I used to reserve Thai Green Curry for the times we go out for lunch, but nowadays there is no going out so we’ve had to improvise and make these tasty dishes at home. I’ve tried many a-green curry pastes and some were so hot, I just couldn’t tollerate them. I’ve tried making my own too, but have not found a recipe that reminds me of the restaurant style that I long for. That is until I combined two lovely green curry pastes! This is not a traditional Thai Green curry recipe, but it’s one that works for me and JT is always requesting it.
Thai Green Curry
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons peanut oil
- 15-30 mL green curry paste (see notes)
- 200 g protein of your choice (I used chicken)
- 15 g corn starch
- 60ml (1/4 cup) chicken stock
- 5 mL fresh lime juice
- 5-15 g brown sugar
- 15 mL fish sauce
- 200 mL coconut milk
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 200g frozen green beans, French style
- 1/3 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
- Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Directions:
- Cut the chicken into thin-ish, bite-sized pieces. Coat with the corn starch.
- Heat the peanut oil in a small Dutch oven and cook off the green curry paste until fragrant and has become somewhat dry. Add the chicken and cook until it is golden.
- Add the chicken stock, lime juice, fish stock and brown sugar and stir until it heats through and the sugar has begun to melt.
- Add the coconut milk and stir until smooth and creamy. Do not boil because the coconut milk can separate and it won’t look as good. Add the kaffir lime leaves and simmer until the chicken has cooked entirely through.
- Add the frozen green beans (see notes) and stir until heated through. Remove the kaffir lime leaves.
- Serve over an inverted bowl of rice, garnish with Thai basil or kaffir lime leaves.
Notes:
- I usually find green curry paste too hot at full strength so I’ve had difficulty finding one I can tolerate. We have an incredible Asian grocer near us with an unusally large compliment of sauces and pastes and I’ve found that Mai Jin’s glass jar isn’t too hot (see pic below) but I add a little of Pantai’s Green Curry Paste which is super hot. The combination makes a wonderful restaurant-style green curry sauce.
- I didn’t have green beans so I just added some peas.
- Thai green curry is traditionally made with Chicken but you can use any protein.
- The traditional vegetables are eggplant and sugar snap peas but you can use whatever you have on hand. Bamboo shoots would add a lovely crunch to this dish. I prefer to keep my vegetables on the green side because I love it in monochrome.
- I usually start with a 5 grams of sugar and work my way up to 15 grams, if necessary. Some green curry pastes are already sweet so you’ll need to taste as you go along.
- This is the green curry paste that is not too hot:
- This one is super hot, so I just add a pinch
It must have been delicious! And you have managed such a beautiful presentation, as always!
As long as you can get all the ingredients, the best way would be to make your own curry paste! I stopped buying curry paste several years ago (after reading a very inspiring cookery book and testing a homemade curry paste) and now each Thai curry dish I prepare tastes different. It’s magical! (I freeze what I don’t finish in individual portions and it still tastes wonderful afterwards when used in other curries.)
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I love green curries, even at full strength, but either way they’re delicious to me. And as your recipe shows, if you use a ready-made paste they’re super easy to whip up, perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Off topic a bit, but if you like mild curries, have you tried Japanese curries? Also delicious and easy to make with store-bought “curry roux”. It’s become part of our regular rotation.
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Unfortunately, searching for kaffir lime leaves is like mission impossible for me. Hope we get a good Asian market in our area. Your green curry sounds great.
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I love green curry and I don’t mind the heat at all. GREG
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I don’t enjoy curry often – it’s too spicy to my liking (even if they are mild!) But I must admit this dish looks and sounds utterly delicious and hearthy that I might give it a try. Well, I will cut down the amount of curry…like maybe 5 grams or so lol
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Like you, I’ve been experimenting with Thai curries while deprived of restaurant food, and I’ve worked out some recipes that are pleasing, if not the same as in restaurants. We sometimes add more curry paste as needed while at the table. The bottle of curry paste says it can be used as a condiment as well as an ingredient.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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Ohhh I love the hot stuff so I will stick with that one spice paste you mentioned that has that kick! Great recipe
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I rarely cook Thai — I usually eat it in restaurants, too. Which means I haven’t had any for months! This looks good, and really easy. Nice dish — thanks.
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I do believe this would work for me, too! Thanks Eva!
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The trouble with my husband is that he doesn’t want coconut milk in his curries, so I stick to Indian curries. It’s really sad for me, because I love this recipe so much, but probably won’t make it. And I have to drive 75 miles for the nearest thai food!
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Sounds terrific, Eva! So nice to be able to make restaurant-worthy dishes at home! I’m thinking Bill would enjoy this curry, too 🙂
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It looks authentic and very yummy! Awesome that you even got some kefir lime leaves and Thai basil.
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
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