Thai green chicken curry with roti bread and side of jasmine rice

I spent minutes, hours and days thinking about which meal to cook first for my exciting new blog. I realised I was over thinking and decided just to make one of my favourite meals. A curry!

Who doesn't love a good curry?! Now, I'm no expert but I do know when I stumble upon a good recipe and this one is a definite keeper. I always like to change things up a bit though and put my own signature on it. Most of you will already have some of these ingredients in your pantry. If you don’t, not to worry once you buy them you will end up using them all the time. My pantry is filled to the brim with all sorts of ingredients and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s great to have staple ingredients in your kitchen because they do make for a great quick dish when you come home and don’t know what to cook. I usually just look in my cupboards at what I have and the magic starts to happen inside my head. It’s almost like you are letting the ingredients speak to you. Always remember, sometimes the simplest meals are the best.

On the menu today we have a Thai green chicken curry. This recipe is great to make after work as it gives you an opportunity to multitask. I usually prepare my curry paste a day in advance and just put it in the fridge. Even if you make it Sunday and use it on Tuesday its still fine. When cooking always see what else you can be doing. For example, while my chicken is sizzling away, I like to use that opportunity to cut my carrot and capsicum. It will save you time. After I do step 5 I like to put the rice on. I use the absorption method and find that it works best for me.

 

 



 

 

It is important to have a good set of knives. I can’t even tell you how much that will help you in your kitchen. I remember I used to cut with just a set of knives I bought from the big chain stores and when I bought my Global knives, it was like cutting through soft butter. It made the cutting process quicker and easier. Everything was more precise. You also have to take care of your knives and sharpen them. Never let them go dull. As you can see, I do have a bit of a knife obsessions.

Next in line is a good food processor. I really can’t live without my Magi Mix! I bought it brand new from Ebay. It was an unwanted wedding present. Like they say, someone else’s trash is someone else’s treasure. It’s the best investment I ever made!!

 

 



 

 

Ok, enough babbling now and let’s get down to cooking!

  

Thai green chicken curry with roti bread and side of jasmine rice

Prep: aprox. 45 mins
Cooking time: aprox. 30 mins
Serves: 4 (if you are very hungry then 3)
 
INGREDIENTS:
 
500g chicken thigh fillet, trimmed of fat, cut into 2cm pieces
400ml coconut milk
1 medium carrot, cut into julienne
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
120g green beans, cut ends off, halved
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable stock
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
Pepper to season
 
For the Roti:
280g pack of roti bread
1tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp vegetable oil
 
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
 
CURRY PASTE
 
2 long green chillies, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small brown onion
1 stick lemongrass, white part only, chopped
3/4 tsp ground cumin ( if you have seeds, just ground them with mortar and pestle)
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
1 tsp dry coriander leaves (if you have fresh, even better)
 
METHOD
 
1. I usually start off with preparing and chopping everything for the curry paste then chuck it all in the food processor and whizz until you have a fine paste

2. While its whizzing, put a large pan and when it's hot add in the curry paste. Stir it for 2-3 minutes until you can smell the fragrance.
3. Add chicken and cook until brown and coated in paste.
4. Pour in the coconut milk, add the carrot and bring to boil. Summer for 5 mins.
5. Add capsicum, fish sauce, green beans, stock, turmeric, sugar and season with pepper. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until beans are tender.
6. For the roti bread, mix butter and oil, rub each side of roti and cook in a frying until golden and crisp.
 
All you have to do now is serve it up and enjoy :)