Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / Recipes / Gluten-free / Easy Thai green chicken curry

Easy Thai green chicken curry

by Jeanne Horak on November 3, 2008 19 Comments in Gluten-free, Main course - poultry, NaBloPoMo 2008

Easy-Thai-green-curry

 

So, my fellow foodbloggers… do you ever feel a little like a foodie fraud?

I do.  Every day I read through all these wonderful blogs where people talk about making their own pesto/pizza/hummus/stock/jam from scratch, as if they would never dream of doing it any other way, and it goes completely without saying that this is the bare miminum that foodies do.

And then I think guiltily of my own habits and cupboards.  I buy jam.  I buy hummus.  I make stock, but more often, I use stock cubes.  Hell, I have gravy granules!! I guess you could say that I’m the trailer-trash relative at the great foodie family BBQ.

Every time I see a recipe for making Thai green curry, starting with something along the lines of “first, plant your galangal plant”, I feel the weight of inadequacy settle upon my shoulders.  Clearly, everybody else is working an 8-hour day and them going home to make their own green curry paste from scratch – it’s just me and the pasty guy at the checkout with a trolley full of pork scratchings and frozen chicken Kievs who furtively buy the ready-made bottles of curry paste.

That is, until I received a package from one of my favourite expat South African bloggers: cook, blogger and crafter extraordinaire Bordeaux of Marita Says.  We had been chatting via e-mail and I had commented on some cute postcards on his site.  He promptly agreed to send me one, and so we came to exchange care packages.  And what did I find in his package from Thailand?  Four sachets of curry paste – a green, a yellow, a panang and a masaman paste!  So even in Thailand, it seems that some people aren’t keen to dash home after a long day at work and pound away at deseeded chillies and shrimp paste in their pestle and mortar… I’m not so inadequate after all – thanks Bordeaux for showing me the light 😉

Apparently, the trick with green Thai curry paste (and I do mean the paste – not the Lloyd Grossman or similar cook-in sauces!) is to buy one that is made in Thailand.  That way you can be reasonably sure that the ingredients and the taste are authentic.  I’m pleased to say that the Sainsbury’s own-brand green Thai curry paste is indeed made in Thailand, but my favourite to date is the WorldFoods green Thai curry paste.

This recipe is one of my favourite quick weeknight dinner standy-bys.  The longer you can simmer it, the better the flavour, but it’s perfectly yummy even without extended simmering.

QUICK THAI GREEN CHICKEN CURRY (serves 2)20080420 - GreenThai CurryIIWeb

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 skinless, deboned chicken breasts, chopped
1-2 cups of French beans (depending on how you like the meat-to-greens ratio), chopped
2 Tbsp green Thai curry paste
soy sauce
canola or sunflower oil
250ml coconut milk (just over half a standard tin)

Method:

Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat.  Add the onions and sautee until they start to soften.  Add the chopped beans and sautee until the onions are translucent and the beans are heated through but still crunchy.

Increase the heat a little and add the chicken.  Stir fry until the chicken is almost done, then add a generous splash of soy sauce.  Stir in the green Thai curry paste and allow to cook for a few minutes, then add the coconut milk (you can add more if you want a saucier curry).  Check for seasoning and add more curry paste, salt or coconut milk as necessary.

Once the liquid is bubbling, turn the heat down, cover the pan and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or so until the sauce is reduced and thickened a little.

Serve with lots of fluffy jasmine rice.

Follow me every day in November as I complete National Blog Posting Month – a post a day, every day, for 30 days! Here’s what I’ve written so far.

More deliciousness for you!

