Have I mentioned that I love, love, love spicy food? When I was introduced to Thai food several years ago, I fell madly in love. I couldn’t get enough. In fact, if I had to choose one meal I had to eat for the remainder of my life, it would be a Thai dish. My relationship with Thai food is very serious, probably one of the best and most satisfying relationships in my adult life. Thai always leaves me happy, satisfied and craving more. What more could I girl really ask for?
I didn’t think I could ever ace a Thai dish like the ones I have in some of my favorite restaurants. In fact, I didn’t even really start trying until last year. I just knew whatever I created would not live up to my past experiences. I eventually got over my lack of confidence and gave it a go. One of the dishes I crave the most is green curry so that’s where I decided to start; reading numerous recipes online and eliminating ones that seemed way too complicated for a newbie to Thai cooking. I also considered what ingredients I could actually find in Bastrop. From there, I narrowed down to about 5 recipes, all of which I tried. I’d say 3 of the 5 were just okay, definitely disappointing. There were 2 that I thought were getting closer to the delishiness I was accustomed to at restaurants but still missed the mark. So I started trying a few different things. I now feel confident enough to share my recipe. It’s delicious. One of these days, I’ll look to making my own green curry paste but for now, this one is no doubt a keeper.
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces Thai Kitchen Spicy Green Curry Paste
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 cup fresh Thai basil
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of fresh ginger (finely diced)
- 2 limes (zest both limes)
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 red bell peppers (cut in long, thin slices)
- 2 ounce cans of bamboo shoots
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
Directions:
- Cut the chicken breasts into cubes
- Zest one of the limes
- Season the chicken with salt & pepper and squeeze the juice from the lime you zested
- Chop the lemongrass in fairly large pieces and add to the chicken
- Marinate the chicken with the lemon juice for 4 hours covered
- Heat the oil in a pan
- Add the green curry paste until nice and fragrant
- Add the ginger and chicken to the pan making sure the chicken is nicely covered w/ the green curry paste
- Add the coconut milk and water, bring to a boil
- Add the red bell pepper, bamboo shoots & lime zest
- Let simmer about 12 minutes to let the curry thicken
- Add the sugar, fish sauce & basil
- Let cook another 3-5 minutes
- Serve hot with rice
*Note: I substitute the lime zest for lime kaffir leaves as I cannot get those in Bastrop. For those who have easier access to Asian markets, you can use the kaffir leaves. You can also use different veggies in green curry than what I have included. For example, if you have access to Thai eggplant, that would be a great addition.
Recent Comments