This classic Thai dish is called "jungle curry" or gaeng pa because there are so many plants in it that it's like a whole jungle in a bowl! Healthy, herbaceous, and fiercely spicy - this curry packs all the flavours that are iconic to Thailand. It's a water-based curry (no coconut milk) so it makes for a light but satisfying meal. For the curry paste, I've included both the "from-scratch" and "quick-fix" recipes, so you can make it a project or a weeknight meal!
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Ingredients and Important Notes
Here are ingredients you'll need to make jungle curry. For the curry paste I'm showing you ingredients for the "quick-fix" version as this is how most of you will probably do it, but for those who want to make the curry paste from scratch, the recipe is also included in the recipe card below.
- Chicken thigh, boneless skinless. You can substitute other proteins, but cooking time has to be adjusted to match whatever you're using.
- Chicken stock, unsalted or low sodium. I prefer to make my own chicken stock for Thai cooking for best flavour. Here's my Thai style chicken stock recipe.
- Fish sauce
- Palm sugar or sub granulated white or brown sugar.
- Young peppercorns (optional). These are peppercorns in their fresh state before they get turned into the black or white pepper we're used to seeing. They can be found fresh or brined in a glass jar, both of which work fine in this recipe. Cut them into chunks and add to soups or stir-fries to gently infuse. If you like an extra peppery punch you can pick off the peppercorns from the stem and eat along with the curry, but I personally don't eat them.
- Fingerroot aka grachai (picture below). This is an aromatic rhizome with a cooling, herbal aroma. You can find them fresh at a Southeast Asian store, or more likely, brined in a glass jar which work very well. The jars can be labelled as "rhizome" (not very descriptive), "pickled galangal" (though it's neither galangal nor pickled), or by its Vietnamese name ngải bún. It's also a key ingredient in this rice noodles with fish curry recipe.
- Holy basil. In Thai this is called gaprao, and is the key ingredient in the famous dish, chicken and basil stir fry or pad gaprao. If not available you can substitute regular Italian basil or Thai basil.
- Toasted rice powder (optional). This adds a lovely toasty aroma to the curry, but it is optional as not everyone adds it. To make, simply toast some raw jasmine rice in a dry skillet until dark brown, then grind into a powder in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Toasted rice powder is also a key ingredient in the popular dish laab.
- Long beans or green beans.
- Baby corn. If not available or if you don't like them, sub another crunchy vegetable such as cauliflower or carrots.
- Thai eggplant. These are round, striped, beautiful eggplants that are quite versatile. They are crunchy when raw, and indeed can be eaten raw, but I prefer them cooked. They are usually added to some forms of curry, and is very popular in green curry. If not available, you can sub Chinese eggplant or any other veggies you prefer.
- Pea eggplant. (not shown) I didn't use these in this recipe because I don't actually like them, but they're very commonly added to jungle curry in Thailand. They look like green peas and pop when you bite them. They have a slightly bitter taste which some people really like (but not me!).
- Spur chilies or red bell pepper. This is added just for some nice colour.
Ingredients for the quick-fix jungle curry paste:
Making jungle curry paste from scratch can be time consuming, but most stores don't carry ready-made jungle curry paste. But since jungle curry paste shares many of the same ingredients as red curry paste, I've come up with a quick way to make it using store bought red curry paste as a base.
- Red curry paste. My preference is for Maeploy or Aroy-D brand. Do not use Thai Kitchen.
- Green Thai chilies or another spicy green chilies such as serranos. Remove the seeds and pith if you want to reduce the heat.
- Grachai (fingerroot). See note on grachai above.
- Lemongrass. Red curry paste already contains lemongrass, but for jungle curry I like to take the citrusy flavour up a notch.
How to Make Jungle Curry Step-By-Step
Here's a quick bird's eye view of the process, and when ready to cook, check out the detailed recipe and full video tutorial in the recipe card below.
- For the quick-fix curry paste, grind grachai, lemongrass and green chilies until fine.
- Add red curry paste.
- Pound to mix well
- Finished jungle curry paste can be used right away or frozen for a few months.
- Saute the curry paste in oil until aromatic
- Add the chicken thigh and toss to coat
- Add the chicken stock.
- Simmer for 15 mins until chicken is fork tender.