  • Thai-spiced roast pumpkin soupThai-spiced roast pumpkin soup
  • Green Thai curry vegetable ribbonsGreen Thai curry vegetable ribbons
  • Beef, broccoli and udon noodle stir fry from “The Japanese Larder” by Luiz HaraBeef, broccoli and udon noodle stir fry from “The Japanese Larder” by Luiz Hara
  • Miso-roasted French beans and cherry tomatoesMiso-roasted French beans and cherry tomatoes

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« Zucchini, peppadew and feta bread
Le Pain Quotidien – and meeting another SA foodblogger »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Manggy says

    November 4, 2008 at 2:37 am

    “First, plant your galangal plant…” HA HA HA! The curry looks great– pass the rice, pleas!
    Shortcuts are of course acceptable in my kitchen. I use stock cubes all the time– I can’t get myself to part with that much fuel (er, liquefied petroleum gas) or electricity to make stock. Puff pastry is impossible to make in a Filipino kitchen, too 🙂

    Reply
  2. Kalyn says

    November 4, 2008 at 5:17 am

    Oh I would definitely make this, and I use shortcuts all the time. (I do make stock though, love how it makes the hoouse smell.)

    Reply
  3. Amanda says

    November 4, 2008 at 8:30 am

    Oh, you’re not the only one. Not by a longshot. Everyone does it–we just don’t TALK about it. It’s one of those dirty little secrets of foodies. I use bullion almost exclusively–unless I happen to have a full bag of chicken bones & bits ready in the freezer for a stock-making marathon.
    Discovering how the locals make their cuisine is such a huge relief most of the time, don’t you agree? When I found powdered berebere spice mixture I was in heaven–and then learned how to make my own for the sake of availability only. If there was an Ethiopian grocery nearby I’d surely purchase it ready-made. I’ll have to search out thai-imported curry paste–there is one good thai grocery not too far away. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
  4. Gourmet Chick says

    November 4, 2008 at 10:07 am

    Making curry paste from scratch is in my books, special occasions only. As for day to day life, I agree it is all in the curry paste. I prefer to buy ones that have no English writing on them at all.

    Reply
  5. kittie says

    November 4, 2008 at 10:44 am

    Yep, I make paste from scratch sometimes – but always have a couple of tubs of paste in the fridge for standbys! I like the mae ploy brand best – they do a massaman too 🙂
    Craving Thai curry now!

    Reply
  6. Gemma says

    November 4, 2008 at 2:08 pm

    Yes, I often feel like a bad foodie as well. I use stock cubes, get pizza delivered (often), buy sacla pesto, houmous from the corner shop, instant coffee and love Hugh F-W but feel slightly ashamed of my gardenless state around all that chat of pulling veg straight from the ground (not even room for a window box in my flat) so the galangal comment was right on the mark. But, I see this and remember that people use spice mixes for good reason and that I can happily spend great chunks of money at Seasoned Pioneers or Steenbergs. In fact I might go and do just that, I need some more Chermoula…

    Reply
  7. Peter says

    November 4, 2008 at 3:02 pm

    Jeanne, I prefer green curry and my only addition here would be a splash of coconut milk, otherwise…send me a big bowl.

    Reply
  8. Trig says

    November 4, 2008 at 5:25 pm

    “I guess you could say that I’m the trailer-trash relative at the great foodie family BBQ.” Lol! Like someone who’s turned up at a Democrat BBQ to campaign for Sarah Palin.

    Reply
  9. ilingc says

    November 4, 2008 at 8:21 pm

    Guilty as charged!! hehe
    Actually, I’m not ashamed of cheating. The last thing I really want to do after a long day of work is to go home and pound my own chilli/curry paste. I have thought about making my own curry paste/hummus/pesto etc before. But ‘thought’ is about as far as I have ever went… ha ha..

    Reply
  10. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says

    November 4, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    I always have a jar of green curry paste (and one of red curry paste, too) in my pantry, for quick curries like this one.

    Reply
  11. Kevin says

    November 5, 2008 at 1:07 am

    Thai curries are among my favorites and this looks good. I have to confess though, that I find it fun to make my own Thai curry pastes. I make large batches and then freeze it in single serving sizes for quick and easy use later.

