For many people within the west, inexperienced curry, or kaeng khiao wan, was our first style of Thai delicacies – certainly, simply 30 years in the past, the Irish Sunday Impartial felt the necessity to clarify to its readers that Thai curries had been “very totally different” from Chinese language or Indian ones. Recent and fiery, this contemporary basic remains to be a wake-up name to the palate in the present day.
Prep 20 min
Prepare dinner 20 min
Serves 2, and simply doubled
For the curry paste (or see step 1)
20 inexperienced fowl’s eye chillies
1 tbsp chopped galangal
1 tsp chopped crimson turmeric
4 lemongrass stalks
1 tsp contemporary makrut lime zest, or 2 contemporary makrut lime leaves
1 tbsp chopped coriander root, or 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
4 small Asian or crimson shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp kapi (AKA Thai shrimp paste), or, to maintain the dish vegan, darkish miso
Salt and floor white pepper
Vegetable oil (elective)
For the curry
200g rooster, seafood, pork, beef or tofu (see step 7)
100g pea aubergines, or chopped purple aubergine
5 tbsp coconut cream, or the bit scooped from the highest of a tin of milk
1 tsp fish sauce, or vegetarian different
½ tsp palm sugar (elective)
180ml rooster or vegetable inventory, or coconut milk (see step 8)
Jasmine rice, to serve
1 contemporary makrut lime leaf, shredded, to complete
1 A observe on the curry paste
Use a purchased inexperienced curry paste, when you desire, however when you achieve this you’ll inevitably sacrifice a few of the fragrant freshness that’s the hallmark of this dish. They fluctuate enormously in energy: chef and writer Pailin Chongchitnant recommends the Mae Ploy model, which is extensively accessible on-line and in some bigger supermarkets.
In case you are making the paste from scratch, knowledge dictates that you’ll get by far the very best outcomes from a pestle and mortar, relatively than a meals processor. And, to be sincere, with such small quantities, it’s actually not that a lot exhausting work. That stated, chances are you’ll desire to make use of a mini-chopper or stick blender for the duty.
3 Grind the chilli …
Trim the chillies – go away in all of the seeds and their membranes, when you’re a fan of warmth, or take away some or all of them when you’re warier of it (keep in mind, you may all the time add extra chillies later, but it surely’s tougher to dilute them with out spoiling the dish). Roughly chop the chillies, then pound the flesh to a tough paste.
4 … then grind the galangal and turmeric
Roughly chop the vivid orange contemporary turmeric root and the galangal – a pale, peppery root that appears a bit bit like ginger and is bought in specialist east Asian shops and a few giant supermarkets. The turmeric will stain your fingers and every part else it touches, so method with warning! Add each of those to the chillies and pound once more.
5 Add the lemongrass and makrut lime
Take away the papery outer husks of the lemongrass stalks, then roughly chop the softer core. Zest the makrut lime, when you’ve in some way managed to seek out one (don’t substitute an unusual lime as an alternative), or roughly chop the leaves, which are actually bought in most large supermarkets. Add each to the mortar with the coriander root (additionally present in specialist shops) or stems, and pound once more.
6 Add the shallots, garlic and shrimp paste
Add the chopped shallots and garlic to the combo, stir within the shrimp paste (vegetarians may substitute a darkish miso, or extra vegetarian fish sauce) and an excellent pinch every of salt and floor white pepper, then pound (or whizz) every part to a smoothish paste. If want be, add a teaspoon or two of oil to carry all of it collectively.
7 Now for the curry substances
Put together the opposite substances – quick-cooking cuts reminiscent of boneless, skinless rooster, steak, prawns, pork fillet or agency tofu will all work properly – and chop them into bite-sized items. Pea aubergines must be used complete, and bigger aubergines in chunks. (You could possibly additionally add, or substitute, different greens, reminiscent of tinned bamboo shoots and many others, as you want – if I’ve them, I all the time add contemporary inexperienced peppercorns, as an illustration.)
8 Begin cooking
Put the coconut cream and curry paste in a medium pan on a medium-high warmth and fry till the cream splits and the oil begins to bead on high.
Add the fish sauce and sugar, if utilizing, then stir within the inventory or coconut milk – use inventory for a warmer curry, and coconut milk for a milder, sweeter one.
Deliver to a simmer, add your chosen protein and greens, then cowl and switch down the warmth.
9 Ending touches
Gently simmer the curry for about 10 minutes, or till the protein and greens are cooked via, then style and add extra fish sauce, palm sugar, and many others to fit your palate.
This curry must be pretty soupy, so if want be skinny it out with a bit water, to loosen. Stir within the remaining shredded lime leaf and serve with jasmine rice.
