Thai Green Curry with Chicken
The soul of a green curry lives in its paste, so use the freshest one you can find or pound your own. Frying the paste until the coconut cracks and the oil rises is the step most people skip, and it is the difference between flat and fragrant. Thai basil and a squeeze of lime at the end bring it into focus.
Ingredients
- 600g boneless chicken thighs, sliced
- 3 tablespoons green curry paste
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon palm sugar
- 1 small Thai eggplant or 1 cup pea eggplants, quartered
- 3 kaffir lime leaves, torn
- 1 red chile, sliced
- A large handful of Thai basil leaves
- 1 lime, halved
Method
- Spoon the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk into a wide pan over medium heat. Fry it until it splits and the oil glistens.
- Add the green curry paste and fry, stirring, for two to three minutes until deeply fragrant.
- Add the chicken and stir to coat in the paste. Cook for three minutes until the edges turn opaque.
- Pour in the rest of the coconut milk along with the fish sauce and palm sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the eggplant and lime leaves and simmer for 12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and the eggplant is tender.
- Stir through the chile and most of the Thai basil. Finish with a squeeze of lime, then garnish with the remaining basil and serve with jasmine rice.