- Add long beans, eggplant, baby corn, makrut lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar. Simmer a few minutes until veggies are cooked to your liking.
- Once veggies are done, turn off the heat and add holy basil and bell pepper and stir to wilt.
- Before serving, add the toasted rice powder.
- Ready to serve with jasmine rice!
Using Red Curry Paste as a Base
While you can make jungle curry paste from scratch, here I show you how to make it the quick way by doctoring store-bought red curry paste. Using red curry paste as a base is a handy technique that I also use in my Instant Pot massaman curry and panang curry recipes.
This works because red curry paste is a "basic" paste, in the sense that it contains all of the ingredients that are common to many other pastes, but nothing more. So we can use it as a shortcut starting point when making more complex pastes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jungle Curry
In short, my preference is for Maeploy and Aroy-D, and I advise against Thai Kitchen as it is quite weak. Please refer to my review of popular curry paste brands if you want more detail.
YES! Jungle curry can be made using all kinds of protein, just make sure you adjust cooking time accordingly to suit whatever you're using. You can also keep the chicken stock, or change it up to match your protein.
Yes, however, in Thailand you won't see too many other veggies used for gaeng pa. So for the traditional curry, use the ones I shared the recipe. If you have to use others, that's totally fine, but try to choose ones that hold up well in soups and don't introduce too strong a flavour. For example zucchini, Chinese broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, or mushrooms.
The most important is grachai (fingerroot) because it is a key flavour. If you make it without, it'll still be delicious, but it won't taste exactly as it should. Holy basil is also a key flavour, but regular basil or Thai basil can be used instead. The young peppercorns can be omitted without issues.
Thai Jungle Curry with Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
Quick-Fix Jungle Curry Paste
- 4-5 tablespoon red curry paste
- 3-5 green Thai chilies, or as many as you can take
- 2 tablespoon fingerroot (grachai), chopped
- 2 tablespoon lemongrass, thinly sliced
Jungle Curry
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 12 oz boneless skinless chicken thigh, cut into strips
- 2½ cups unsalted chicken stock
- 1-2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoon finely chopped palm sugar
- 4.2 oz long beans, 2-inch pieces
- 8 baby corn, bite-sized pieces
- 4 Thai eggplant, cut in 4 or 6 wedges
- 2 stems young green peppercorns, (optional)
- ¼ cup julienned fingerroot (grachai), (optional)
- 4-5 makrut lime leaves
- 2 spur chilies, julienned (see note)
- 1 cup holy basil leaves
- 1 ½ tablespoon toasted rice powder, (see note)
Jungle Curry Paste from Scratch
- 0.7 oz mild dried chilies, such as guajillo or puya
- 3-5 green Thai chilies, or as many as you can handle
- 1 teaspoon coarse grain salt
- ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bottom half only, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon galangal, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon fingerroot (grachai), finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon makrut lime zest, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon cilantro roots or stems, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste (gapi)
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Notes
- Spur chilies or prik chee fa are large mild red peppers which we use to add colour to many dishes. You can substitute red bell pepper or any other medium-to-mild red peppers.
- To make toasted rice powder, simply toast 1 ½ tablespoon uncooked jasmine or sticky rice in a dry saute pan over high heat, stirring constantly, until it has a deep brown colour. Then grind in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video to ensure success. If you enjoy them, consider subscribing to the YouTube Channel to not miss an episode. Thank you!
Subscribe to my YouTube ChannelInstructions
For the quick-fix jungle curry paste:
- If you don't want to make it too spicy, remove the seeds and pith from the green chilies, then pound them in a mortar and pestle until fine. Add grachai and lemongrass and pound into a fine paste.3-5 green Thai chilies, 2 tablespoon fingerroot (grachai), 2 tablespoon lemongrass
- Add the red curry paste and pound to mix. The curry paste will last in the fridge for a few days and can be frozen for a few months.4-5 tablespoon red curry paste
For the curry:
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, add the oil and the curry paste and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes.2 tablespoon neutral oil
- Add the chicken and toss with the curry paste, then add the stock and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the chicken is fork tender.12 oz boneless skinless chicken thigh, 2½ cups unsalted chicken stock
- Once the chicken is done, add the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce and stir to mix. Add the long beans, baby corn, eggplant, young peppercorns, grachai, and makrut lime leaves and simmer for a few more minutes until the vegetables are done to your liking.1-2 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoon finely chopped palm sugar, 4.2 oz long beans, 8 baby corn, 4 Thai eggplant, 2 stems young green peppercorns, ¼ cup julienned fingerroot (grachai), 4-5 makrut lime leaves
- Turn off the heat and stir in the spur chilies or bell pepper, holy basil, and toasted rice powder, using just the residual heat to gently wilt the basil. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce as needed.2 spur chilies, 1 cup holy basil leaves, 1 ½ tablespoon toasted rice powder
- Serve with jasmine rice, enjoy!
