Green Curry Chicken

(1)

Nigel Slater, a host of PBS's Great Food, says, "The first recipe I cooked on television was this green curry. I presented it in a beautiful brass bowl I bought in Thailand. And I was so pleased with it. But my dishwasher, who is Thai, looked at it and said, 'Why did you put the food in that brass bowl? That's a bowl we use for bathing.'" Slideshow:  Amazing Chicken Recipes 

Green Curry Chicken
Photo: © Quentin Bacon
Active Time:
1 hrs
Total Time:
1 hrs 15 mins
Yield:
6

Ingredients

Curry Paste

  • 4 stalks of fresh lemongrass, bottom 4 inches thinly sliced

  • 6 jalapeños, seeded and coarsely chopped

  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed

  • One 2-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced

  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced

  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

  • 1 teaspoon minced lime zest

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

  • 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Curry

  • 3 tablespoons peanut oil

Curry

  • 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips

Curry

  • 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps quartered

Curry

  • One 14-ounce can coconut milk

Curry

  • 2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

Curry

  • 8 lime leaves or one-inch-wide strips of lime zest

Curry

  • 1 tablespoon brined green peppercorns, drained

Curry

  • 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

Curry

  • 1 cup chopped cilantro

Curry

  • 1/2 cup shredded basil

Curry

  • Steamed rice and lime wedges, for serving

Directions

make the curry paste

  1. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients and pulse to a paste.

make the curry

  1. In a large, heavy casserole, heat the peanut oil. Add half of the chicken and cook over high heat until browned all over, about 6 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Add the mushrooms to the casserole and cook over moderately high heat until softened and just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the coconut milk, stock, lime leaves, peppercorns, 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce, 1/2 cup of the cilantro, 1/4 cup of the basil and a heaping 1/4 cup of the curry paste. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the casserole. Add 1 tablespoon of the curry paste and simmer for 5 minutes. (Reserve the remaining curry paste for another use.)

  2. Just before serving, add the remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/2 cup cilantro and 1/4 cup basil. Serve the chicken curry in deep bowls , with rice and lime wedges.

Suggested Pairing

Off-dry (or lightly sweet) wines, such as Rieslings and Gewürztraminers, are often good accompaniments to spicy curries like this one. However, for Slater's lime-and-lemongrass-inflected chicken dish, a citrusy Sauvignon Blanc makes a better match.

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