Thai Green Curry Paste

Michael’s absolute favourite food is Thai and since I love him I like to make him his favourite Thai Green Curry Chicken. It starts with a fragrant, delicious green curry paste.

The green curry paste can be bought at most grocery stores, but if you want a real treat then whizz up a batch from scratch using my recipe. Warning: You will never go back to store bought because the flavours are unreal!

To save time this curry paste can be prepared a day before you want to use it. Also, you can keep it for up to four days in the fridge, and you can freeze it for up to one month.

Ingredients

• 4 green cayenne pepper chilis, chopped
• 6 Thai green or red chilis, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 lemongrass stems, trimmed and chopped (see note below)
• 3 tbsp galangal or ginger, grated (see note below)
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 2 tsp lime zest, grated
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 5 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro root and stem
• 3 tbsp Thai basil, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 – 3 tbsp water, as needed

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients except water in a powerful blender or food processor.
2. Blend to a fine paste, scraping down the sides as you go. Add the water as required to help it blend.
3. Use this paste to make green curry chicken by following the steps in the recipe below.

Note:

Spiciness – The spiciness comes from the Thai green chillies. If you want a very mild curry, skip the Thai chilies altogether, for a mild curry, just use 1. Using 6 chilies makes this pretty spicy, but not outrageously so – but we do like our green curry spicy.

Lemongrass – Peel the tough green outer layers and use the white softer part. The outer reedy layers can’t be finely chopped.

Galangal looks like ginger but is more citrusy and harder. Feel free to substitute ginger if you can’t find galangal.

Thai Green Curry Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable or avocado oil
• 6 tbsp Green Curry Paste (see recipe above)
• 1 cup (250ml) chicken or vegetable broth, low sodium
• 1 14oz can coconut milk , full fat
• 1 – 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 kaffir lime leave
• 4  chicken breast , skinless boneless, sliced thin
• 2 Japanese eggplants, chopped
• 1 can bamboo shoots, shredded
• 16 Thai basil leaves
• Juice of 1 lime

Garnish

• Thai basil or cilantro/coriander
• Green or red chillies slices
• Steamed jasmine rice

Preparation

1. Prepare curry paste (recipe above)
2. Heat oil in a heavy-based skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add curry paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add chicken broth and half the coconut milk, mix to dissolve the paste.
5. Add fish sauce and honey.
6. Add kaffir lime leaves. Mix then bring to simmer.
7. Add chicken, stir then on low heat simmer gently. Cook 15 minutes.
8. Add remaining coconut milk, add eggplants, cook 12 minutes.
9. Add basil and lime juice. The sauce should have reduced but will still be on the thin side, not thick.
10. Serve curry over jasmine rice with garnishes of choice.

Vegetarian version: Substitute chicken for extra eggplant or chunks of tofu.

Enjoy!