    Reply
  12. Bordeaux says

    November 5, 2008 at 1:21 am

    You’re curry looks lovely! Even though we lived in BKK for a year and always had access to the fresh ingredients to make our own curry paste I always cheated and bought the paste at stores. Alexander was a bit more industrious though and often made paste for curries. Lots of fun! Enjoy the other pastes.

    Reply
  13. Gill says

    November 6, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    This looks very yummy. I often make Thai red curry, but have never made a green one, don’t know why. I think I am going to have to buy me some green curry paste and give it a bash!

    Reply
  14. Zarah Maria says

    November 6, 2008 at 10:08 pm

    And here I go, rattling on about homemade mayo and what have you! 😉 Seriously though – I love making everything from scratch sometimes, but when I don’t feel like it, I’d rather take this kind of short cut and have something that I at least know is made with the added bonus of real vegetables and meat. We all “cheat” – wait, make that “we all have real lives that sometimes eat up the time we’d like to have spend making curry pastes/hummus/stock/jam”. I say there’s room for it all! 🙂

    Reply
  15. _ts of [eatingclub] vancouver says

    November 9, 2008 at 3:45 am

    Teehee. This is my favorite line: “as if they would never dream of doing it any other way.” ;D

    Reply
  16. Mrs Lawrence says

    November 12, 2008 at 4:07 pm

    I love your easy-to-use site! I have a cold and am longing for a curry from my Mum’s local Thai restaurant. Unfortunately she lives 3 and 1/2 hours away from me in the country in a town which just happens to have a Thai uber-restaurant (how I do not know).
    So tonight I am going to chase that cold away with this recipe which will be easy enough to use even through the cloud of medication.
    I know what you mean about ready-made though. My husband sometimes comes home with recipes with convoluted time-conmsuming “from scratch” instructions. Its always with a mind to treating me (he’s a sweetie), but I end up helping him to speed things up. Last time I told him the biggest treat would be to not have to wait 2 and a half hours for my dinner on a weeknight (I get mean when my din-dins is delayed). Thanks very much for the recipe!

    Reply
  17. Bill Foonman says

    December 2, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    On a recent trip to Thailand I bought a pound each of red and green curry paste at the market in Chiang Mai. They were displayed in large heaps and the vendor scooped out the desired quantity with a ladle.
    I am kicking myself for not buying more as none of the imported brands I have tried so far compare with the local product.
    I know I can grind my own however, has anyone tried the premium brands available online such as Nittaya or Hand Brand? The most readily available brands such as Thai Kitchen, Maesri, Lobo, Mae Ploy etc. don’t come close to the pastes I bought in Thailand.

    Reply
  18. Katie says

    May 19, 2009 at 3:56 am

    I just tried this recipe, and it was fabulous (and so easy!). Thanks!! I’m definitely with you on the curry paste. I had a lot of trouble finding the ingredients for curry paste (even in Asian markets), so I gave up and kept buying the pre-made kind. Some of them work really well!

    Reply
  19. Margaret Birkenshaw says

    June 11, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    Like the sound of this recipe

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Get my latest recipes delivered by e-mail!

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup [keto, low carb, GF]
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]
  • Antillean
  • Festive roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
  • Rustic blood orange and pistachio galettes

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Oxtail and red wine potjie
Nigella's Bakewell slices & the Big Bakewell Taste-off
Gem squash 101: how to find them, how to grow them, how to eat them!
Beef, broccoli and udon noodle stir fry from "The Japanese Larder" by Luiz Hara
Jan Ellis pudding - a classic South African dessert

Featured on

Also available on

The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a 7 metre diameter scale model of the moon suspended in the Painted Hall at the  @oldroyalnavalcollege in Greenwich this week, by @lukejerramartist. A surreal and fabulous sight!
Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need to get down to @canarywharflondon between now and Saturday 28 Jan to catch the free Winter Lights 2023 event, back for the seventh year.

