Thai Green Curry

I actually made this a while back but never had the chance to write it up.  This is such a delicious recipe it would be a waste if I didn't share.  The ingredients are easy to get and very quick to make even on a week night.

I cheated a little and used the ready-made green curry paste from a local Thai store.  If you want to make it from scratch, you can use this or this as a reference.

there were a few different brands to choose from but
the ladies at the store told me they all taste about the same 

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken, cut into large pieces

1 lb of fresh coconut milk (or you can use a 13.5 fl oz or 400ml can)

*if you are concerned with the added calories and fat from coconut milk, you can substitute with evaporated milk.

1 packet of Thai green curry paste

4 small Thai green eggplants, quartered

1 small Chinese purple eggplant, cut into long sections (use small Indian purple eggplants if available)

8 okras (Pick the pinky size ones if available), trimmed

*you can use a variety of vegetables and meat.  I just preferred chicken and eggplants

2 fresh kaffir lime leaves, torn

2 small Thai red chili peppers (only slice it if you want your curry extra spicy, I kept mine whole)

1 bunch of Thai basil (you want to use the leaves only)

fish sauce, palm sugar, lime juice to taste

Directions:

1.  Heat wok at medium-low heat, add the green curry paste and torn kaffir lime leaves.  Stir-fry until the aroma is released.

2.  When you can smell the aroma from the curry paste, add the chicken and Thai peppers.   Cook until the chicken is ~80% done(about 8 minutes).

3.  Add the vegetables.  (I added the basil too early, should have add them when the dish is done.  Next time I would also add sliced bamboo shoots.)

4.  Gradually add the coconut milk.  Turn up the heat and bring the sauce to a boil.  The coconut milk will thicken and you should see a film of oil.  (Some recipes said to cook the coconut milk first before adding the chicken and vegetables.  I guess it would make a bigger difference if you were using can coconut milk.)

3.  Season with fish sauce and palm sugar.  If you feel like there is not enough sauce, you can always add more coconut milk / evaporated milk or chicken stock, depending on how thick you want your sauce to be.

4.  When chicken is fully cooked, turn off the heat.

5.  (Optional) Squeeze in the lime juice to taste.  Garnish with basil and sliced Thai peppers.

6.  Serve with jasmine rice.