Name: Easy Red Curry Green Beans with Shrimp (Pad Prik King)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 3 cloves garlic, diced small; 1 Tbsp oil; 1 4-oz can Prik Khing curry paste; 1 Cup coconut cream (or 1.25 cup coconut milk); 1 lbs. large shrimp. (Tail on is fine too); 6-7 kaffir lime leaves, finely julienned; 2.5 Tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar; 1.5 Tsp Thai fish sauce; 2 cups green beans cut into 1-2” pieces

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This easy red curry green beans with shrimp, or Pad Prik King, is a simple and delicious Thai dish that lightly fries red curry paste together with coconut cream, shrimp, kaffir lime leaves, and green beans.

My Pad Prik King Recipe uses shrimp for a quick and easy meal (shrimp cooks faster than other types of protein), but you can use any protein of choice for this dish. I’ve had it made with beef, chicken, and pork and all are delicious!

What Does Pad Prik King Mean?

Pad Prik King in Thai means: a stir fry dish with chili peppers and ginger. Pad = stir fry, Prik = chili peppers, King = Ginger. Ironically though, not a trace of ginger is in this classic Thai dish! The origin of the name is unknown but the dish is legendary.

Prik King Paste for Red Curry Green Beans Recipe.

My recipe calls for a pre-made curry paste. My go-to brand is Maesri Prik King Curry Paste. It is delicious, quick, and easy and I can usually put together a lunch or dinner with this dish within 15-20 minutes. Later on down the road, I will teach you how to make your own curry paste. For today though, we are aiming for a quick, easy, and yet oh-so-delicious dish, and for that, we will use a curry paste from Maesri. You can purchase the paste here, it comes in a pack of 4.

What are Kaffir Lime Leaves?

The main ingredient that cannot be substituted in Pad Prik King Recipe is the Kaffir lime leaves, or Makrut lime leaves. Kaffir leaves are a specific type of lime leaves that are very highly aromatic with a very distinctive flavor that is commonly used in many dishes in Thai cuisine. You can find the leaves in the frozen section of the Asian market. Or you can purchase online here. You can store unused pieces in your freezer for a very long time.

Pad Prik King Curry with Coconut Cream

For my Pad Prik King Shrimp Recipe, I use coconut cream to add extra creaminess to the curry. You can use coconut milk or water if you’d like to have less calories. I do find that when I use water, it tends to dilute flavor of the curry paste and also the dish tends to get too runny at the end. I recommend this brand of coconut cream and this brand for the coconut milk for use in cooking Thai food. You can purchase the coconut cream here or the coconut milk here.

Do I Need Thai Green Beans to Make Pad Prik King Shrimp Recipe?

First of all, you may be wondering: what are Thai green beans? They are basically green beans that are very long—as long as 1-2 feet long—and they are light green n color. There are many varieties of the long beans out there but the ones I used for this recipe are the light green long beans pictured below. I also love using them for my Thai Papaya salad. and also my Basil and green beans stir fry (Pad Kra Pao). They are in season now and you can find them at the Asian markets.

How to Make Pad Prik King Shrimp Recipe

This red curry green beans recipe is so incredibly fast and easy to make. Once you’ve prepped everything ahead of time, you’ll have a super dinner on the table in no time at all. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this dish. I have also included a picture of all the ingredients below for your reference.

Ingredients for Pad Prik King Recipe with coconut cream:

Green beans—Thai green beans if you can find them at Asian market, but any type of beans will taste good with this dish.
Thai fish sauce
Prik Khing Curry Paste
Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk
Brown sugar or Palm Sugar
Garlic
Oil (Coconut or Grape-seed oil or Vegetable oil)
Kaffir lime leaves
Large Shrimp (tail on is fine too)

How to make red curry green beans recipe.

Below are the step-by-step photos showing how to make my recipe. There are eight simple steps and you will have dinner on the table in no time. Let’s get started!

Instructions, as pictured above.

Fry garlic with oil in skillet or wok on medium-high heat until the garlic is light golden brown (30 seconds or so).
Add the curry paste to the skillet, break up the chunks, and mix in well with the garlic. Fry for 1 minute until the paste is fragrant.
Add the coconut cream and mix in well with the paste.
Let the sauce cook until thickens, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the shrimp into the sauce and stir until well coated with the sauce.
Add the rest of the ingredients (kaffir lime leaves, sugar and fish sauce), mix in really well and stir often. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Taste the sauce here and adjust to your liking.
Add the green beans, stir well, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Do not over cook the green beans, you want to leave a little crunch for taste.
Taste it one last time, add more fish sauce or sugar as needed. Serve warm with rice. ENJOY!!

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