throw in almost twice what’s called for. Thanks for letting me know about ready-to-cook pastes. Some things are just so good ready-made, why make them from scratch.
Will definitely be trying this one next week, MJ. Looks healthy, easy & delicious!!
So, how about sharing your top 20 “quick dinner” list with us? We’re always looking for quick weeknight dinner ideas.
Oh goody! I think you two will like it. Great idea on a post! I’ll start working on it. Thanks SIL! 🙂
We’re huge Thai food fans in our house. I have a good Thai friend who’s taught me a good bit about Thai cooking and I’ve tried my hand at a good many dishes. I really love this simplicity of this curry dish. I was making my shopping list this morning and I think I might just have to add this recipe to my menu for the week. Great recipe and post, MJ! Hope you’re having a good 2015 so far!
Thanks So much Bill. I hope you do get a chance to make it. It’s quite good.
Oh do I love Asian influenced food!!! It’s a bennie of living in the Pacific NW that this genre flourishes. I love Thai—of course. I also live on salt water. So shrimp is
prevalent. Wonderful dish.
Thanks Carol! You know how envious I am of you being so close to the ocean and an endless supply of fresh seafood.
I love Thai kitchen, MJ, and those shrimps are so succulent and great.
Thanks Angie! I see Thai Kitchen being used a lot, so I’m assuming it’s quite authentic.
Damn delicious hot and spicy green curry!!!
lovin it with green chili too…
Now this is my kind of dish! So love this with freshly cooked jasmine rice. Yum!
Oh yes, it is quite good with Jasmine rice my favorite white rice.
Love Thai food and this curry is beckoning me 😀
This recipe is fantastic! The flavor profile of Thai food is so lovely, but I agree, it can be a challenge to make at home. Thanks for sharing, MJ 🙂
I do love Thai food and tonight I cooked a Thai beef salad. I do love the look of your curry and the spices and heat in it would be wonderful. You have so much colour in your curry xx
Thanks Charlie! Oh…Thai beef salad sounds great!
This is such a lovely shrimp dish. Thai flavours are always lovely but your curry here has hit the spot with vegetable, aroma and taste. Very nice 😀
I could use a bowl of this right now. Thai food is one of my faves and I love those chili pastes, too! I can feel the warmth from here!
Thanks so much Abbe! And thanks for stopping by!
I enjoy just about any dish with curry and this one looks wonderful. However, I have to say your photo is stunning. What type of camera are you using and how exactly did you shoot this photo? I wish mine looked this good.
Thanks so very much Vicki!! I use a Canon 60D with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. However, I think I had the f stop @ 2.5 for these shots. One nice thing is that my photo table is right up against a SW facing window, so I get lots of natural light.
I have never tried my hand at homemade Thai – but that needs to change. Shrimp is one of my favs and having it in a green curry chock full of mushrooms sounds mouthwatering to me!
Thanks Shashi! This is such a great way to enjoy shrimp with lots of vegetables and tons of flavor. I hope you get a chance to try it.
Ooh, love it MJ… you know how I feel about those Thai flavors and all of the warming properties that go along with it 🙂 your soup looks beautiful, hearty and full of delicious ingredients. I understand what you mean about the straw variety mushroom — I think it would add some great texture and resistance to your Tom Yum Goong — love the chewy bits. Great idea!
Thanks so much Kelly! I usually feel guilty opening a “can” of mushrooms, but then I bite into one and say “To hell with it. These are good!”.:)
Apart from the hotness which can be adjusted, it absolutely perfect. All these veggies make it one healthy dish!
Thanks so much Katerina! And yes, the spiciness can definitely be adjusted. If you want it mild, just use 2 teaspoons of green curry paste.
Not familiar with Thai cuisine; but your recipe is a keeper! Cant wait to try this over the weekend. BTW the black bowl is gorgeous and so are your pictures.
Nisa, this is a great recipe to introduce you and your family to Thai cuisine. It’s easy and quite delicious. Thanks so much for your nice comments!
Because I make and eat Thai food so seldom, this curry is especially appealing! Love the heat, love all the veggies as well as those plump shrimp. What a marvelous dinner option!
Thanks Liz! I know, Thai is just not something that we make at home either, except for this. 🙂
This may be a quick dinner, MJ, but it looks like you slaved over it all day. It looks spectacular! A perfect way to stay warm and satisfied in these dreary winter months!
OH thanks Anne!! It’s a really pretty dish, isn’t it?
Oh, this is the perfect dish for this time of the year! So full of flavor and texture, and totally healthy. Perfect for the winter weather, too. This looks great — food really pops in black bowls, doesn’t it? Great photos — thanks.
Thanks so much John! I agree about the black bowls. That’s probably why my everyday dishes are black. 🙂 I’ve always loved the look of food on black plates.