Thai Green Chicken Curry

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Recipe only

I loved this dish when I lived in Australia which has a strong Thai community. The first place I stayed in Thailand was in Karon on the island of Phuket and it was the first dish I ordered. I was so surprised to taste this dish. The flavor and ingredients were totally different from the mild, watery dishes I had had back home. Truly this is in my top 10 Asian dishes, but remember that Thai green chicken curry when made the Thai way is hot and spicy!!! Thanks for looking at the history of Asian food.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup coconut cream

2 tablespoons green curry paste (homemade) see below

450 g skinless chicken thigh fillets, thickly sliced

1 3/4 cups coconut milk

2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoons palm sugar

350 g mixed Thai eggplants, cut into quarters, and pea eggplants

50 g fresh galangal, very thinly sliced, matchsticks

7 kaffir lime leaves, torn

Handful of Thai sweet basil leaves, for garnish

1 long fresh red chili finely sliced, for garnish

GREEN CURRY PASTE

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

8 small fresh green chilies, seeded

2 fresh lemongrass stalks, trimmed and white part only, finely sliced

3 cm piece fresh, peeled galangal, finely chopped

1 teaspoon very finely chopped fresh lime leaves (4-5 leaves)

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 Asian shallots (red), chopped

6 coriander roots, washed and finely chopped

Handful of holy basil leaves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons shrimp paste

METHOD

1. Dry fry the ground coriander in a pan for 1 minute until fragrant, the remove. Repeat with the ground cumin.

2. Using a pestle and mortar, pound the chilies, lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves into a paste. Add the garlic, shallots and coriander roots and pound together. Add the remaining ingredients and dry fried spices one at a time and pound until mixture forms a smooth paste.

3. You can also use a spice grinder or food processor to make the paste as smooth as possible. Add a little cooking oil to help if needed.

4. The paste will keep in a glass jar in the fridge for 2 weeks or freeze for 2 months.

CURRY

1. Put the coconut cream in a wok or saucepan and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the cream separates and a layer of oil forms on the surface. Stir the cream if it starts to brown around the edges. Add the curry paste, stir well to combine and cook until fragrant.

2. Add the chicken and stir for a few minutes. Add nearly all the coconut milk, the fish sauce and palm sugar and simmer over a medium heat for another 5 minutes.

3. Add the eggplants and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the eggplants are cooked. Add the galangal and lime leaves. Taste, then adjust the seasoning if necessary. Spoon into a serving bowl and garnish with the last of the coconut milk, basil leaves and chili.