I am still in the throes of cleaning and clearing my bookshelves, a job continually interrupted by the activities of life. Nevertheless there is progress and sometimes it is quite pleasant to go through a cookbook I have not read for some time. In one such cookbook, for use with the Thermomix, I came across a recipe for a Thai green chicken curry which looked workable.
Green curry is a kind of trial for me, as I really love eating it but have never found a recipe I consider worth writing about. Over the years I have tried making pastes from scratch (starting with a recipe of hand-pounded herbs and spices from David Thompson with whom I had a cooking class), buying ready-made pastes (made in Thailand and made locally) and even adapting some of Waitrose’s green-hued spice pastes by adding lots of fresh coriander and coconut milk.
It shouldn’t be so difficult.
Last night I decided to give the Thermomix recipe a go, adapting as I went along. I also cross-referenced it with a recipe from the Baan cookbook (see below). It may not be 100% authentically what a Thai grandmother would cook, as I added a lot more fresh coriander than usual, but it was very enjoyable and I would make it again.
If you don’t have a Thermomix, simply blend the paste in a blender and proceed to cook as normal: heat the paste with 250 g of coconut milk, add the meat and lime leaf, followed by the baby corn, then finally adding the tomatoes and basil.
For the Spice Paste:
(This amount of curry serves 4 people)
150 g fresh coriander, use both roots and stems
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, white part only
2 long green chillies
3 bird’s eye chillies
20 g shallots
10 g garlic cloves
5 g fresh galangal, sliced
5 g fresh turmeric, sliced (or ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon white pepper powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon white miso paste
150 g coconut milk (I use Aroy brand)
25 g fish sauce (I use Red Boat brand)
20 g lime juice
For the Curry:
500 g boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm pieces
250 g coconut milk (the remainder from the tin above)
8 kaffir lime leaves
200 g baby corn, sliced lengthways in half
30 g basil leaves (Thai basil if possible)
100 g cherry tomatoes
How to Cook:
Place all the spice paste ingredients into the TM bowl. Count out that there are 16 items altogether, it would help if you ticked them off one by one as you add them into the TM bowl.
Blend 20 seconds/speed 10. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with a silicon spatula. Blend for another 10 seconds if you think it is necessary. You are aiming for a smooth paste.
Sauté 6 minutes/ 120°C/ speed spoon.
Add the chicken, 250 g coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves. Cook 5 minutes/ 100°C/ REVERSE / speed spoon.
Add the baby corn and cook a further 5 minutes/ 100°C/ REVERSE / speed spoon.
Finally add the basil and cherry tomatoes. Cook 1½ minutes/ 100°C/ REVERSE / speed spoon.
I served the green curry with some steamed rice and grilled asparagus on the side. If you intend to serve this dish as part of a Thai-inspired dinner, I could suggest Minced Pork with Chili and Basil, along with a Thai salad, something deep-fried and more vegetables.
Baan: Recipes and stories from my Thai home, by Kay Plunkett-Hogge, published by Pavilion Books, ISBN 978-1911624059. The recipe for a classic green chicken curry (gaeng keow wan gai) is on page 65.