Thai Green Chicken Curry

Step 1: You will need…

• 4 chicken thigh fillets, boneless, skinless and cut into bits
• 200 g green beans, halved
• 1 tbsp oil
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 120 ml water
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, available from oriental food stores
• 1 bunch of chopped spring onions, for garnish
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 3 small fresh chillies
• 3 green shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cm of galangal, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 stem of fresh lemon grass, chopped
• 1 handful of fresh coriander
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 sharp knife
• 1 cutting board
• 1 blender
• 1 spatula
• 1 small frying pan
• 1 piece of aluminium foil
• 1 wok or large, deep frying pan
• 1 large stirring spoon

Step 2: Make the curry paste in 3 steps

For the first step of making the curry paste, roast the coriander and cumin seeds without any oil in the frying pan for 2 minutes, shaking the pan constantly. Secondly, wrap the shrimp paste in a little foil and cook under a hot grill for 2 minutes, turning the package over twice. Thirdly, mix the roasted spices with the shrimp paste for 5 seconds in the blender. Add all the remaining spices in the Curry Paste list together with the oil: green chillies, shallots, galangal, garlic, lemon grass, coriander leaves, lime leaves and blend for a few seconds, till the mixture forms a smooth paste.

Step 3: Cook the spices

Next, heat the oil in the wok on medium heat, add the curry paste and cook for a minute, stirring constantly, till it becomes fragrant.

Step 4: Finish the curry sauce

To complete the curry sauce, add the coconut milk and water to the wok and bring gently to a boil. For a thicker curry sauce, you can use half coconut cream and half coconut milk.

Step 5: Cook the chicken

Now, add the chicken pieces as well as the beans and lime leaves to the sauce and mix well. Leaving the wok uncovered, simmer for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. Add the fish sauce and stir till thoroughly blended.

Step 6: Garnish the meal

Finally, place the curry in a serving bowl and garnish with the spring onions.

Step 7: Serving suggestions

The dish can be served with a bowl of white rice and pickled cucumber.