Thai Green Curry

So these days it’s one of ‘The Nation’s Favourite Foods’, but the unique combination of coconut milk, green chilli and thai herbs and spices is irresistible and delicious. It’s a lot less fatty than many Indian curries.

The best Green Curry I ever had was at a very special Thai guesthouse on Koh Phan Gan, called Coral Bay. All the spices were expertly mixed, the chicken and vegetables couldn’t have been fresher, and the rich coconut milk just pulled it all together in the most delicious way. But I have to say that their chicke massaman curry was one of the most delicious meals I ever had, but I’ll come back to that another day. Most people tend to lose weight when they travel in Asia. I gained several pounds eating my way through numerous delicious menus.

I haven’t been able to recreate the Coral Bay meals exactly, nor the blissful feeling of sitting on a wooden bench, eating a beautiful meal on a balmy evening, looking out to sea, laughing our heads off with our mates and limbering up to eat some mushrooms, but I can do my best to get as close as possible.

Thai Green Curry Recipe
4 chicken breasts
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 small aubergine
400g bamboo shoots
2 cans of coconut milk

Curry paste
3 garlic cloves
6 birds eye green chillies, split and de-seeded
2 tbsp galangal (Thai ginger)
1 whole kaffir or 2 tbsp grated zest
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped and pounded
8 Thai shallots
2 tsp coriander
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp cumin powder
1 tsp shrimp paste

First, brown the chicken pieces. While they are cooking you can work on making the paste. Put all the paste ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth. You can make this ahead if you like, but it’s pretty easy.

When the chicken is just turning light golden, add all the chopped vegetables and stri-fry for about five minutes. When they are starting to go soft, you can add the paste. Stir this through the vegetables and chicken, then add the coconut milk, gently stir until everything is blended together. Simmer for ten minutes.

Serve with sticky rice and kaffir lime leaves or coriander as a garnish.

Tips:

• Galangal, lemon grass and coriander can be bought in jars from most supermarkets if you can’t get hold of fresh. These will keep in the fridge and can be used next time. Having these ingredients to hand makes it easier to throw a curry together with little warning if you need to impress someone.
• Use brown rice instead of white – it has a far lower GL value, is higher in fibre and much better for you than white rice – but remember to give yourself time to cook it, it takes about half an hour.
• Lower fat or light coconut milk works just as well as full fat.

©2007 Katheryn Rice