Comida del Camino #4

We know it’s been a long time since we posted a recipe, but we haven’t actually been self catering since we left New Zealand! Whilst in the van we were fan of one pot meals, including an improvised spicy mixed bean and chorizo stew with rice, the smell of which was complimented by many other campers. Given we took a fantastic cooking course in Chang Mai, we thought we’d share a couple of our favourite dishes from the day, starting with a classic Green Curry.

Green Curry

Paste

•  10g galangal
  
• 10g kaffir lime skin
• 10g ginseng
• Lemongrass
• 10g turmeric
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
  
• 10g garlic
• 10g shallots
• 7-12 small fresh green chilies (for red curry replace these with dried large red chilies)

NB to make Panang curry (a favourite of ours) add 1 tbsp of peanuts to the paste and for Khaw Soi, add 1 tsp of curry powder!

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Sauce

• 1 tbsp of curry paste (add more or less to adjust spice!)
  
• 1 bowl of coconut milk - this is not exactly the same as coconut milk you get in a can at home - the Thai version is much thinner as it is a 50:50 ratio of coconut cream to water, making the green curry a soup not a thick creamy sauce
  
• Chopped chicken breast - sliced thinly so it cooks quickly
  
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
  
• 1 large red chili thinly sliced
  
• Thai egg plant (or aubergine), chopped into bite size pieces
  
• Thai sweet basil leaves (handful)
  
• Seasoning: 1 tsp of palm sugar, 2 tsp fish sauce
  

Method

Add 2 large cooking spoons of coconut milk to a wok and bring to the boil until oil appears on the surface.
Add curry paste and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add chicken and cook until it has turned white, then add the rest of the coconut milk and bring to the boil.
Add all vegetables.
Add seasoning – palm suger and fish sauce.
Remove from heat and serve with rice (to be eaten separately, not mixed together!).

This makes quite a small amount – probably 1-2 servings, so you would need to double the ingredients, especially seasoning for more people. It was interesting to learn that Green Curry is actually the spicier version, and Red Curry is more mild despite the dried chili.