Recipe Image

Thai Chicken and Eggplant Green Curry

An authentic recipe, using traditional Thai ingredients for a food experience straight out of a Bangkok street market.

  • Servings

    3

  • Heat Level

    White Pepper IconWhite Pepper IconWhite Pepper Icon

  • Prep Time

    10 mins

  • Cook Time

    10 mins

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 jar Blue Dragon Thai Green Curry Paste
  • 2 cans Blue Dragon Coconut Milk
  • 4 shallots, finely chopped
  • 4 chicken breasts (free-range if possible), cut into thin slices (5mm wide)
  • 2 kaffir lime leaves
  • 6 baby eggplant, quartered
  • 24 pea eggplants
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced, optional
  • A handful of Thai basil, optional
  • 1 carton coconut cream, optional
  • jasmine rice

Instructions

  1. Heat spices in a dry frying pan until a light, even brown color.
  2. Remove spices from the saucepan and pound in a mortar until finely powdered.
  3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the Blue Dragon Thai Green Curry Paste and spices and stir fry for about 30 seconds - 1 minute until it releases an aroma.
  4. Lower the heat and add the Blue Dragon Coconut Milk. Allow it to simmer for about 1 minute.
  5. Add the chicken, shallots, shredded kaffir lime leaves and both types of eggplant and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the eggplants are cooked.
  6. Remove from the heat and garnish with Thai sweet basil leaves, finely sliced chilli and drops of coconut cream.
  7. Serve with jasmine rice.

Notes

It is important to fry the paste in oil first to release the aromas of the aromatic herbs and spices. If the coconut milk has separated into a thick cream and coconut water, this is ideal for an authentically cooked curry. Take the thicker creamy section and add to the paste. Fry and reduce until the oil starts to separate from the paste and coconut mixture. At this moment, add the remaining watery part of the coconut milk and bring the curry to the boil. Slice proteins such as chicken, beef and pork into thin slices no more than 0.5cm wide. Add these to the boiling curry raw - they will cook until tender in just under 5 minutes. By adding the meat raw, it enables all the flavours of the paste to infuse the meat and creates a more tender curry. If using fish in your Thai curry, it is better to poach it rather than boil (as this can break up the fish's delicate flesh). Reduce the heat to a simmer after the fish has been added, and cook until translucent and tender. Vegetables should be added according to their size and density. The larger more dense vegetables will need longer to cook so add them earlier on in the cooking. Don't forget to season the curry with Thai Fish Sauce (Nahm Pla) and sugar to taste, towards the end of cooking. A green curry should be slightly more salty than sweet. Red should be sweeter. If you can't find Thai eggplant, use mange tout, baby sweetcorn and frozen peas instead - add to the curry at the same time as the raw chicken.