Thai "Temple" Green Curry

OK folks - this is becoming my signature dish.  Everyone loves it.  You can modify it very slightly to make it Vegan (just leave out fish sauce and chicken), but my personal favourite is with chicken.

It’s also the most awesome way to get your greens.  A lot of people associate eating greens as a healthy chore that isn’t particularly pleasurable.  I’m here to tell you that I don’t care what your relatioship with greens is like, in blind taste tests EVERYONE likes this recipe - even my young children!  If you only make one of our recipes it has to be this one.  It’s incredible!

It might not be super authentic (whatever that is), but it’s my version of a Thai Green Curry.  I will back up my conviction with the fact that I have been to Thailand and lived with a Thai family in Bangkok for a short period of time.  I sampled all sorts of amazing dishes and this is my adaption of the green curry.

Enough already out the waxing lyrical on it, and let’s get to it!

Ingredients & Method:

Enough for 4 (with a portion or two to save for later - it’s great as a quick snack from the freezer).  Preparation time 10 minutes. Cooking time 1.5 hours.  Actual time in the kitchen approximately 20 minutes.

For frying:
Coconut oil (extra virgin)

For the green Curry Paste:
3 large bunches fresh corriander
2 large bunches fresh basil
5 birds eye green chilli (or enough for your desired heat)
two thumb sized pieces of ginger (skin on)
4 sticks of lemon grass
8 cloves of garlic
4 Kafir Lime Leaves
12 fat spring onions (wash them and use the lot - especially green bits)
thumb sized piece of Galangal
3 teaspoons of Coconut Blossom / Palm Sugar

To add to make sauce:
2 tins coconut milk

To finish:
1 Roast Free Range Chicken
Seasoning (salt, pepper, fish sauce)
Bag of spinach
French green beans
(Basically your favourite greens - any will do.  Other ideas are Kale, Rocket, Watercress)

Method:
Put your chicken into the oven to roast.  I usually do mine for about 1.5 hours at 190 degrees. Meanwhile….

Here’s where your blender comes into action again.  Place all of the ingredients for the curry paste into your blender and blend to a paste.  Don’t blend to a super smooth smoothie consistency, but do blend well.  It should look like the greenest paste you’ve ever seen 😃

Heat some coconut oil in your favourite frying pan and add the paste.  It will probably make your eyes water a little (especially if you like hot and spicy and have added extra chilli) so be careful and turn on the extractor fan if you have  one.  Cook the paste for about 5 - 10 minutes.  It will lose some of its moisture and go a dark green colour.  When you get to this stage you know it’s ready for the neXt stage.

At this point add the coconut milk.  Stir the whole thing together and you have your green curry sauce.  Add some fish sauce (about 2 table spoons) and some pepper.  This just needs to be simmered gently for about 10 minutes to allow all the flavours to get to know each other.  Have a taste to check seasoning and add some extra salt to taste if needed.

When your chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes.  Then pull the chicken from the bones and reserve the bones to make stock (not required for this recipe, but we never waste our chicken bones.  See why here.)

Add the chicken to the curry sauce along with your greens.  Cook the whole thing through until the greens are tender (probably about 5 minutes) and then check seasoning before serving with sticky rice, or just on its own.

Let us know how it makes you feel and what you think!

#respectyourtemple

Rich Davis