Thai Green Curry

[The Funktopus]

Gents,

Tonight I'm going to have a stab at making my flatmate and I a Thai Green Chicken Curry, using Blue Dragon Green Curry Paste and Coconut milk for the sauce, sliced chicken breast, sliced red peppers, an onion and baby sweetcorn cobs finely chopped into slices. However, the instructions on the jar of paste seem to suggest that I should heat some oil in a pan, add the paste and fry for 2 mins, then add the coconut milk. Once the milk's hot , it then says to add the chicken and the vegetables. It doesn't mention browning the chicken or anything first, so should I just throw it in raw? I'm somewhat wary cooking with chicken, and when I've made pasta bakes etc, in the past, I've pretty much stir fried the chicken until it was cooked before adding it to sauces.

What would you guys suggest? Just cook it in the milk and paste mix as suggested, or stir fry it first? And sorry for the cooking n00b question.

Cheers.

 

[Belmit]

I've become quite adept at these over the last few months, and my first piece of advice would be to avoid Blue Dragon's paste. It isn't hot like Thai green paste ought to be, and has a strange taste to it that borders on sweet. However, since you already have it I guess you'll have to make do!

I always cook chicken in the paste along with some oil to begin with, then slowly adding ingredients bit by bit. If you have prawns these can be added last minute as they will cook quickly, though of course make sure they're cooked properly. I believe a decent Thai green curry should have a mixture of the following, though if course it does come down to personal preference:

- Sliced red chilli pepper (not bell pepper).
- Lemongrass, smashed and shredded.
- Torn Kaffir lime leaves (and/or fresh lime juice).
- Chopped sweet or Holy basil.
- A little chopped coriander.
- Large Thai aubergine.

Make sure to use Jasmine rice as well.

I guess if the recipe says to add the chicken into the coconut milk then you just need to make sure it's covered and simmered for a decent amount of time. This should be done anyway, but I prefer to brown the chicken in the paste at the start.

Once you start to get good at it I recommend making your own paste in a blender. It involves a lot of green chilli peppers, the disgustingness that is fish paste (though essential) and about a dozen other ingredients. The upside is you can freeze it so I popped it into ice cube trays to make Thai green ice cubes you can just add to the pan.

Pic of the ingredients used in the last batch I made, plus curry stuff:

Edit: Where did you get the recipe you're using? Sounds more like a stir-fry boiled in milk rather than a Thai green curry.

 

[IceBus]

Deliciousness

That's definitely going to have to be tried out

 

[The Funktopus]

Edit: Where did you get the recipe you're using? Sounds more like a stir-fry boiled in milk rather than a Thai green curry.

Thanks for the advice. I'm screwed now as I already have the paste, so I'll just have to grin and bear it this time, but I'll definitely brown the chicken in the oil and paste before adding the rest.

As for the recipe, they're the instructions on the back of the paste jar, which has caused me some confusion. As you say, it seems to suggest I boil the chicken in milk if I follow their method.

 

[Belmit]

Very strange. The Blue Dragon website itself has far more authentic versions of Thai green curry, though of course all still recommend their paste.

Just found the one from the back of the jar online. Not sure how I feel about bell peppers in a Thai green curry (I assume that's what it means - just says 'red pepper'). Really they're a bit sweet and you already have that from the coconut milk. Deseeded regular red chillis are not really hot and taste much better in this dish.

 

[hood1971]

A thai friend always used to fry the paste at hot heat, add the coconut milk slowly whilst stirring till the surface is oily, then add chicken pieces and reduce heat.

 

[Scam]

Personally I prefer to use chicken thighs rather than chicken breast.

 

[The Funktopus]

Well, I've learned an important lesson today.


Even after washing your hands, don't ever rub your eye again after handling raw chillies. I'm now sat here, depth perceptionless with a cold washcloth clamped over my right eye.

D'oh!

Thanks for the recipes though, I'll give those a go once I've got this one out of the way.

 

[DirtyJester]

Belmit how much garlic did you put into it ? Please tell me what's in the pic is purely for show.

 

[Hairybudda]

I love a green curry, this is how I generally do it:

Paste:

8-10 green chiles, thai
1 tbs coriander seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp black peppercorns
3-4 shallots
2 lemongrass, crushed and outer layers taken off leaving just the tender inside bit. slice thin.
thumb sized chunk of galangal, slice thin along the grain of the root,
6+ cloves garlic, peeled + crushed
small handful of chopped fresh coriander
a few kaffir lime leaves, or a juiced lime if you cant get them
about half a tablespoon of shrimp paste
veg oil

Dry fry the cumin and coriander seeds on a medium heat until fragrant, crush in mortar and pestle once done. Prep the rest of the ingredients as directed in the instructions and dump everything in a blender with a tiny little bit of oil to keep everything blending smoothly. Once it's done set aside.

Curry:
Your choice of protein (chopped into bitesize chunks), your choice of veg, 2 cans full fat coconut milk(or one can coconut milk and half a block of coconut cream), fish sauce, as much thai basil and coriander as you enjoy.

2 tbsp oil in the wok, get it hot as hell, toss chicken around until sealed and halfcooked (dont brown it though!). Remove chicken, set aside and add 1tbsp oil and allow to get hot as hell again. Toss in your paste (you choose how much depending on how you want it to taste, I like it hot and fragrant so I'd use all of the paste because I'm cooking for 2+ normally) and cook for a minute or 2. Once the paste stops smelling as raw and becomes more fragrant return your meat and any veg that needs a little longer to cook and toss a little. Add your coconut milk, 0.5-1 tbsp fish sauce, and then any other veg you want and get the heat blasting for 5-10 minutes. Taste, reseason if it needs it (this is key). Serve with fresh chopped coriander and thai basil

(nb I like my curry thicker, so I leave it on the heat and reduce the coconut milk before serving, also I'm gross and love fish sauce so I add extra to my portion as well as a squeeze of lime)

 

[Belmit]

Belmit how much garlic did you put into it ? Please tell me what's in the pic is purely for show.

All the ingredients in the pic were used (either for the paste, the proceeding curry, or Tom Yum soup), but not necessarily used up. I definitely didn't use all that garlic, and there were plenty of red chillis left as well. There was a lot of paste though - enough to fill a couple of large ice cube trays. Can't remember the exact recipe off the top of my head.