Green thai curry

This isn’t a traditional thai curry but I make no apologies for that! It’s my version which I think I pilfered from a Nigel Slater book about 5 years ago. I’ve tweaked the ingredients to my taste- I like it hot so feel free to cut down the chilli content or use larger milder varieties if you prefer milder curries.

I’ve included a meat and vegetarian version at the request of Sophie- hope its useful! Call me if you decide to use it and need clarification on anything. This serves 2 really hungry people or 3-4 normal people

Ingredients
For the paste

• 2 sticks lemon grass roughly chopped
• 5cm piece of ginger peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4-6 green birds eye chillies (depending how hot you like it!) deseeded
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• Big bunch coriander (I use the large one from the supermarket herb section) roughly chopped

For the curry

• 1x can of coconut milk (400ml) can use low fat if you like
• Either- 400-500gms chicken (I use 2 large breasts but thighs are really tasty too) or the equivalent weight of vegetables. Use a mixture of peppers, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts (both can be bought canned) pack choi, baby sweetcorn, mange tout, courgettes- whatever you fancy really! You could also use a mixture of both.
• basmati or thai fragrant rice for 3-4 people

Method

1. Put the rice on to cook, I use a rice cooker which makes it perfectly every time but do it whichever way you are happiest with.
2. Put all the ingredients for the paste into a food processor and mix until a smooth paste, or if you have a hand blender, put it all into a bowl and blend until smooth. You may have to stop and stir a few times to get all the coriander in properly.
3. Chop the chicken or veg into bite size chunks. If you are using chicken, heat a little vegetable oil in a wok and fry until sealed on all sides then add the paste. Cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly until fragrant (if you are using veg add the oil and then the paste right away.)

4. Add the veg if using and stir to coat well.
5. Add the coconut milk, mix well and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the veg is tender, the meat is cooked and the sauce has thickened a little.

6. Taste the sauce and season with a little extra fish sauce if necessary.
7. Serve with the rice