Our presentation today is classic Thai Green curry, one of my favorite curry’s. It took me for a long time to get these Thai crispy eggplants. The presentation today is a green curry with chicken and a bowl for vegetarian featuring tofu. Cooking green curry is simple with the same basic as other Thai curries. Good selection of Green curry paste are available commercially. Whether home-made or store-bought, fresh coconut cream and milk are the important factors to made this curry delicious.
Ingredients (serve 4)
2 cups of fresh coconut cream
2 cups of fresh coconut milk
0.5 cup of water (Estimated)
350 – 400 grams slices into bite size, *normally chicken thigh is perfect for it’s tenderness if vegetarian change from meat to Medium-firm tofu
4-5 Tbsp Green curry paste
4-5 Fresh Thai green chilis, seeded and fine pond with pestle and mortar, today I use Serrano peppers
10 – 12 Thai crispy eggplants, cut 4 lengthwise before bring to a boil
*small crispy egg peas (Ma kua puang), is not available for this presentation
2 Tbsp fish sauce (estimated)
a pinch of sea salt
2 Tbsp Granulated sugar (estimated)
3-5 fresh kaffir lime leaves or “Bai Ma Krut” called in Thai
3-7 sweet basil
Preparation
1. Producing coconut cream and coconut milk. Today I use one whole coconut to made fresh coconut cream and milk. Not have a time you can use a coconut cream in box package.
- Preparation for the meat or Tofu, fresh ingredients, dry ingredients and green curry paste
- Cooking Green curry is similar to other Thai curry dish: Use medium – high heat add 1/2 cup of coconut cream and fry chili paste + fine pound green chili until fragrant and this point you can see coconut the cream bubble creating coconut oil(fat). Continue to add coconut cream in small amount until it is all finished. Then add meat and fry until cooked. Continue to add the rest of coconut milk and water, Season with fish sauce and sugar then adjust the heat to simmer…………. At this point you can see a glossy coconut oil on the surface.
Meanwhile bring a new pot to boil at hight heat, add Thai crispy eggplant to boil cooked.(a taste by pinch a fork into middle of eggplant and all soft and white. (or if like to add eggplant without cook it first which is fine.) Let me explain why we cook the eggplant separately. This so that the colour of the curry is not effected. By adding the fresh eggplant without first boiling to cook, it will diffuse the beautiful bright green of the curry.
Add cooked eggplant to green curry and adjust the taste for final taste is the balance flavours of creamy sweet and salt, turn off the heat. (Add kaffir lime leaves and sweet basil just before serve.
- Preparation for a serving bowl and warm steamed Jasmine rice to serve with your favourite green curry.
Finally, kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil are added just at the end of cooking for fragrance. Transfer green curry to a serving bowl and garnish with a sprig of sweet basil and chili strip.
Note: When the curry is made with fish or shellfish, krachai (is another roots herb) is added.
Photography by Luksana
Remix Green Curry Paste in Different ways
We bought commercial from store that is ready to use. The colour sometimes is not that green. Rather to brown we can fix this green curry paste by at one of these to remix.
- Traditional way : pound with mortar and pestle until fine. Use fresh green chill thai or jalapeño or serano. Seeded and pound until fine. Add kaffir lime fruits skin {by micro pane} make it fragrant.
OR
- Use a blender to blend green chili with garlic, shallot and cooking oil to make liquid to run smooth. This way will contain cooking oil. Where as, cooking the curry with coconut cream/milk will naturally get the oil from coconut.OR
- Use a blender to blend green chill with garlic, shallot and coconut cream. Recommend coconut cream in carton box than a can. Keep in a refrigerator before use so it can separate the cream and the water. When fry with curry paste is always use the coconut cream.
So commercial bought will add this to help for the colour.
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