Thai Chicken Curry

This Thai Chicken Curry Recipe is one that I learned in a cooking class in Thailand but adapted to the limited ingredients that I could find during times of #lockdown

Thai cuisine #spicy #fromscratch

Thai cuisine is one of my favourites. I love the fresh ingredients; herbs, chillies, vegetables, spices, coconut milk, fruits and the mix of flavours, without it being too heavy nor too caloric.

When I went to Thailand, a few years ago, I took a cooking class of Thai cuisine. The class started with a tour of a fresh market where we saw, touched, smelled, tasted, photographed and learned about local ingredients (many new to me) and how they were used in Thai cuisine. I was impressed with the variety of fruits, vegetables, chillies, spices and herbs available – all very aromatic. After the market tour, we had a hands-on cooking class where we used Thai Tamarind cutting boards, woks, pots and exotic ingredients. It was a really fun class. Once we were done cooking, the fellow students from all over the world and I sat on long tables and enjoyed what we had prepared, with a cold drink in hand.

Times of lockdown 

During times of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when food supply is lower and food shopping isn’t as convenient, I’ve been testing new recipes and carefully managing the ingredients that I have. I aim to create excitement about dinner time, especially, during times of change and uncertainty. The experience of not being able to go out and be social is teaching me to enjoy the small things in life, smell the roses and get excited about things that I may have taken for granted in the past.

The other day, I had a craving for Thai food and I remembered a Chicken Curry recipe that I learned in a cooking class, a few years ago, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Although I didn’t have all the ingredients in the recipe, I used what I had on hand and the result was great. It was spicy, with a nice texture, and the coconut sauce was delicious. I had to share the recipe.

Room for flexibility

Feel free to replace ingredients if you don’t have everything on the list. For example, basil could replace coriander, prawns or fish could replace chicken, courgette could replace aubergine. The idea is to have an aromatic dish with herbs, spices, a delicious sauce and different textures. If you have lemongrass smash it a little it to release the aroma and throw it in there; it’ll be even better.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4-5 skinless chicken breasts, diced

2-3 Kaffir lime leaves

3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced in thin strips

2 red chillies, chopped

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons fish sauce

160 ml coconut cream

160 ml boiling water

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 big or 2 small shallots, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 aubergine, diced

1 tomato, chopped

1 heaping tablespoon coconut oil

Coriander leaves, chopped

Instructions:

1. Heat coconut oil in a wok in medium-high heat.
2. Cook diced chicken seasoned with salt and pepper.
3. Remove the chicken when almost cooked and reserve in a bowl.
4. Sweat sliced shallot with salt and turmeric.
5. When the shallot is soft and transparent add ginger and chilli. Mix.
6. After a minute or so, add garlic and mix well.
7. Pour fish sauce, add Kaffir lime leaves and mix.
8. Add aubergine, tomato, and cook until soft.
9. When the aubergine is cooked put the chicken back in the wok and mix with the other ingredients.
10. Add the coconut cream, the water and bring to a boil.
11. Turn off the heat and cover with a lid.
12. Let sit for ten minutes.
13. Serve and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves for more aroma or whole leaves for decoration.

I like to eat it by itself but it can be served with rice or another garnish. Let’s use our creativity.

Enjoy and share in the comment section any replacements that you made and your thoughts.

For more savoury recipes go to STARTERS and MAINS

For travel inspiration and tips go to TRAVEL