Thai Green Chicken Curry…from scratch

I decided to try making green curry from scratch, using all fresh herbs and ingredients.  I was happily surprised of how simple it was to make it.  It also didn’t take long to cook at all!

For the green curry paste, combine the following ingredients and blend until smooth in a food processor.  

• 4 scallions – cut roughly just to fit in the food processor
• 1-2 Serrano chillies, adjust as you wish!
• 1 inch fresh peeled ginger root
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• Large bunch of Cilantro
• Small bunch of Parsley
• 2 Tbs. water
• 2 Tbs. oil – I used olive oil

For the curry dish, you need:

• 1.5 lb. Chicken (breast meat or thighs are fine)
• Green Bell Pepper
• 1.5 cans (600ml) of Coconut milk

Sear the chicken in olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper. Set aside when done.  Next, add the Green Bell Pepper and cook for roughly 3-4 minutes.

Put the chicken back in the pan with the Green Bell Pepper.  Add the curry paste and 1 can of Coconut milk.  You can use light Coconut milk; however, if you use light, the curry won’t be as creamy.

Once you add the Coconut milk, allow it to boil.  Once boiled, turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

I wanted to pair this dish with Indonesian Coconut Rice.  I started the rice ahead of time, just before I began cooking the chicken curry.  The rice is very simple and you don’t need to do much to it once all the ingredients are in.  Here’s what you need for the Indonesian coconut rice:

• 1 3/4 cups of Jasmine rice
• 1 Can (400ml) of Coconut milk
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 2 inches of Cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tsp. ground Coriander
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Lemongrass stalk, bruised.
• Salt

First, rinse the rice.  Then, combine all ingredients together.

Let it boil.  After it boils, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes and let all the ingredients to soak into the rice.  After 10-12 minutes, take off the cover and fluff the rice with a fork.  Put the cover back on and turn down heat as low as you can for about 3-4 minutes.  That’s it! If the main dish isn’t ready, turn off heat and leave the cover on so the rice will stay warm until it is ready for serving.  Don’t forget to take out the Lemongrass, Bay leaf, and Cinnamon stick before serving.

Serve the rice with green chicken curry on top.

Tips:  To bruise Lemongrass stalk, first cut off the about 1/4 from the top of the Lemongrass, as well as the bottom of the stalk.  I used the smooth side of a meat tenderizer and push and roll the stalk to let the juices from the Lemongrass out.

Tags: Asian, Bell pepper, Chicken Curry, Cinnamon, Coconut milk, Coconut Rice, Curry, Curry chicken, Ginger, Green Curry, Indonesian, Ingredient, Rice, Thai