Thai Green Chicken Curry (geng gwio warn gai)

Thai green curry is a favourite in our home, as is the curry in most homes in this day and age. The diversity and depth that far Eastern foods go is incredible. Tonight though I decided on making this Thai green chicken curry.

As it is Thai New Year this month (13^th April to 15^th April) having this fabulous curry was a no brainer. The change however on this occasion was that I stepped away from the usual paste in a jar or even pre-made sauce and so the hunt began for a decent recipe. I remember a book I had bought a few years ago on Thai cooking (Thai Food by David Thompson) and dug it out. Greeted by its bright pink cover memories flooded back from the Thai themed meals I had catered for the soldiers and I began to read and before I knew it an hour had passed. This book is an amazing read and insight in to Thai food and I highly recommend to anyone interested in broadening your knowledge or wanting to cook authentic Thai food.

I found this recipe, as I knew it would be one that all of my family would eat, as it is not too spicy. While rooting my cupboards for the ingredients I must admit I did have to purchase a couple of specialty items. Most I had in my cupboard and I have actually changed a few ingredients as I knew I never had them and plus I would need to go to a specialty Thai supermarket for them. This I could not do, as there is not one near by.

And so I began, the paste. I should use a pestle and mortar for this as it is more authentic way of doing this and also produces a more traditional paste. Unfortunately my pestle is not that big and so used it to only ground the dry spices that I toasted. This is where the blender came in. When the paste was made the aroma was tremendous, pungent, sweet and the right amount of chilli hitting my nose. This was definitely a close your eyes and smiles that smug smile moment.

When it came to the cooking this was even better than when making the paste. The aromas that were released were incredible. The sweetness of the coconut, slight natural heat smells from the chilli and then this mellow fruity aroma following from the lemongrass and kafir lime leaves. All I wanted to do was eat it all now but I knew that the flavours would intensify and melt into this creamy satisfaction of pure bliss. Topped with the crunch of the red chilli and softness of the basil really brings the dish to life.

We served this with coconut jasmine rice and then followed it with caramelized coconut rice for dessert. A delightful meal that gets you ready for the Thai New Year.

I want more as I type so I do hope you try this and enjoy as much as my family did. This really is a winner.

Thai Green Chicken Curry (geng gwio warn gai)

Authentic Thai Green Chicken Curry for the celebration of Thai New Year (Songkran)

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Prep Time 20 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

Paste

• 3 tbsp. Green chillies
• Salt large pinch
• 1 tbsp. chopped ginger
• 2 lemongrass stalks roughly chopped
• 3 dried kaffir lime leaves
• 3 tbsp. fresh coriander chopped
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 3 tbsp. red onion roughly chopped
• 4 Garlic cloves roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. shrimp paste
• 10 white peppercorns
• ½ tsp. coriander seeds toasted and ground
• ¼ tsp. cumin seeds toasted and ground

Thai Green Curry

• 400 g coconut cream
• 3 chicken breasts sliced
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 500 ml Chicken Stock
• 200 g baby corn
• 2 red chillies finely sliced diagonally
• a few Thai basil leaves

Instructions

 

• Make the paste first by placing all of the ingredients in to a food blender. This is better than a food processor as it usually has four blades than the two in a processor allowing a finer paste to be made. Blend the ingredients until a thick paste is formed. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water to help. Place in a bowl and refrigerate until needed. This will keep for a few days in the fridge.
• In a wok heat the coconut cream and 2-3 tablespoons of the paste and heat gently until incorporated and sizzling lightly.
• Add the chicken strips and turn up the heat to medium and lightly fry to release the aromas of the paste. This should take 3-4 minutes. Try not to too high or the paste will burn.
• Add the fish sauce and the chicken stock and stir gently while turning the heat down a touch. Add the baby corn and cook until the chicken is cooked, 4-6 minutes.
• The sauce would have thickened and so if required cook slightly longer for a thicker sauce or add a little stock until your desired consistency. Serve with some braised coconut jasmine rice with a sprinkling of the sliced red chilli and roughly torn Thai basil leaves.