Thai Green Curry
Thai green curry made with homemade curry paste pounded in a mortar, the coconut cream is split first and the herbs go in off the heat at the end.
The curry paste is built layer by layer in the mortar while the rice cooks and rests, before the coconut cream forms the aromatic base for the chicken and eggplants. The fresh lime leaves and basil are folded in only at the very end, so their green fragrance stands out clearly against the rich curry. The split coconut cream is the dish's most important marker.
Ingredients
Green curry paste
- 15 pcs green Thai chilies, stems removed
- 3 pcs green finger chilies, cut into rough pieces
- 3 pcs lemongrass, only the soft lower part, thinly sliced
- 20 g galangal, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp kaffir lime zest, finely grated
- 4 pcs cilantro roots, scraped clean and chopped
- 5 pcs shallots, chopped
- 8 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp shrimp paste, Thai kapi
- 1 tsp salt
The curry
- 4 dl coconut cream
- 4 dl coconut milk
- 700 g chicken thigh fillets, skin and bone removed, cut into 1 cm strips
- 6 pcs Thai eggplants, cut into quarters
- 50 g pea eggplants, picked off the stems
- 2 tbsp palm sugar, chopped
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 6 pcs kaffir lime leaves, center rib removed, torn into pieces
- 20 g Thai basil, leaves only
- 1 pcs red finger chili, thinly sliced on the diagonal
Jasmine rice
- 400 g jasmine rice
- 6 dl water
How to make it
- Toast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Shake the pan a few times as you go, and remove the seeds as soon as they smell nutty and begin to crackle.Chef's tip Whole spices release their aromatic oils as they warm, but the line between nutty and acrid is thin. Pull them the moment the first seeds crackle and the smell turns fragrant — carryover heat in the pan keeps toasting them.
- Pound the toasted seeds, white peppercorns, and salt in a mortar to a fine, dry powder. The dry ingredients must be ground first, because the seeds will never grind fine again once the wet ingredients have gone in.
- Add the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime zest, and cilantro roots to the powder, and pound thoroughly for 8 minutes. The mixture should be moist and even, with no visible fibers, before you move on.Chef's tip Slice the lemongrass and galangal paper-thin across the fibers before they go into the mortar. A mortar can crush cells, but it can't cut long fibers, and they'll stay behind as threads in the finished curry.
- Pound the green Thai chilies and green finger chilies into the mixture a little at a time for 5 minutes. The paste is ready when the color is evenly green and no pieces of skin remain.Chef's tip Adding chili in small batches keeps the paste dense enough that the pestle crushes rather than splashes. Green skin flecks that survive here will stay visible in the finished curry.
- Pound in the shallots and garlic, and finally work the shrimp paste into the mixture, 4 minutes in total. The finished curry paste gathers into a ball around the pestle and smells sharply of chili and lemongrass.
- Rinse the jasmine rice in cold water three to four times for 3 minutes, until the water runs almost clear, and let it drain in a sieve.
- Put the drained rice into a pot with the 6 dl water, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Turn down to the lowest heat and let the rice steam for a total of 15 minutes. It's ready when the water has been completely absorbed and small steam holes appear on the surface. The rice is cooked without salt, because the curry is seasoned with fish sauce and shrimp paste and carries the flavor for both. ⏱ 15 min · passive
- Take the rice pot off the heat and let it stand with the lid on for 10 minutes. Then gently loosen the rice with a fork, so the grains separate and stay whole. ⏱ 10 min · passive
- Bring the coconut cream to a boil in a wok or wide pot over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring regularly. The cream is ready when it splits and a clear oil settles on top.Chef's tip Splitting is the whole point: the emulsion breaks and clear oil pools on top, giving you a hot fat to fry the paste in. Full-fat coconut cream splits readily; stabilizer-heavy cartons may never split, so give it time before pushing the heat.
- Stir the curry paste into the split coconut cream and fry the paste for 4 minutes, stirring. The paste should smell thoroughly cooked and sweetish, and the oil should turn green from the chili and herbs.Chef's tip Frying the paste in that separated oil is what cooks off the raw, harsh edge of the shallot, garlic and shrimp paste. Watch the oil at the edge of the pan turn green and the smell shift from sharp to round and sweet.
- Toss the chicken strips in the fried paste and let them cook along for 3 minutes, until the meat is white on the surface all the way around.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stir the palm sugar and fish sauce into the sauce. Bring it to a boil for 3 minutes, until the sugar has fully dissolved and the sauce is an even light green.
- Add the Thai eggplants and pea eggplants, turn the heat down and let the curry simmer gently, uncovered, for 12 minutes. It's done when the eggplants are tender all the way through and can be crushed against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon; the thin chicken strips are cooked through long before that. ⏱ 10 min · passive
- Take the pot off the heat and stir the kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil leaves, and red finger chili slices into the hot curry. The herbs go in off the heat because the leaves darken and lose their fragrance if they cook along. Season to taste with more fish sauce or palm sugar, so the curry tastes salty first and sweetish after.
- Ladle the curry into a deep serving bowl and set it in the middle of the table along with the rice. Give each guest a flat plate with the steamed rice. That way everyone can ladle a spoonful of curry beside the rice at a time instead of drowning it. The dish is eaten with a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left.
