Thai Green Chicken Curry

Thai Green Curry Paste & Thai Green Chicken Curry

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

For the paste

• 1 tablespoon shrimp paste

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 long stalk of lemongrass, outer leaves removed and sliced into rings

• 1 inch piece of galangal, peeled (I've also used ginger in a pinch)

• 10 Thai basil leaves

• 2 x coriander roots*

• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

• zest and juice of 1 kaffir lime (I've also made this using regular lime in a pinch)

• 10 long green chillies

• 8 garlic cloves

• 3 shallots, peeled

• 2 tablespoons oil

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 1 teaspoon salt

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Coriander roots: Take two root system of the coriander sprigs and chop off 2-3 inches from the bottom. Wash well (the roots can contain some dirt). You will also need a large mortar and pestle or mini food processor.

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Step 1 - In a dry frypan on medium heat, toast the shrimp paste, coriander seeds and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

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Step 2 - I find this easiest by using a combination of a mortar and pestle and a mini food processor, mainly because my mortar is quite small. If you have a large one, you could certainly do it all in the mortar. In the mortar using the pestle, pound the lemongrass, ginger, Thai basil leaves, coriander roots, lime and peppercorns. You can also add the rest of the items into the mortar but I prefer to use the slightly lazy route and put the rest of the ingredients in the mini food processor (I find that a mini food processor doesn't grind the  peppercorns or coriander seeds finely enough though). Once the items in the mortar are finely ground, add these to the food processor and blend together to form a paste. Place in a sterilised jar.* It will taste very spicy if you eat it on its own but you'll only use one and a half tablespoons of the paste per curry.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1.5 tablespoons of Thai green curry paste

• 400ml/14flozs tin of coconut milk

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 1.5 tablespoons palm or white sugar

• 500g/1.1lbs chicken thighs, cut into small bite sized pieces

• 150g/5ozs snow peas

• 1 bunch asparagus

• 1 large red chilli

• Steamed jasmine rice to serve

Cook's tip: to ensure that the asparagus isn't woody, snap the ends off by hand. The asparagus will naturally snap at the correct place. Discard the woody ends (or you can use them for a vegetable stock).

Step 1 - Heat a wok or pan on medium heat. Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Add the the tin of coconut milk and stir and heat.

Step 2 - Season with fish sauce and sugar and then add the chicken and simmer for about five minutes. Add the snow peas and asparagus and simmer for another few minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Slice the chilli thinly and add to the curry and serve.

*to sterilise a jar, place the jar and the lid (as long as its ovenproof) into a 180C/350F oven and bake for 10 minutes. Be careful when removing from oven as it is very hot.

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