Eggplant Green Curry Recipe (2024)

Healthy Dinners
Coconut Milk
Eggplant
Thai

This Thai green curry recipe is full of comfort and flavor, plus it’s easy to make. Made with eggplant, red bell peppers, lemongrass, and coconut milk, green curry makes for a cozy, warm dish for any weeknight dinner!

Garrett McCord

Garrett has been writing about food and sharing recipes for 15 years. He is the author of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese.

Learn about Simply Recipes'Editorial Process

Updated April 07, 2022

7 ratings

Two Important Tips for the Best Thai Green Curry

The first is that if you're using eggplant, you have to blister and sear it in order to enhance its unique taste.

The second is that you have to lightly fry your curry paste in order to reveal its true potential. Only then will you have a curry worth eating.

How to Make This Green Curry Recipe Your Own

Utilizing these rules, this basic green curry is as simple as they come and that will easily match or beat any green curry you've had in a restaurant. While I love the flavor of eggplant in this dish, you could just as easily use chicken or shrimp.

I highly encourage you to use makrut lime leaves, if you can find them, as they add a certain floral-citrusy flavor that can't be substituted. However, you can do this recipe without them, and though the curry will lack a truly authentic flavor, it will still be completely yum-worthy.

Adaptations and Variations of Green Curry

Substitute soy sauce or coconut aminos for the fish sauce to make it vegetarian.
Substitute water chestnuts for the bamboo shoots.
Substitute coconut sugar for the brown sugar.
Add a squeeze or two of lemon juice to tame the spice.
Add sauteed mushrooms.
Substitute regular eggplant for the Japanese eggplant.

What Kind of Coconut Milk to Use

Use unsweetened, full-fat canned coconut milk. Do not use refrigerated coconut milk.

How to Store and Reheat This Dish

Store leftover green curry tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat in the microwave in a saucepan over medium heat until heated through. Add a little more coconut milk to thin out the sauce out if it has thickened.

What to Serve With Thai Green Curry

White rice is what is commonly served with Thai green curry, but you can also serve this dish over:

Brown rice
Quinoa
Cauliflower rice

And while this can be a one-bowl meal, if you're looking for a side dish to add to your meal, serve it with Asian coleslaw.

More Thai Recipes to Try!

Thai Noodle Salad With Peanut Sauce
Pad Thai
Thai Green Curry With Chicken
Quick Green Curry Chicken With Zucchini Noodles
Tom Yum Soup (Spicy Thai Soup With Shrimp)

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Eggplant Green Curry

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Servings4 servings

There are a few special ingredients in this curry. Most can be found at an Asian market or well-stocked grocery store.

For a vegetarian curry, swap soy sauce or coconut aminos for the fish sauce.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil
2 Japanese eggplants, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 tablespoonsgreen curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 lemongrass stalk, cut into 3 pieces and bruised
3makrut lime leaves
1 tablespoonfish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 can bamboo shoots
1 red bell pepper, seeded, sliced into sticks
1/4 cup Thai basil or sweet basil leaves
1 to 3 whole Thai chilies, depending on your heat preference
Lime, for garnish, optional

Method

Stir-fry the eggplant:
Place a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or deep pan over high heat. Add eggplant pieces and stir-fry until skin becomes lightly brown and blistered, and the eggplant insides begin to soften and get a slight sear, about 3 to 4 minutes.
The eggplant will absorb the oil, if some of the eggplant pieces don't get any, add a little more oil.
Remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.
Heat the curry paste, add half of the coconut milk:
Place another tablespoon of vegetable oil in the wok heat over medium heat. Add the curry paste—be careful, as it will cause the oil to spit—and saute over medium heat until fragrant, about 20 to 30 seconds.
Add half of the coconut milk and mix, simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the lemongrass, makrut, fish sauce, brown sugar, and remaining coconut milk:
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add the bamboo shoots, cooked eggplant, and bell pepper:
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until all ingredients are softened a bit.
Stir in the basil and chilies and remove from heat:
Serve over rice with lime wedges on the side.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
412	Calories
26g	Fat
48g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	412
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 26g	33%
Saturated Fat 19g	96%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 693mg	30%
Total Carbohydrate 48g	18%
Dietary Fiber 11g	38%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 62mg	310%
Calcium 84mg	6%
Iron 7mg	38%
Potassium 973mg	21%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.