So, one of my tastiest achievements, and one that made me really proud, that I did this summer was Green Curry. I absolutely adore green curry, how it's creamy and blends hot and spicy with the sweet of the coconut.....YUM. So I decided, why not try to make it myself?! I'm spending $8.50 or so every time I go to my favorite Thai restaurant (Chanon Thai in SLC, totally recommend!), so if I could make it myself, total money saver! Well, it cost more that I thought it would, as when all was said and done the pot of it plus Jasmine rice probably cost me probably $18-$20 (I thought I'd be more around $12), but it does work out to saving money per person. At about $5 a person, and that's figuring on giving them a hefty portion of both curry and rice, that's not too bad of a dinner cost for being able to impress others. ;) So, here follows the recipe for Green Curry! :) P.S-If you make this recipe, your house will smell amazing for like two days. Well, I guess amazing if you like the smell of curry. Haha!
I got this recipe while looking up where my local Asian market might be. Southeast Market, off 900 S in Salt Lake City has a blog where they try out different recipes, and that's where I found it! Here's the link to the original recipe, Green Curry with Seafood. I did tweak it a little, so this is my adaptation of the original.
Chicken Green Curry With Jasmine Rice
1 can coconut milk
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into about 1" pieces
1 cup water (for the chicken)
1/4- 1/2 can Thai green curry paste(put even less than 1/4, maybe even 1/6, if you're not huge into spicy things!)
2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon cooking oil
½ cup water (optional)
4-6 kaffir lime leaves
3 – 2” lemongrass pieces(Thanks to Youtube that day, I figured out you only use the inner yellowish core)
1 Thai chili (they say avoid if you find jalapenos spicy, which we don't, but to play it safe instead of the 4-5 they suggested, we just used one)
5-6 Thai eggplant (quartered)
1 cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves
1 ½ cup zucchini
1 cup mushrooms (they suggested maitake or straw mushrooms. We used maitake and it was delish)
1 cup sliced bamboo shoots(I used the canned kind, as the worker at Southeast Market said I wouldn't taste a difference and it would be MUCH easier he said. Haha)
Instructions
1.Cut the raw chicken into about 1" pieces and add to a pot. Add about 1 cup water(more or less depending on the size of pot), and boil on medium-high to high heat until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Drain and set aside.
2.Heat the oil in a pot on medium high heat and add the Thai chilies, lime leaves, and lemongrass to release the flavors. Sauté for a minute or two and turn down the heat to low.
Tip: Chiffonade the lime leaves by stacking them, rolling them tightly, and then slicing thinly. You can use the whole leaves but I find doing this releases more flavor.
3.Add the curry paste and sauté for 3 minutes until fragrant. (You can start with even 1/6 a can and add more later if you are concern with the spice level.) But BE CAREFUL! If the heat is too high, specks of hot curry oil may burn you.
4.Add the coconut milk and sugar. Return heat to medium high. Keep stirring until the curry is smooth. They suggested adding water to thin the curry. Leave out the water if you prefer a thicker consistency, like me. :)
5.Add the eggplant and bamboo first since they will take longer to cook. Allow the pot to simmer for a few minutes and then add the chicken. After 5 minutes, add zucchini and basil leaves. Cook until zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes.
Jasmine Rice
This is the easier part. Haha By the way, do NOT cheat yourself of the full taste journey by using plain white rice. If you're at an Asian market already to get the other ingredients, do pick up a bag of this rice. The pairing of the flavor of this rice, and it's texture and smell(it actually has one! :) ).....you must use this kind! It's simply heavenly.
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups Jasmine rice
1.In a pot, bring water to a boil, then add rice. Stir. Cover and take the pot off the burner and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.
Well, I hope ya'll enjoy this recipe! I know Kally, Jeff, and I did. Well, kinda. Even with using the least amount of curry suggested by Southeast Market on their blog (1/2 can), it was WAY to spicy. Kally and Jeff even went upstairs to grab more rice to try to dilute the spicy-ness of it all. But that's why I changed the recipe, so hopefully the spice won't kick ya too hard in the pants. ;) But seriously, the taste was AMAZING. That's why even with our mouths burning, we kept eating. Also, don't let the list of ingredients scare you. It wasn't so bad putting it all together once you've got everything out.
I'd better head off now, got the dough for a Festive Maple-Butter Braid waiting to be rolled out and filled! Until next post, keep cooking my friends! ^_^
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