Grim up North Heath

Tag: serve with rice

  • Thai Green Curry

    Thai Green Curry

    An easy favourite. Feeds 3.

    Timings: Prep: 10 min. Cooking: 10 min Eat: 10 min

    Ingredients

    Two large chicken breasts (or three small ones)

    Mangetout – about 100 g

    Green curry paste, 40 or 50 g (I used Mea Ploy brand for this one)

    A can of coconut milk (400 ml)

    Jasmine rice (200 g uncooked rice is enough for three)

    2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

    You’ll need a big saucepan and a large frying pan.

    Slice the chicken breasts. I prefer slices to chunks for this recipe, but you do whatever you like best.

    Rinse the rice. Boil about 600 ml water in a large saucepan (more water is fine), add salt and boil the rice while you cook the chicken. The rice will take about 10 minutes to cook.

    Fry the green curry paste in the oil. If you’ve bought a one-meal batch of paste, use it all. The paste I’ve been using (see picture below) says to use 50 g. This was at the top end of our tolerance for spicy heat, so I’ve used 40 g since the first time. This makes a curry that’s hot enough to enjoy without feeling challenged.

    Plastic jar of Mae Ploy brand green curry paste.
    This is the green curry paste I’ve been using. It’s spicy enough for us without added chilis, as the serving suggestion shows. This pot cost about £3, it’s good for eight to ten meals. Bargain!

    Fry for a minute, then add some of the cream from the coconut milk. To make this easier I store the can of milk upside down so that there is a plug of cream when you open the can.

    Once the paste and cream are combined and smelling good, add the sliced chicken. Fry until the chicken has gone white on the outside, then add the rest of the can. If you don’t want too much sauce, don’t add all the coconut water from the can.

    Stir while cooking and remember to keep an eye on the rice.

    About two minutes before the rice is done, add the mangetout. It’ll want a couple of minutes cooking to get warm, but don’t leave it too long or it’ll go soft.

    Thai green curry nearly ready to serve.
    Chicken curry nearly ready for dishing up. Just give the mangetout a minute or two in the sauce. That’s enough to warm it through without losing the crunch.

    I crushed a few almonds to add on top – peanuts or any other nut will do, but we had almonds in the pantry.

    Once the rice is done, strain in a sieve. If it’s a bit claggy for your liking, rinse with boiling hot water before serving.

    Thai green curry ready for serving up.
    Dinner’s ready! Thai green curry with jasmine rice. Some crushed almonds add a crunch.

    There’s usually quite a lot of sauce. Make sure there’s enough rice to soak it all up.

    We usually have ‘Thai inspired crackers’ with this. Last time, it was a Tesco own brand bag, I don’t think we’ve ever stretched to Sharwood’s own brand. Same with the coconut milk – it’s usually supermarket own brand.

    I keep meaning to look into how to make my own green curry paste. I don’t know what the minimum amount is that can be made or how well it keeps. I don’t want to make a kilo of paste and it all go to waste.