heres one of the first thai curry recipes i learnt when i trained a long while back in baan thai at the oberoi.
Prakob Samnaruen the Thai master chef, taught me this one,after wards we had inputs from Chef Chandok.and over the course of many thai restaurant visits, planting of kaffir lime trees in Pune, Trinidad, and now in New Zealand, im getting closer.
ok after fluffing around , lets get down to business
- green curry paste- (yes its great to think you can make your own, but mae ploy, nam jai, cock , arroy-d will go outta business then)-15- 25 gms , more if you like it spicier, and stronger. be warned
- oil- 5 ml
- sugar- 5 gms or more depending on how much fire u want burning in your mouth.
- fish sauce, or nam pla as its called in thailand.- can be substitued with salt, for non fish eaters, but then the curry paste does contain shrimp paste too.- to taste, this serves as the salt in the curry
- chicken stock- 100 ml
- thai pea eggplant- a few , cos they are quite bitter, also can add some regular eggplant those are good cubed.
- kaffir lime/citrus hystrix/ bai makroot- a few leaves, dont use the dried ones they are no good, if not fresh then use frozen.
- sweet basil/ocimum basilicum/bai ho ra pha- fresh leaves – a few.
- coconut milk powder to make about 250 ml of coconut milk or a good canned one,
- chicken meat cut into strips/slices- 200 gms
- optional- thai chili - 1 sliced, trust me you wont want more than 1
- optional vegetables- slices of carrots, mushrooms, etc, if you want
- optional coriander leaves and stems- to give a brighter green colour and some fresh herb flavour
the process of transforming these to some yum thai curry.
- heat oil add curry paste, sir fry a little, then add chicken stock, lime leaves, fish sauce,sugar , coconut milk and simmer.
- Add the eggplant and the chicken and bring to a boil. One can add more or less coconut milk/cream depending on how thick you want your curry to be. Its also one reason ,why i prefer to use coconut milk powder. Add vegetables at this stage too, if at all.
- Taste for seasoning, add more sugar if you feel that its too hot, but the green curry is always the hotter one.
- Tear the basil leaves and add them in. Add also the coriander paste , for the extra green-ness. Serve with steamed jasmine rice, or sticky rice.
