THAI cookery has to be my favourite style of food.
I love the freshness and simplicity of the dishes. Thai food is unique in the fact that in many dishes you get spicy, sweet, citrusy and salty all in one dish.
During my time working in Australia, I worked with many Thai chefs and I was always amazed at how they managed to knock up quick dishes by using a few simple ingredients and spicing them up with chilli, ginger, sugar and lime.
Continued below…
With a few Asian shops now in Kerry it has never been easier the get hold of the ingredients needed, having said that most supermarkets now have the basic ingredients available.
Thai green curry is a very popular home cooked meal in Ireland, and once you have tried cooking it, you can see why. It is quick, fresh and much tastier than any of the shop-brought versions.
Once you have the green curry paste made you can freeze it in batches.
Green chicken curry
Serves 4
For the curry paste:
1 stalk lemongrass (the white part only), chopped
1-2 green chillies, de-seeded
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
15g Fresh Basil
15g Fresh coriander
1 thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
Grated zest of 1 lime
For the curry:
1tbsp vegetable oil
4 skinned chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 onion, finely sliced
2-3 tbsp of green curry paste (see above)
400 ml coconut milk
Chopped coriander to serve
• To make the curry paste, place the lemon grass, chillies and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely chopped.
• Add the remaining ingredients and blend to a fine paste.
• For the curry heat a wok or frying pan over a medium heat.
• Once hot add the chicken and fry until the chicken is browned all over. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan. Add a little more oil to the pan and tip in the onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the curry paste and cook for one minute.
• Pour in the coconut milk, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Return the chicken to the casserole and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve and sprinkle with some fresh coriander.
