My Stint with Thai Food...Classic Thai Green Curry

I am a big foodie and love to eat as much as I love to cook. Being single I never worried about experimenting with recipes at home as I was the only one who would taste them. After marriage, my tendency for experimentation decreased as now even my family also will have to bear with my good or bad experiments.

As the winters are here and I seem to have a lot of energy these days, I thought of trying my hands at the Thai Cuisine. So, I started my search on various aspects of Thai food right from the basics to cooking skills, recipes and tips and I was astonished to see so many types of only sauces that are used in Thai food… Fish Sauce, Sweet Chicken Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Tamarind water, pickled garlic water, Salty soya bean sauce, Spicy Suki sauce, sweet plum sauce, yellow bean sauce, Dim sum sauce and this is not all. There are several unique pastes as well that are used in various curries for example, the famous Green curry paste, Red curry paste, yellow paste, old fish paste, shrimp paste, palm paste, Soya bean paste and a lot more. 

Apart from the sauces and pastes, Thai food also incorporates the use of some unique ingredients like Palm sugar, Coconut milk, Pandan leaves and Tofu. Lemon grass, Banana leaves, Turmeric, Tamarind, Rice, Garlic and Galangal are the most commonly used ingredients in this cuisine. 

Galangal

Pandan Leaves

Bay Leaves

Lemon Grass

Tofu

Coming to the type of utensils, Wok is a must have in Thai cooking. It can be used to prepare anything, right from stir fries to curries and even noodles. As Thai cooking requires and minimum of cooking tools and utensils, it is advisable to keep all the ingredients ready before u start with your task.

So, here I started off with the Classic Thai Green Curry recipe. Though I could not find all the ingredients for the green curry paste, I found out their substitute and to my surprise the authentic taste was recreated. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

For the Green Curry Paste

1 stalk fresh lemon grass sliced and minced

2 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp cumin powder

2 ½ Tsp of Soy sauce

Brown sugar (I substituted this with the normal refined sugar that is easily available in the market)

1-2 green chilies (you can also use jalapenos)

1 small onion

4 garlic cloves

An inch long Galangal (I used ginger instead)

1 or 2 Kaffir lime leaves (I substituted it with a teaspoon of lemon juice)

Chopped fresh coriander and basil leaves along with the tender stems

Others

1 bay leaf

A can of coconut milk

Cooking oil (preferably peanut oil though I used the regular refined sunflower oil)

Your favorite veggies (one can used tofu/cottage cheese and a variety of exotic vegetables. I have used button mushrooms, broccoli and sweet corn).

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients together and grind them well by adding few drops of coconut milk. 

The Green Curry Paste

• Pour some oil in a wok (I used a Kadai instead) and turn the heat to medium high. Now put the bay leaf in hot oil and then add the green paste. Stir fry till you get its aroma and then add coconut milk.

• Now add all the veggies in the green sauce. 

Steamed Veggies

 For easy cooking, you can simmer them separately in boiling water before adding them to the green paste. This way, you can also use the vegetable stock for cooking.

• Cook the vegetables by stirring continuously for 2 to 3 minutes. Taste for correctness of spices.
• Once done, transfer to a large bowl and garnish it with some fresh basil leaves.

Finally my Veg Green Curry