Thai Green Curry

The flavors of a good Thai curry delight the taste buds, combining sweet and spicy to perfection. The coconut cream brings perfect balance to the heat of the chili, the lime gives a hint of zing, all of which come together into a stunning meal.

Our kitchens aren't a cooking competition or five star restaurant, so it's perfectly alright to use a store-brought curry paste as the base to make our own super flavorsome curry paste. Not many of us have time to start completely from scratch, especially midweek, so we may as well make things easier on ourselves where we can.

I have been very un-Thai with my choice of vegetables. This is just the combination I enjoy! If you're wanting something more authentic in vegetable choice then think about including things like bamboo shoots, Thai basil, and Thai eggplants (all three of which are not available around here).

*photos updated March 2015

Thai Green Curry

Serves 4

Curry Paste

3 Tbsp Thai green curry paste (good quality!)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 onion, diced
1 bunch fresh coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 large green or red chili, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp mild ground chili powder

Curry:

500 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced
300 mL chicken stock
425 mL can coconut cream
finely grated zest of 1 lime
Diced vegetables of choice: eg beans, bell pepper, onion, peas.... (I use red bell pepper, mushrooms, 1/2 onion)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp fish sauce

1. Make the curry paste by combining all of the paste ingredients together in a mortar and pestle. Grind down to as much of a paste-like consistency as possible. Stir in about 1/4 cup of the coconut cream.

2. Heat a dash of oil in a large fry pan. Add the curry paste and fry for a couple of minutes, until fragrant, stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock, lime zest, and coconut cream and simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. Add the chicken and vegetables and simmer for a further 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick.

4. Stir in the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce. Taste and adjust the flavors (with sugar, lime juice, salt) to suit your taste.

5. Serve immediately with basmati or jasmine rice.