Recipe

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Name: Thai Green Chicken Curry
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 800g chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces; 2 x 400ml tins full-fat coconut milk; 200ml chicken stock; 3 kaffir lime leaves; 1 stalk lemongrass, bashed; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp palm sugar (or light brown sugar); 200g green beans, trimmed; Large handful of Thai basil or regular basil; Jasmine rice, to serve; Lime wedges, to serve; **For the paste:** 4 green chillies, 3 shallots, 4 garlic cloves, 1 stalk lemongrass (inner only), 3cm piece fresh galangal or ginger, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, small bunch fresh coriander (stalks and roots), zest and juice of 1 lime, 1 tbsp neutral oil

Made properly, from a paste you build yourself, with good coconut milk and chicken that's actually cooked with care. Worlds away from a jar. Worth every minute.

Serves 4

Ready in 55 min

Keeps 4 days fridge / 3 months frozen

800g chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 x 400ml tins full-fat coconut milk
200ml chicken stock
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, bashed
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
200g green beans, trimmed
Large handful of Thai basil or regular basil
Jasmine rice, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve
**For the paste:** 4 green chillies, 3 shallots, 4 garlic cloves, 1 stalk lemongrass (inner only), 3cm piece fresh galangal or ginger, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, small bunch fresh coriander (stalks and roots), zest and juice of 1 lime, 1 tbsp neutral oil

Method

Make the green curry paste: blitz all paste ingredients together in a food processor or high-speed blender until smooth. This takes 3–4 minutes with scraping down the sides. The paste should be bright green and very fragrant. (Makes more than you need — freeze the rest in tablespoon portions.)

Scoop the thick cream from the top of one tin of coconut milk into a wide, heavy saucepan or wok. Heat over medium heat until it begins to bubble and separate — about 3–4 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons of the green paste and fry in the coconut cream for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until fragrant and the oil begins to split from the paste.

Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat in the paste. Cook for 4–5 minutes until sealed on the outside. Pour in the remaining coconut milk, the stock, kaffir lime leaves and bashed lemongrass. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Season with fish sauce and palm sugar. Simmer gently for 20–25 minutes until the chicken is completely tender and the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste — it should be hot, sour, salty and very slightly sweet in balance.

Add the green beans for the final 4 minutes of cooking — they should remain bright and have a little bite. Remove the lemongrass stalk. Stir through the Thai basil at the very end, off the heat.

Serve over steamed jasmine rice with lime wedges. Spoon the sauce generously — it's the whole point.

✦ Chef's note

The paste recipe makes a batch — freeze the surplus in an ice cube tray for future use. Homemade paste is significantly more aromatic than shop-bought; the difference is most noticeable in the finish, where the flavour lingers rather than dropping off.