Easy Appetizers

Thai green curry paste is quick and stress free to make, as a chef I know it on an intellectual level it keeps for weeks, as a taster, it gets eaten every time no matter how much I make. Add it to pork, chicken, beef, prawns, scallops, noodles, vegetables and tofu. Its uses are only limited by your imagination.

When buying fresh lemongrass look for stalks that are fragrant, tightly formed, and with a lemony slightly green color near the bulb, then turning to a truer green at the end of the stalk. Never buy lemon grass if is brown, because this indicates that it is old dry and past its best. The part that you need to cook with is less than a third of the part that you buy; it is the fleshy inside part. Discard the tougher outer leaves, and use only the easier to slice center.

Thai green curry paste

Ingredients

6 Spring onion or 2 shallots,
2 pieces of lemon grass chopped,
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole,
1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh ginger,
Zest of 2 limes,
4 green chillies,
Handful of Kaffir lime leaves chopped (substitute the juice of an extra lime if unavailable)
2.5cm/1in piece galangal, peeled and chopped (if available)
4 handfuls of fresh coriander
4 handfuls of Thai basil
1 1/2tablespoons coriander seeds,
Sea Salt
Black pepper
Juice of 4 limes
3 tablespoons oil

Method

Blend the green Thai spices together except the herbs, until soft, then add the herbs for the last few seconds. Lightly coat the chicken breasts and leave in the fridge for an hour. Don't add too much marinade because it will boil when cooked. Stir fry for three minutes to colorize, and add the rest of the Thai green paste, and add a tin of coconut milk and simmer for ten minutes.

When your curry is cooked, if it is too spicy, add some more sugar; if it isn't spicy enough, fry a little more curry paste in some oil and add it to the sauce.Serve the curry with noodles or jasmine or basmati rice.

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