Okay, I know someone out there would probably say, “But I don’t eat curry!”. Well, I eat curry but I don’t eat all kinds of curry. In fact, there are only two kinds that I crave: Japanese curry, and this one above. As every curry has a different base, Thai green curry is not too overpowering or pungent. What I love about it is its mild character, sweet and very fragrant as it uses lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and basil.
THAI GREEN CURRY RECIPE
300-340g chicken breast, cubed
1 eggplant, cubed
1/2 white onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup coconut cream (not coconut milk)
1 packet Thai green curry paste (50g)
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 long green chili
fresh basil
fresh kaffir lime leaves
fresh coriander
fish sauce
1. Place some sunflower oil in a pan and sautee the garlic and onions. Mix the green curry paste and cook for a minute over medium fire while stirring constantly. Add the coconut cream and simmer for 2 minutes.
2. Throw in the chicken and mix evenly. At this point, combine 4 large lime leaves and 8 pieces fresh basil leaves. Simmer for 15 minutes. If consistency is too heavy, very slowly adjust with small amounts of water, and adjust fire as well.
3. Add the eggplants, tomatoes and one long green chili. Do not crush or slice, but add the whole piece into the pot. I let it simmer over low fire until the eggplants look soft but not withered. Just make sure it does not dry up.
4. Adjust flavor with fish sauce to get a more authentic taste, and some sugar if you want a bit more body.
5. Before serving, add more basil if preferred and garnish with fresh coriander. You can skip the coriander if you’re not too keen about it.
Typically served with steaming Jasmine rice, I opted for a guiltless option with a small bowl of quinoa
Cherie Altea Bitanga finds herself constantly making food, talking about food and around people who know food. Her daily adventures go beyond her own kitchen in Singapore, spanning from the nondescript holes-in-the-wall to sumptuous dining adventures. She believes in the art of slow food and scours places in hopes of bringing home unique spices, salts and oils. She is also the occasional artist and food writer who learned how to cook early in life by inheriting culinary family traditions from her motherland: the Philippines.
For over a decade, this blogger’s career as an ESL instructor provided a multicultural atmosphere working with diplomats, celebrities, nuns, priests, politicians as well as high school and college students from all over the world. When she grows up, she hopes to cook for a living to celebrate her family’s culinary legacy.