I have a thorough decade old weakness towards Thai food. If I had to choose one cuisine I had to eat every day for the rest of my life, Thai would be right up there. There is something insanely gratifying and comforting about the clean yet complex dishes, bursting with flavour, yet not feeling as heavy and guilt ridden as a good ol 12” margarita. Its wholesome food. My favourites are the tom yum soup, phad phak, som tam and the all famous Thai Curry.
Have any of you been watching Junior MasterChef out there? It’s amazing what these 8-12 year olds can whip up. When I watched Jack make this curry from scratch, I decided I had to make it myself. I mean, if a 11 year old can make it and win acclaim for its perfection, well it would just be shameful if I can’t! So here it is, Jack’s Thai Green Curry, adapted, of course.
Rice:
- 2 cups jasmine rice (400g rinsed and drained)
- 800 ml coconut milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Curry Paste:
- 4 chilies, long green seeded chopped
- 3 cm ginger, piece peeled finely grated
- 2 lemongrass, white part only finely chopped
- 4 kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Thai basil, finely chopped
Curry:
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 400 ml coconut cream
- ½ red and yellow pepper, thickly sliced
- I head broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
- 8 baby corn, halved
- 1 small can (100gm) bamboo shoots
- ½ courgette, sliced
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tablespoon soya sauce
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
Method:
1. To make the coconut rice, place the jasmine rice in a large saucepan and add coconut milk and salt and slowly bring to the boil over medium heat. Then cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes or until rice has absorbed liquid and then remove from heat and stand covered for a further 10 minutes or until rice is tender.
2. To make curry paste, place all the paste ingredients in a food processor, cover and then process until it forms a smooth paste.
3. To prepare the curry, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a deep pan over medium high heat and add the curry paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute or until fragrant and then add the baby corn and broccoli and cook, stirring for 4 minutes and then add coconut cream, lime leaves and stir to combine and then simmer, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and then add the soya sauce and sugar, and stir to combine.
4. Divide the rice among 4 bowls and top with the curry, then garnish with coriander sprigs and thai basil and serve with lime wedges.
Feedback:
1. I found that this curry was fantastically full flavoured and although I have never in the past made the curry paste at home, it tastes far superior to any bottled variety.
2. The rice and the curry with the richness of the coconut can make the dish a tad bit heavy, so I would recommend either cooking the rice in water instead of coconut milk, or replacing the coconut cream in the curry for coconut milk.
3. The curry needs to be well balanced, so keep tasting and adjusting the seasoning, the sugar, the spice and all things nice!
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