Thai green chicken curry

I think we all jumped on the Thai Green curry band wagon over 20 years ago and it has become a classic. It has the potential to be the most wonderful, fragrant, aromatic bowl of soul food and also the potential to be lifeless and insipid bowl of cardboard! The memory of a delicious green curry will stay with you for a long time as will a disappointing one! So tread carefully, hold on to the recipe until you can arm yourself with all the essential ingredients. You can make your own Green curry paste and it is delicious (my sister Steph makes her own paste and is it divine), however all the magical ingredients in a paste are not always to hand outside of Thailand or a specialised spice shop. Just make sure you buy a good brand, I did bring back lots when I visited Thailand a few years ago and I am just at the end of my lot. Customs would have had a field day if I have been checked - a suitcase full of pastes and spices. Also an open jar is easy to keep in the fridge and it means you always have some to hand. 

Serves 4
Ingredients

225g new potatoes cut

100g mange tout or sugar snap peas

100g baby corn

100g button mushrooms

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

4 tsp Thai green curry paste

400ml can coconut milk

2 tsp Thai fish sauce

1 tsp caster sugar

450g boneless skinless chicken (breasts or thighs), cut into bite-size pieces

1 green chilli - finely chopped and deseeded depending on how hot you like it. 

2 fresh kaffir lime leaves finely shredded, or 3 wide strips lime zest, plus extra to garnish

good handful of basil leaves

Method

1. Put 225g new potatoes, cut into chunks, in a pan of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes until just cooked (take care not to over cook). Drain and put to one side.
2. In a wok, heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil until very hot, then drop in 1 chopped garlic clove and cook until golden, this should take only a few seconds. 
3. Spoon in the Thai green curry paste and stir it around for a few seconds to begin to cook the spices and release all the flavours.
4. Next, pour in a 400ml can of coconut milk and let it come to a bubble.
5. Stir in 2 tsp Thai fish sauce and 1 tsp caster sugar, mushrooms and chicken pieces. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
6. Tip in the mange tout and baby corn cook for 3 mins then add the potatoes and beans and let them warm through in the hot coconut milk, then add 2 finely shredded kaffir lime leaves (or 3 wide strips lime zest).
7. Add a good handful basil leaves, but only leave them briefly on the heat or they will quickly lose their brightness. 
8. Scatter with lime and a little green chili to garnish and serve immediately with basmati rice.