The ultimate makeover: Thai green chicken curry

The ultimate makeover: Thai green chicken curry

By Angela Nilsen
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(20 ratings)
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Prep: 35 mins Cook: 20 mins

Easy

Serves 4
This normally super-rich curry can be turned into one that’s healthier but still creamy

Nutrition and extra info

  • Freezable without extra veg and rice

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal487
  • fat16g
  • saturates10g
  • carbs55g
  • sugars4g
  • fibre2g
  • protein35g
  • salt0.96g
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Ingredients

    For the curry paste

    • 20g bunch coriander, stalks and leaves separated
    • 2 shallots, finely chopped
      Shallot

      Shallot

      shal-lot

      Related to the onion (as opposed to being a younger version of it), shallots grow in clusters at…

    • 1 lemongrass, finely chopped
    • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    • 1cm piece fresh root ginger, finely chopped
      Ginger

      Ginger

      jin-jer

      Mainly grown in Jamaica, Africa, India, China and Australia, ginger is the root of the plant. It…

    • 3 small hot green chillies, finely chopped (include the seeds)
      Chillies

      Chilli

      chill-ee

      Part of the capsicum family, chillies come in scores of varieties and colours (from green…

    • 1 larger, mild-to-medium green chilli, finely chopped (include the seeds)
      Chillies

      Chilli

      chill-ee

      Part of the capsicum family, chillies come in scores of varieties and colours (from green…

    • small handful basil leaves
    • ½ tsp each ground cumin and coriander
    • ¼ tsp black pepper
    • 1 tsp crumbled freeze-dried kaffir lime leaves
      Lime leaf

      Lime leaf

      ly-m leef

      Lime leaves are obtained from the kaffir lime, which is not a true lime at all but rather a…

    • 1 tbsp lime juice
    • 1 tsp sunflower oil
      Sunflower oil

      Sunflower oil

      A variety of oils can be used for baking. Sunflower is the one we use most often at Good Food as…

    For the curry

    • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
      Sunflower oil

      Sunflower oil

      A variety of oils can be used for baking. Sunflower is the one we use most often at Good Food as…

    • 400ml/14fl oz can reduced-fat coconut milk
      Coconut milk in a glass, with half a coconut

      Coconut milk

      ko-ko-nut mill-k

      Coconut milk is not the slightly opaque liquid that flows from a freshly opened coconut –…

    • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (450g/1lb total weight), cut into bite-size pieces
    • 2 tsp fish sauce
      Fish sauce

      Fish sauce

      A seasoning often used in Vietnamese and Thai cooking. In Vietnam it is usually made from shrimp…

    • ½ tsp granulated palm or light muscovado sugar
    • 4 freeze-dried lime leaves
      Lime leaf

      Lime leaf

      ly-m leef

      Lime leaves are obtained from the kaffir lime, which is not a true lime at all but rather a…

    • 100g mange tout, thinly sliced lengthways
    • 100g green beans, halved lengthways

    To serve

    • 2 spring onions, finely shredded
      Spring onions

      Spring onion

      sp-ring un-yun

      Also known as scallions or green onions, spring onions are in fact very young onions, harvested…

    • 250g Thai fragrant rice, cooked
      Rice

      Rice

      r-eye-s

      Rice is a grain, the seed of a type of grass, which is the most widely grown and the most…

    • lime wedges
      Lime

      Lime

      ly-m

      The same shape, but smaller than…

    Method

    1. For the curry paste, finely chop the coriander stalks and put them into a mini food blender or small food processor with the shallots, lemongrass, garlic and ginger. Pulse until as smooth as you can get it. Add the chillies, basil, threequarters of the coriander leaves, the ground cumin, coriander, pepper, lime leaves and lime juice, then pulse again. Mix in the oil and set aside. You will only be using half of this paste, the rest can be chilled for a couple of days, or frozen for up to a month.

    2. For the curry, heat the oil in a non-stick wok or deep sauté pan, stir in half the curry paste, then stir-fry for 1 min. Shake the coconut milk in its can, open, then pour two-thirds into the pan. Let it bubble away for 4-5 mins, stirring now and then, until reduced and thickened slightly.

    3. Tip in the chicken, then stir-fry for 1-2 mins until no longer pink. Stir in the fish sauce and sugar, then pour in the rest of the coconut milk to give a thinnish, creamy sauce. Lower the heat, add the lime leaves, then simmer for 5 mins to gently finish cooking the chicken. Can be frozen at this point for up to 1 month.

    4. While the chicken simmers, steam the mangetout and beans for a couple of mins. Serve the curry in bowls with some of the veg piled on top (serve the rest separately) along with the spring onions and the rest of the coriander leaves. Serve with a bowl of Thai fragrant rice and lime wedges for squeezing over.

    • Recipe Tip

      Making it healthier

      My version contains 487 kcals and 16g fat (10g sat fat), 4g sugar and 0.96g salt. Here’s how I did it: Reduced the fat -replaced the coconut cream with reduced-fat coconut milk, cooking it to thicken and enrich. Reduced the amount of oil. Reduced salt and sugar - made own curry paste to boost flavour and eliminate need for salt, as well as the need for using as much fish sauce and sugar.

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    Comments, questions and tips

    Sign in or create your My Good Food account to join the discussion.
    rachypanda
    29th Jan, 2011
    Gorgeous dinner! Really tasty, I used reduced fat coconut milk, it's healthier and just as tasty.
    irenek
    6th Oct, 2010
    3.05
    Tasty! Unfortunately not all ingredients where available here in the Netherlands. But some substitutes and it tasted lovely.
    anne_sim
    30th Sep, 2010
    4.05
    SO DELICIOUS! A bit thin though so I just put a little bit of cornflour in to thicken it, probably not authentic but more satisfying! So fresh compared to shop-bought pastes and easy too!
    thynk2much
    3rd Sep, 2010
    5.05
    This is so, so good and much better than other thai curry recipes I've made. The freshness of the flavours makes this a dish we eat over and over again -- always in the mood for this one!
    milkermel
    18th Jul, 2009
    Yep this is a definate hit. great idea with the mange toute
    rachel0110
    9th Jul, 2009
    4.05
    Lovely. I can sometimes find these curries a bit sickly but this was delish!!!!! Had lots of Pak Choi with ours and am cooking the rest of the paste for my aunt this weekend!!
    andylangfor
    16th Jun, 2009
    4.05
    easy to make, and very tasty. added courgette and baby sweetcorn. Looking forward to using the rest of the paste next week.

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