Keto Low Carb Green Thai Chicken Curry: 11g carbs per serving (6g if you leave out the chickpeas).
If you love exotic food, here is a delicious keto curry-in-a-hurry you can try. Not quite made the traditional curry way. I use ground spices and I toast them quickly in ghee (or butter) before adding seasoning and chicken. The method is pretty simple. 60 minutes of cooking time is all you need. And just like traditional curries, this one tastes better the next day.
My Keto Low Carb Green Thai Chicken Curry was actually something I created without thinking it would turn out a ‘curry’ as such. You see, I’d never eaten a curry before. Hard to believe, being that I’m British and Great Britain is a nation of curry lovers. But I can’t stand the smell or sight of them. Primarily because of the large quantity of onions involved. And I can’t eat more than a minute amount of onion without my stomach churning afterwards.
None the less, I’d been watching an episode of Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey, and all those wonderful spices and colours had stirred my senses. Hence I decided to cook some chicken in a sauce and to have it with some cauliflower ‘rice’. Which is pretty much what a curry is.
In case you’re new to cauliflower ‘rice’, it is simply fresh cauliflower florets put in a blender and pulsed until it turns into ‘rice’ ‘grains’. Nowadays, however, you can find cauliflower ‘rice’ in every supermarket, either in the fresh vegetable isle or in the frozen section, conveniently packaged for microwave cooking and instant use.
Rummaging in the spice cupboard, I found several spices that I thought would provide the Eastern flavour. The rest was just plain instinct. Of course, if – unlike me, you love onions and garlic and very spicy food, you can go to town and customise this curry to your preference.
Turns out that my ketohusband – who adores curries and is a self-proclaimed ‘expert’, said my concoction was very much a mild thai curry and he was impressed. Shocking, really. Given my lack of knowledge on the subject. But there you go. And here it is.
Recipe for Keto Low Carb Green Thai Chicken Curry.
I apologise in advance If you love traditional curries and my method, or ingredients, make you cringe. I don’t mean to offend anyone. Just remember that in the keto world we re-invent a lot of traditional dishes in the name of lowcarbification. Don’t diss it before you try it!
Enjoy!
- Yield: 6
- Serving: 1
- Calories: 702
- Fat: 37g
- Net Carbs: 11g
- Protein: 44g
- 80g ghee or butter
- ½ TBSP fine Himalayan pink salt (U.S. option HERE)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1 shallot (minced)
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp fenugreek
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground green cardamom
- 1 TBSP organic broth granules (or 2 crumbled stock cubes)
- 400ml (1 can) coconut cream (U.S. option HERE)
- 15g fresh ginger root (peeled, net weight)
- 750g boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets (cut into large strips)
- 2 lemongrass stalks
- 230g chickpeas (canned, drained weight)
- 200g frozen chopped spinach
- 2 handfuls of fresh coriander leaves
- 900g cauliflower rice
- in a large frying pan or shallow pot, melt ghee then add salt, garlic, shallot, spices and broth granules.
- toast for 1 minute.
- add chicken strips and cook on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- add coconut cream and grated ginger.
- stir, turn heat down to minimum, place lemongrass stalks (sliced lengthways) on top and let the curry simmer - lid on.
- after 45 minutes, discard lemongrass, taste and adjust seasoning as required, then incorporate chopped coriander, spinach and chickpeas.
- let the curry simmer for another 10 minutes while you cook the cauliflower rice (5 min in microwave).
- you know how to serve it 🙂
Hi there. I’m looking to make this for the weekend. I’m not sure what broth granules are – can I substitute Kallo chicken or vegetable stock cubes (which have lower carb values that gravy granules)? Thanks!
Hi Debbie, yes you can, just taste-test and adjust quantity to your liking. I use an Italian brand of broth (not gravy) granules that is all natural, no hydrogenated fats, no added flavourings, no GMO, 100% organic. But sadly it’s not available on-line anywhere 🙁
Just to let you know, I made this and added Kaffir lime leaves for a little extra Thai flavour. I also sauteed the cauliflower rice in ghee with some dried laver (seaweed) and saffron. Husband and I loved it! So this is a big win from me. 🙂 Will be trying more of your recipes this weekend.
What a great customising idea. Thank you for sharing you tips! 🙂
Hi, where do you get your boneless, skinless thigh filets?
Hi Gina, from the farmer’s shop (pre-order), the butcher’s (they fillet them on the spot for me) and also in some supermarkets (UK).
Chickpeas aren’t a thing in Thai cooking – and they add unnecessary carbs – it doesn’t seem in keeping with your domain name to be adding these unnecessarily to the recipe. Eggplant is more traditionally found to bulk out the dish, along with bamboo shoots.
Hi Jason, the aim of my blog is to provide low carb ideas and options using nutritious ingredients. Some dishes will be very low carb and some will carry a few more carbs. Carbohydrate intake is very much an individual thing, so it’s up to the individual to determine what they can eat and what they can’t to remain in ketosis.
200 g chickpeas has a whopping 120 g of carbs. With this addition, this recipe would not qualify for keto.
Hi there. As stated in the recipe box, this makes 6 servings and delivers 10.7g carbs per serving (7%) with chickpeas and 6.8g without.I have no idea where you get 120g carbs from. The chickpeas I use (Sainsbury’s SO Organic chickpeas in water) contain 12.2g carbs per 100g of dried weight. As for ‘qualifying’, keto means ingesting the least amount of carbs so as to induce and maintain ketosis. That ‘amount’ of carbs depends on the individual’s tolerance to carbohydrates, it is not a fixed number. For example, 30g daily is my personal limit. You’ll find that 10.7g of carbs is well within the keto daily average.