For from-scratch jungle curry paste:
- Grind the dried chilies into a powder using a coffee grinder.0.7 oz mild dried chilies
- In a heavy-duty mortar and pestle, add the green chilies, salt, and white peppercorns; pound into a fine paste.3-5 green Thai chilies, 1 teaspoon coarse grain salt, ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns
- Add the lemongrass, galangal, grachai, makrut lime zest, and cilantro roots; pound into a fine paste.1 stalk lemongrass, bottom half only, 1 tablespoon galangal, 2 tablespoon fingerroot (grachai), 1 teaspoon makrut lime zest, 1 teaspoon cilantro roots or stems
- Add the ground chilies and pound to mix.
- Add the shallots and garlic and pound into a fine paste. Add the shrimp paste and pound to mix.3 tablespoon shallots, 1 tablespoon garlic, 1 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste (gapi)
Stephen says
Amazing curry. Nice and spicy. Tastes great! Thank you so much. Very refreshing.
Michelle says
This is the most amazing recipe, it's better than the local Thai that I love. Thank you soooo much
Sunny says
The recipe is amazing but impossible to follow without the video. The written instructions miss core chunks of what to do. I would brown the chicken before tossing it in too but overall it tasted GREAT!
Pailin Chongchitnant says
What is it missing?
David says
I followed the written recipe just above the comments, gotten all my mise en place, then cooked according to the instructions... and was left with julienned grachai and toasted rice powder that I hadn't used. I just tossed them in once I realized and it seemed okay, the grachai and basil compliment each other nicely! Overall The recipe was delicious as always, I've cooked at least a dozen of your recipes by now and they're always amazing!
Pailin Chongchitnant says
My apologies for those omissions, David! Thank you for letting me know. I've added them to the instructions and it should be all good now!
Noxolo says
Hi Pai! Could you maybe do a 101 video on Grachai root? Would Love that but totally get it if not! Thanks!
louise highgate says
Hi, I have jungle curry paste that I bought back from Thailand, how much do I need for this recipe please?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
It'll vary from brand to brand so there's no way for me to tell, but I'd start with just 3 Tbsp and add more as needed.
Michelle says
This is amazing, I have just finished eating my first attempt and wow, definitely a regular from now on. Thank you so much
Kory says
Really delicious recipe! I couldn't get makrut lime leaves, green peppercorns, or the eggplant, but it still turned out great. The curry is so good, I would make it with just the vegetables. As someone who loves Buldak original but can't eat a bite of Buldak 2x spicy, 4 thai chilies and 5 tablespoons curry paste was perfect. I felt bad discarding the basil stems, so I chopped up the upper, less tough parts and put them in at the same time as the curry paste, and that was still good.
Next time:
I tried chicken thigh, but I think a sturdier meat than chicken like pork might fit the rest of the textures better.
My halved canned/soaked babycorn somehow cooked a bit faster than my long beans, so I'd put them in a bit later or maybe not bother halving them.
Those eggplants look so cool! Hopefully I can find them next time.
Denise Lenert says
Very Yummy!!!! I make this recipe often and it's always a hit.
Joshua Sartorel says
Thanks so much as this is my all time favourite. Now thanks to you I can make it myself. You are wonderful, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
chris says
beautiful, fiery hot, easy to substitute ingredients. a winner!!
Shauna says
Made this last night. Delicious and loved that it was healthy and low in fat. My whole family loved it which was surprising with all the vegetables I didn’t think the kids would like it.
Austin Jones says
Really delicious curry and healthy too!
Adam The HTK Intern says
Thanks! 🙂
Nicholas says
Excellent as always