Thai Green Curry

for 2 people

The key ingredient here is the Thai Green Curry paste itself; grab a pot of it from somewhere reliable. It is also nice, if possible, to get the following ingredients:

  • Combava leaves (similar to lime leaves)
  • Thai basil (a more peppery flavor than regular basil, which you can use as a substitute)
  • Thai eggplant. There are two varieties, a golf ball-sized one and another that is smaller — about the size of a large pea. If you can’t get them, just use nice chunky vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, and white mushrooms.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro/coriander (chopped fine)
  • 2 to 3 tbsp of the curry paste
  • lg. pinch of ground coriander
  • lg. pinch of ground cumin
  • 2 cans of coconut milk
  • Chicken breast for omni/carni types, cut in pieces (cubes, strips) of an enticingly appropriate size
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • Thai eggplant OR eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms — quantities as desired, in pieces similar to the size of your chicken chunks
  • 4 Combava leaves, split
  • 12 Thai basil (or regular basil) leaves
  • 1 small spicy thai pepper, chopped fine.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the chopped coriander. Fry while stirring for about thirty seconds, then drop in the curry paste and the ground spices. Stand back while you fry and stir the mixture for about a minute and watch out if you need to inhale; the curry paste can liberate some fairly fierce fumes.

Add the coconut milk by bit and simmer briefly, then throw in the chicken and cook until it is done (probably 5 – 7 minutes).

At this point you can basically dump everything else in and simmer until the veggies are done.

Now I will do what I REALLY HATE in recipe books:

Serve the curry over your previously prepared rice.

(Doesn’t that drive you up a wall? You’re going along, cooking the stuff, and then suddenly there is a reference to something that you should have already finished that takes half an hour?).

Eat. A few cold beers on the side is highly recommended.

Contributed by Jeff Spock. Eaten at VD2 in Jaulzy, France.