My favourites include @lukejerramartist ‘s Floating Earth; Tom Lambert’s Out of the Dark; Fluorescent Firs; Toroid by This is Loop; and the surreal and mesmerising Anima by MEATS - a tunnel filled with hundreds of thin optical fibre lights that change colour and move in the breeze 😍 

Have you been to Winter Lights? What was your favourite?
“When we look down at the Earth from space, we s “When we look down at the Earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile.” - International Space Station astronaut Ron Garamond

To experience the “overview effect” (a phenomenon experienced by astronauts viewing the earth from space), head down to Canary Wharf in the London docklands this week where you can see @lukejerramartist ‘s beautiful Floating Earth installation as part of the Winter Lights event. 

This giant 10m diameter installation is created using high resolution NASA images to create a floating scale model of the Earth, lit from within so that it glows from its current home on the Middle Dock, surrounded by the headquarters of international banking and finance corporations.

The artist hopes that viewed in this context, the installation will make visitors and the bankers working in surrounding buildings question how their money in savings and pensions is invested, and whether investments can be greener.

Aside from being a thought provoking piece, it is also mesmerising and surreally beautiful, so make sure you visit the free Winter Lights event before ends on Saturday 28 Jan.
Happy lunar new year! [Invited] To celebrate the Happy lunar new year! 

[Invited] To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, why not head over to @mamachensdumplings currently doing a residence at the @thegantrylondon in #stratford where you can feast on prawn & chive dumplings; pork, Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushroom dumplings; pork & prawn wontons with Mama Chen’s chilli oil; vegetable dumplings; smacked cucumber salad; and spicy noodles coated in garlic and Szechuan pepper oil.

And afterwards, make sure you head up to the @unionsocialoc bar for a cocktail - I loved the Moreish Fashion with bourbon, PX sherry, chestnuts and mandarin orange bitters!
Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Chr Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Christmas? Turn it into this super simple and super indulgent broccoli and Stilton soup! So easy to make and soooo delicious to eat - and it is low carb and GF. What more could you want?! Click the link in my bio for the full recipe. What’s your favourite soup?
CELEBRATE. So the fireworks are over, the champag CELEBRATE.

So the fireworks are over, the champagne is finished and the leftovers are all eaten. We are one week into 2023 and I have had some time to think about what my intent is for the year. 

In 2022 my brother had a life saving kidney transplant. Since the operation, he has had a Peanuts cartoon as his WhatsApp profile pic, where Charlie Brown and Snoopy are sitting on a pier talking. Charlie says “Some day, we all die Snoopy.” And Snoopy replies: “Yes - but every other day, we will live.”

Waking up in the morning is a gift, every day, and it is so easy to forget this. The last few years have been difficult for so many people and the coming year promises its own challenges. But every day that we don’t die is a day to live, to celebrate life in some small way.

So my intention in 2023 is to celebrate. Celebrate our achievements however small. Celebrate our friends and family. Celebrate small things. Celebrate life.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2023? I would love to hear them in the comments! Wishing you all the very best for 2023 🥂
Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes fro Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes from last night with friends in Deptford. My deconstructed avocado ritz; @twinkleparkstephen ‘s bobitie; Giles’ Ottolenghi tomato salad; and Jean’s clementine trifle - and the London night sky ablaze with fireworks!  How did you spend your evening? 🥂🎇🎆
Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope your day was merry and bright, filled with family, friends and love 🎄🥂. Mine was spent alone at home - my choice and the result of a combination of Covid (not mine!) and rail strikes 🤦‍♀️ but very relaxing and indulgent!
Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter y Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter you can make ahead? Look no further than my individual smoked salmon terrine! Hot smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives wrapped in cold smoked salmon in a ramekin. Still one of the most popular Christmas recipes in my blog, it looks cheffy but is soooo simple to make - and will save you time and effort on the day! Get the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio.

How is your Christmas meal prep going? Are you entertaining at home or going to friends or family? 🎄🥂🎄🥂🎄
Load More... Follow me on Instagram

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2023 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

Copyright © 2023 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT