A truly authentic spicy Thai green curry that takes a little more effort, but is worth every minute. We went the whole hog with massive king prawns but these could easily be swapped for tofu, chicken or just vegetables.
I created this recipe for my Dad - Martin, a normally cool-headed shopper goes completely beside himself in the local Thai supermarket. A trip once saw him return heaving home a 3kg sack of sticky jasmine rice and king prawns the size of a foot.
This curry is my ultimate Thai creation I cook for him. The benchmark of his enjoyment is in the use of Tabasco sauce. He tends to douse it on everything with the exception of this curry – so I guess that’s praise indeed.
Serves 5
For the paste:
2 tablespoons of any nut oil
1 large thumb of fresh ginger
3 shallots
3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoon cumin
2 lemongrass stalks
1 lime zest and or/ 2 kaffir lime leaves
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 birds eye chillis
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 small bunch fresh coriander
For the curry:
6 king prawns
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 chicken stock cube
1 bunch basil (shredded)
1 tablespoons nut oil
2 limes
2 tins coconut milk
2 red peppers (large strips)
3 shallots (large slices)
1 pak choi (large strips)
1 handful cashews (chopped and fried)
Method:
Make the curry paste in a food processor by adding all the ingredients till the mixture forms a thick well combined paste
In a heavy-based large pan fry the shallots and red pepper in the nut oil for about 3 mins until just softened
Add the curry paste and cook for a further 5 minutes
Crumble in the chicken stock cube and add the coconut milk then leave to simmer on a low heat for a further 15 minutes
In a separate frying pan, fry the king prawns in a drizzle of nut oil and garlic until shells turn pink (about 3 minutes on each side)
(Use this same pan to fry the cashew nuts) do so until golden brown and then roughly chop
Place the pak choi and prawns on top of the curry. Put the lid on the pan and leave to simmer for a further 5 minutes
Take on the heat and stir in the shredded basil and squeezed lime
Top with the fried cashews
