There are many varieties of green curry. Here's our favorite recipe, from Southern Thailand of course!
Serves 2
Curry paste
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
3 green bird's eye chillies
1 kaffir leaf, finely chopped
15 g galangal, chopped
1 teaspoon kaffir lime zest, chopped
20 g lemongrass, finely chopped
10 g shallot
5 g garlic
1 coriander root
1 handful chilli leaves
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
Using a stone mortar, pound the ingredients, adding them little by little, in the order indicated above. The paste is ready when it is smooth: you should no longer be able to distinguish one ingredient from another. As a rough guide, the paste should be pound for about 10 minutes.
Curry sauce
Curry paste prepared according to the above recipe.
200 g chicken tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces
200 ml coconut cream
200 ml chicken stock
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon coconut sugar
30 g pea eggplant
2 Thai green eggplants, quartered
1 handful Thai sweet basil leaves
½ fresh cayenne pepper, thinly sliced
Bring half of the coconut cream to the boil and dissolve the curry paste in it. Add the chicken and cook briefly. Add the remaining cream and mix well.
Stir in the stock and when it starts boiling again, add the seasoning (fish sauce, sugar) and eggplants. Cook over low heat, covered, for 10 minutes.
Taste to adjust seasoning and remove from heat. Add the basil (keep a few leaves to garnish) and mix.
Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with cayenne pepper and basil leaves. Serve with rice.