Like many modern young women, I turned to waitressing to pay my bills while I went to college. I was fortunate enough to work at a great upscale Thai restaurant for nearly four years, and lovingly refer to this time in my life as my second bachelor's degree. Understandably, Thai food became a staple in my diet, so when I left the restaurant to pursue my career, I desperately needed to bring up my curry game. For weeks I researched recipes, techniques, and combined with what I was able to glean from the cooks (everything in the back of house was written in Thai), I was finally able to recreate the essence of my favourite curries. Everything in life made sense again.
The way I make my Thai curry is hardly traditional. I find it easier to prepare the curry sauce separately and allow the flavours to marry while stir frying the protein and vegetables separately, adding the curry sauce itself only in the last couple of minutes. This is because Thai cuisine revolves around four flavour pillars: salt, sweet, sour, and spice. I like to take my time tweaking the curry sauce by adding a little more of anything I feel might be missing, rather than boiling everything together in the same pan, per traditional Thai fare. Using prepared curry paste rather than a mortar and pestle is a great convenience, though adding extra fresh garlic and ginger helps the pre-prepared paste taste less so. Different brands of curry paste have different flavours and spice levels, so you may need to adjust accordingly. I have successfully kept a jar of curry paste sealed in the fridge for months with little discernible change in flavour or perceived freshness.
Even though I used chicken as the main protein for this particular curry, dry-fried tofu works great! The curry sauce can easily be made vegan by substituting vegetarian soy sauce for the fish sauce. The recipe following is essentially identical for both red and green Thai curries - you just need a paste in the respective flavour.
Thai Green Curry with Mangoes & Cashews
Author: Amanda
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Green Curry Sauce
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated or microplaned
- 3-4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or 1-2 Thai chilies, diced, to taste
- 1-2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
- 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce, to taste
- 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar, to taste
- juice of 1/2 lime, to taste
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into short strips
- 6 cups mixed vegetables (I used a mixture of red onion, bell pepper, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot)
- 1/2 cup diced fresh or frozen mango
- 1/4 cup roasted unsalted cashews
- jasmine rice for serving
Directions
Prepare the green curry sauce by melting a teaspoon of coconut oil in a small pot over medium-low heat. Simmer garlic, ginger, curry paste, and red pepper flakes in coconut oil for a few minutes until gently bubbling and fragrant. Add coconut milk, lime leaves, fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice. Bring the mixture until barely simmering. Adjust salt, sweet, sour, and spice notes to taste with fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, and red pepper flakes accordingly. Set curry aside on low heat until ready to add to stir fry.
Melt a tablespoon of coconut oil in a medium saucepan or wok on medium heat. Add raw chicken strips, and allow to cook most of the way through. Add vegetables and stir frequently on medium heat for approximately five minutes. Add green curry sauce and mix well. Add cashews and mango pieces, and heat through. Serve on rice.
Step-by-Step Photos
Start the curry sauce with a little bit of coconut oil (vegetable oil works too) and allow the garlic, ginger, curry paste, and red pepper flakes to simmer for a couple minutes. The mixture should be super fragrant and start to bubble.
Add a can of coconut milk, lime leaves, fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice to the pot. Not all green curry pastes make a curry this green, and I used to puree a handful of spinach and cilantro with a small amount of water and would add it in with this step, which really brightens up the colour. If you don't have lime leaves at home, I've found the zest of a lime will work in a pinch. Adjust the salt/sweet/sour/spicy components to your individual tastes. Once you are satisfied, turn the heat down to just keep the curry hot while you begin the stir-fry, and give it a stir every few minutes to make sure nothing burns on the bottom.
Begin the stir-fry by melting a tablespoon of coconut oil (or vegetable oil) in a saucepan or wok. Add the chicken and stir often, trying to ensure the chicken pieces cook equally on all sides.
Once the chicken seems to be about halfway cooked, add the mixed vegetables. I used a mixture of fresh and frozen vegetables, because I like having a larger variety of vegetables in my stir-fries, and having a mixed bag of frozen veggies in the freezer won't spoil and take up valuable fridge real estate.
After stir-frying for about five minutes, add the curry sauce to the mixture. If your pan is hot enough, the curry should start bubbling right away. Continue to stir often, and allow the curry sauce to help finish cooking the chicken and vegetables.
Add the cashews and mango. I had a bag of frozen mango pieces in the freezer and there happened to be about a half cup left in the bag. I find that there's not too much of a texture change in mango from frozen pieces as long as it's cooked.
Stir well to combine and ensure mango is heated through. (It doesn't need to be stir-fried like the vegetables or you risk making it mush.)
Serve over jasmine rice.
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