August 14, 2010: Thai Green Curry

Lunch aside, we had a fairly quiet Saturday planned, and the post-Rage re-run of Poh's Kitchen inspired me to have a shot at making a curry from scratch. I went for a simple Thai green curry paste, from the BBC website, with just a few convenient tweaks. The paste filled the house with wonderful spicy smells, and will form the base for quite a few future meals (it made a lot more than a single serve!). I was purposefully mild on the chilli in the mix, not wanting to make something that Cindy wouldn't enjoy, but I think this paste could use a bit more punch - maybe a couple of extra whole chillies.

My first use of the paste was in a straightforward Thai curry based on another BBC recipe. I basically swapped out the chicken for some tofu puffs and a range of crispy vegies, to end up with something vaguely healthy. I was a bit heavy-handed with the sugar which, combined with the lack of zing in the chilli paste, meant that this whole meal was a but too sweet and lacking in bite. Still, it was a vegie-rich and flavourful meal and with a few tweaks there's the potential for a winning curry.


Thai Curry Paste

4 green chillies, de-seeded and roughly chopped (I'd up this to 6 or 7 next time)
2 shallots, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
4 garlic cloves, crushed
small bunch of fresh coriander (including stalks and roots)
2 lemongrass stalks, roughly chopped
1 lime, grated zest and juice
8 kaffir lime leaves
2.5cm piece galangal, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all the above ingredients in a food processor and blend into a thick paste.

Green curry

1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons of the curry paste (maybe 3 would work better)
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
500g tofu puffs
1 small green capsicum, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 small bunch bok choy
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces
400ml coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
Small handful of coriander, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a wok, and fry the curry paste with the sugar for a minute or two.

Reduce the heat and stir in the tofu puffs, coating them in the curry paste.

Add the coconut milk and soy sauce and bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes or so. Throw in the vegies and stir them through.

Simmer for another 5 minutes or so, until things start to thicken a bit (if you simmer for too long the vegies start to go a bit limp). When you're ready to serve up, stir through the coriander and add more soy sauce to taste.