Thai Chicken and Eggplant Curry (Instant Pot and Stovetop)

16 Comments

A cozy bowl of Thai green curry, made in minutes!

This Thai green curry is made with chicken thighs, eggplant, bell pepper, and water chestnuts. It’s a simple, hearty, protein and veggie-packed dish, perfect with a side of jasmine rice.

You can make this curry in an instant pot or on the stovetop (my preference is of course the instant pot).

thai eggplant chicken curry

I know water chestnuts aren’t commonly used in Thai green curry but I’m a big “crunch” fan and always find a reason to add water chestnuts to Asian cuisine. Trust me, you’ll love the texture they add to the curry.

Thai Green Curry with eggplant and chicken

Let’s Talk About Eggplant:

When I make this recipe, I mostly use the purple globe eggplant variety, which tends to melt into the curry during cooking, especially in an instant pot. This type of eggplant is what’s sold in most US grocery stores – it is easy to find.

You can certainly use green and white Thai eggplants if you’re lucky enough to find them.

Thai green eggplants are meant to be stewed and so they keep their shape during cooking.

Depending on the variety of eggplant you use, the consistency of the dish will be different – but either way, it’ll be delicious!

Thai Eggplant

Here’s an older picture of this dish with Thai green eggplant:

Thai Eggplant Green Curry

And here’s a newer picture, using purple eggplant – again, either way, this curry will be great so use whatever eggplant you’ve got!

thai eggplant chicken curry

Looking for more Thai food recipes?

thai eggplant chicken curry

I suggest serving this dish with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Thai Eggplant and Chicken Curry

Thai Eggplant and Chicken Curry

4.92 from 12 reviews
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Cuisine Thai

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 serrano peppers or Thai bird chili minced, to taste
  • 3 teaspoons garlic paste or 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste or 1-inch knob fresh ginger minced
  • 3 tablespoons Thai green curry paste to taste
  • 1 to 1½ pound skinless boneless chicken thighs quartered
  • ½ cup broth
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ÂĽ tsp turmeric
  • 1 20 ounce eggplant (or 4 small Thai eggplants), chopped into large chunks

Add later:

  • 1 13.5 ounce can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 can water chestnuts drained
  • 1 bell pepper chopped
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • 1 handful Thai basil leaves

Instructions
 

Instant Pot:

  • Press sautĂ© and adjust heat to the highest setting. Add oil and once it’s hot, add the sliced onion, garlic, ginger, green chili, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until aromatic.
  • Add the chicken and green curry paste and mix well. Then add the remaining ingredients to the pot (except for those listed under “add later”). 
  • Secure the lid, close the pressure valve, and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
  • Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
  • Open the lid and add the ingredients listed under “add later.”
  • Serve with jasmine rice.

Stovetop:

  • Heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and cook the chicken until the outside is mostly browned and cooked through.
  • Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chilis and stir-fry for a minute, then add the eggplant and stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes. 
  • Add the green curry paste, fish sauce, water chestnuts, bell pepper, salt, pepper, turmeric and coconut milk. You can omit the broth when making this recipe on the stovetop, however, if you’d like a saucier curry, feel free to add it in. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  • Add the lime juice and Thai basil and serve with jasmine rice.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @myheartbeets on Instagram and hashtag it #myheartbeets!

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About Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley. Thanks for being here! I truly believe that food brings us closer together. Gather around a table with good food and good people, and you’ll have the ingredients you need to create some happy memories. My hope is that you find recipes here that you can’t wait to share with family and friends.

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Comments

  1. Irene says

    5 stars
    So good! We did cook the eggplant longer too, but great recipe! Made as is except for cooking eggplant until tender for our taste.

  2. Amy says

    5 stars
    Delicious! Unlike other commenters, I used way less (like 1 TB) of the green curry paste, and only half of a serrano pepper and the heat was perfect (for me). I also used lite coconut milk because my supermarket was out of the full-fat, and it was still yummy. Great flavor! Thank you Ashley!

  3. Sally says

    5 stars
    Made this recipe last night because I found it, after finding the most gorgeous little purple Thai eggplants in an Indian/Asian market near me. Wow – just spectacular! We used dried red hot peppers we keep in our freezer to make it hot. Want to try adding some Kaffir Lime leaves next time – but WOW THIS IS A KEEPER RECIPE (we made it on the stove). Easy enough for a weeknight if you have all of your ingredients on hand! Yum Yum!

  4. Kaitlin says

    5 stars
    Loved this recipe!! This green curry rivals the one from the Thai place in my town! The flavor is incredible and the water chestnuts add a wonderful crunch.
    Some modifications I did: I used more green curry paste and cooked the eggplant much longer to soften it up… but it gave me more time to chop everything else.

  5. Sharon says

    4 stars
    Good basic recipe. I doubled the eggplant and added another bird chili, and used red pepper instead of green for nice color. Also added a tbl of palm sugar, and substituted “lite” coconut milk, which was surprisingly good. It took about twice as long as recommended to get the eggplant properly cooked, but adding the chicken breast later was brilliant.

    I liked the simplicity and wisdom of this recipe and will certainly make it again.

  6. Lynda hertel says

    5 stars
    could i use pork chop instead of chix? we tried it last week with chix and it was amazing! i grew thai eggplant in my garden and didn’t know what to do with them, this is perfect.

  7. Hillary says

    You didn’t add coconut milk to the ingredients, but the snapshot indicates otherwise, as do the instructions. How much, pls?

    • My Heart Beets says

      Hi Hillary,

      You’re right – thank you for letting me know! I have made the fix – add 1 can of coconut milk. I use organic and full-fat. Hope that helps!

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