Name: Thai green curry fried rice
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 3 tbsp oyster sauce; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp seasoning sauce; 1 ½ tsp rice wine vinegar; 1 ½ tbsp sugar; 1 tsp ground white pepper; 3 cups cooked jasmine rice. Notes* day old or let dry at room temp for 1-hour; ¼ cup oil. High smoking point oil only, such as vegetable, coconut, grape, avocado, or sunflower oil; 2 eggs; 2 tbsp garlic, minced; 3 tbsp curry paste, 2 tbsp if using store-bought; 8 oz pork loin, beef, or chicken (½ lb), thinly sliced against the grain. (why against the grain?); ¾ cup sweet onion; 1 cup Thai eggplants, chopped small ¼ inch cubed size; 3 kaffir lime leaves, julienned. (2 tbsp); ½ cup Thai basil, chopped into large pieces

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Thai green curry fried rice is a delicious and easy recipe that marries two recipes into one robust dish using fried rice and green curry paste. You don’t want to miss out on the flavor explosion of this lesser-known Thai recipe.

For more fried rice recipes, try these delicious and easy recipes. This Thai Thai basil chicken fried rice, pineapple fried rice with shrimp recipe, and Thai fried rice with turkey meat (or chicken!) For a meatless meal, try easy Thai fried rice recipe here. All have incredible flavors you'll love!

This Thai fried rice recipe traditionally uses tiny round pea eggplants for its distinctive earthy but slightly bitter taste. The bold taste of these eggplants and their crispy seeds adds a nice light and earthy taste to the fried rice when cooked. Since these pea eggplants are difficult to come by, use Thai eggplants and dice them into ¼ inch pieces. Check below for more vegetable suggestions if you need substitutes.

What exactly is green curry fried rice?

This green curry fried rice has a robust taste and smells of Thai basil, kaffir lime leaves, and Thai eggplants. These are all the ingredients used in traditional Thai green curry. Don’t skimp on these ingredients if possible. Check your local Asian markets for all three.

Why this recipe work?

Do you have leftover green curry paste that you don't use up right away? Well, this green curry fried rice recipe offers you another delicious Thai food option for you to cook up in a flash. Especially if you have store-bought green curry paste already, this recipe will be a breeze to whip up in about 20 minutes.
Do you also have some leftover fried rice that you just don't know what to do with sometimes? This recipe is perfect for rescuing boring rice into a robust-tasting one!
You can use any protein options for this recipe. Shrimp, pork, beef, chicken, and tofu are great.
Most of these ingredients you can find at your local Asian market, so you don't need to make 2-3 stops to find the ingredients and sauces for it. Stock up while you're there.

What goes into this recipe?

Every time I make this recipe, my husband says it reminds him of dirty rice he had when he was doing his flight training in the Southern US. I didn’t think about it until he said so. I suppose it is a similar method as combining green curry paste with meat, herbs, sauces, and some spices. But using Thai ingredients to make this Thai green fried rice makes it one of the most flavorful fried rice dishes you will ever have.

Below are the specific brand of sauces that I use for my Thai green curry fried rice. You can find these at your local Asian markets. Feel free to screenshot and bring the image with you when you go shop. Have fun shopping! If you have never been to an Asian market, view it as a fun adventure like you're going on a cultural experience of another culture! Lots of new things to see! (:

Kitchen notes:

Rice: Use day-old Jasmine rice. That means, use rice that's been cooked the day before so there's less moisture in it so when stir-frying, it's less likely to get mushy. If you are unable to cook your rice the day before, try this. Use less water when cooking the jasmine rice. Once the rice is cooked, spread the rice out on a large platter-like baking sheet for an hour or so before using it to stirfry.
Eggs: Traditional recipes tend not to use eggs, but I find that the eggs help absorbed the spicy flavor of the green curry paste. The eggs also add a meatier and creamier taste that balances out the strong curry paste very nicely.
Vegetable substitutes: if you can’t find Thai eggplants these vegetables are a great substitute: sweet or snap snow pea pods, purple eggplants, asparagus, broccolini, or broccoli stems.

How to make Thai green curry fried rice

Here are the steps in making this delicious Thai green curry fried rice. I used my own homemade green curry paste for this recipe. You can use a store-bought paste if you can't find all the ingredients to make your own paste. Mae Ploy is a brand I suggest for this recipe. Please note that store-bought pastes tend to be saltier and spicer too. Adjust the paste, sugar, and fish sauce as necessary.

Mix the sauces. Set aside.
Heat oil in medium-high heat, add eggs, and scramble into omelets. Leave in large pieces. Remove from wok/skillet. Set aside.
Add the rest of the oil to the wok, add garlic and cook for a few seconds, add the curry paste. Stir until fragrant.
Add the pork and cook until lightly browned.
Add onion, eggplants, and kaffir leaves. Stir together well. Cook until the vegetables are slightly tender. (1-2 minutes max.)
Add rice, break up the clumps, and stir.
Add sauces, stir well, and cook for 2 more minutes. Helpful notes* Spread the rice evenly on the wok/skillet surface to let the moisture from the food escape. This will allow the fried rice to be on the drier side rather than the mushy rice.
Add the Thai basil, stir in well. Turn the heat off and let the residual heat wilt/cook the basil leaves. Carefully taste the fried rice, adjust with more sugar, fish sauce, or seasoning sauce as needed. Serve warm. Garnish with more white pepper, chopped fresh chili, or basil leaves. Enjoy!

FAQs and expert tips

Green curry paste: If you have store-bought paste, you will need to use slightly less than what the recipe asked for. if store-bought. Store-bought pastes tend to be saltier too. You may need to add a little extra sugar to the final dish to help balance the salty flavor. Start with 1 teaspoon of sugar and add more if necessary.
Kaffir lime leaves: The leaves add a very distinctive taste to the recipe. Don’t skip it if possible. Check with your local Asian market. You can read up more on kaffir lime leaves here. Kaffir lime leaves and substitute.
Seasoning sauce: You can find this sauce at the Asian market, or a great substitute is the Maggi seasoning sauce. You can read more about sauces for Thai cooking here.
Protein: You can use pork, chicken, or beef for your protein option. Shrimp or firm tofu is good also but be sure to not overcook these as they don’t take very long to cook.

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Thai Rice. The different types of rice in Thai cooking.
Sauces in Thai cooking. Learn about the essential sauces you'll need for Thai cooking.

Go gather your ingredients and let's go make this delicious recipe together!