This is the long way around to green curry: a fresh paste pounded from green chillies, herbs and spices, then cooked with chicken and rich coconut cream. The paste takes time, but the flavour is on another level. Adapted from Mark Wiens’s recipe at Eating Thai Food.
Serves 3–4.
Ingredients
Green curry paste
- 150 g Thai green chillies, stems removed
- 1 head garlic, peeled
- 3 small shallots, peeled
- 1 thumb-sized piece galangal, sliced
- 5 cilantro roots, sliced
- zest of 1 kaffir lime
- 2 stalks lemongrass, tender bottoms thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp white peppercorns
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste
Curry
- 1 whole chicken, about 1.4 kg, chopped into bite-sized pieces (or your preferred chicken pieces)
- 2 cups water
- 2–3 cups coconut cream
- 6–10 Thai eggplants, quartered
- leaves from 6–10 stems Thai sweet basil
- 2 red spur chillies, thinly sliced
- 20 kaffir lime leaves, about half torn in half
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
Method
Make the paste. Dry-fry the cumin and coriander seeds in a hot pan for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add them to a mortar with the chillies, garlic, shallots, galangal, cilantro roots, kaffir lime zest, lemongrass, white peppercorns and salt. Pound until very smooth. Add the shrimp paste last and work it through evenly. A food processor is quicker, though the mortar and pestle gives the paste more fragrance and texture.
Prepare the chicken. If using a whole chicken, clean it and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Bone-in pieces bring more flavour, but thighs or breast work perfectly well.
Boil with the paste. Put the water, curry paste, chicken and about 10 torn kaffir lime leaves into a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is tender and most of the water has evaporated.
Add the coconut cream. Pour in the coconut cream and bring it back to a gentle boil, stirring carefully. Taste and add salt as needed.
Finish the curry. Add the eggplant and red spur chillies and boil for 2–3 minutes, just until the eggplant is tender. Turn off the heat, fold in the Thai basil and let it wilt in the hot curry.
Serve. Eat immediately with freshly steamed rice.
Notes
- The original recipe takes roughly 2–3 hours, most of it spent pounding the curry paste.
- Thai green curry is traditionally sweet from the coconut cream; add palm sugar only if you want it sweeter.
- If Thai eggplant or red spur chillies are unavailable, use small aubergine pieces and another mild red chilli.