If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. (J R R Tolkein)
You’ve done Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and a few other places in between. You’ve eaten at Anna’s, CatCanDoo, Starfish and Coffee, Khun Nai Dern Sai, the Karma Sutra, and – heaven help you – the delightful Cabbages and Condoms. You’ve lapped up the curries, the fragrant rice, the spicy calamari, but now you are home, and you want to eat like that again!
So here’s a basic Thai Green Curry recipe that might just get you searching for more Thai culinary delights with which to regale your friends and family.
As always, it’s important to use fresh ingredients. Don’t use huge pieces of chicken, as this will increase the cooking time: you want this one to cook fairly quickly. This particular Thai curry should combine all four flavours of sweet and sour, salt and spice. As they say in many places these days: Enjoy!
THAI GREEN CURRY
This recipe will take about 30 minutes to prepare, and 20 minutes to cook on the top of your oven. You’ll need a food processor to make the paste and a deepish skillet or wok for stir-frying it all.
Ingredients for 2 or 3 people:
For the paste you will need:
4 small green Thai chillies
¼ cup of shallots or diced red onion
1 stalk of lemongrass (discard any tough outer leaves), sliced very thinly OR
3 tbs pre-bought frozen lemongrass
4 cloves of garlic, skinned and minced or chopped very finely
1 walnut-sized chunk of ginger, grated
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground white pepper
1 cup fresh coriander, chopped
3 tbs Thai fish sauce, OR light soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbs lime juice
The other bits:
2 tbs good stir-fry cooking oil
Enough boneless chicken (thigh or breast) cut into pieces, for 2-3 people
4 kaffir lime leaves (or grated zest of a small lime)
1 can of coconut milk, or similar quantity made from dried coconut milk powder
following the instructions
You can also add some vegetables to this curry to round out the nutrition it provides: any 2 of the following -
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, de-seeded and cut into pieces
1 zucchini, sliced lengthways then cut into pieces
A big handful of thin green beans, topped, tailed and cut into 1” strips.
Method:
1. First of all make the paste by putting all the ingredients into a food processor and whizzing for a few seconds. If it seems a little thick, to help blend it all add a few drops of the coconut milk.
2. If you are using the lime leaves, remove them from their stem and cut them into thin strips and set aside.
3. Heat the stir-fry oil in the wok or skillet over a medium heat.
4. Add the green curry paste and stir fry for about a minute.
5. Add ¾ of the coconut milk. The rest will be used when serving.
6. Now add the chicken pieces and stir well.
7. Allow the sauce to come to the boil, then reduce the heat to allow it to simmer gently.
8. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Check that the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
9. Add any vegetables that you want to incorporate, and the lime leaf strips. Stir in.
10. Simmer for further 2 minutes. Check that the vegetables are slightly softened – but not too much: they should still retain their shape and colour and be firm to the bite.
11. Taste it! Add a touch more brown sugar to sweeten: add a little more lime juice if it is too salty. And if it is too spicy, add more coconut milk.
Serve with: Jasmine rice.
Topping: handful of fresh basil on top of the rice, drizzled with a little of the leftover coconut milk.
Go to www.samuiislandvillas.com for more…….