Green Chicken Curry

I vacillated for a long time on what to name this recipe: Green Chicken Curry, or Thai Green Curry? I went with the former only because the very suggestion of ethnic food can sometimes scare people off, and this is not a recipe you should be afraid of. This is a recipe you should embrace. Deeply.

But wait, not yet! Save your caresses for when the meat is cooked, please. First, we need to build up a little tension, am I right? You can use anywhere from 1 to 4 chicken breasts for this, depending on how much meat you want in the final product, but always use the same amount of marinade, because it’s an integral part of the sauce later and you don’t want to throw the balance off. So start with one Tablespoon of sugar…

And 2 Tablespoons of Thai Kitchen fish sauce. This brand is common enough that you will probably be able to find it in your normal grocery store, and they’re generally really good about not hiding gluten in their various Asian food products. [As always, the brands I use were GFCF at the time of posting, but manufacturers can change recipes without warning. Always check your labels!]

Add 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Stir everything together thoroughly, cover the bowl, and stick it in the refrigerator for whatever length of time fits your dinner schedule. If that happens to be first thing in the morning before you leave the house, or no more than 10 minutes before you start cooking the rest of the meal, it’s all good.

Cut up about 1 lb. of smallish potatoes (I think I used 5 of them) into bite-size chunks. I leave the peels on, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’d like to claim I do it because the peels are the healthiest part, but really it’s just because I’m lazy.

Chop an onion into similar-sized pieces (or smaller, if your kids don’t like onions and you’re hoping they’ll accidentally get a few on their fork without noticing.)

Heat up one or two tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot, and dump in the potatoes, onions, and a chopped up red bell pepper as well. Truth be told, that’s actually 2 red bell peppers in mine, because I adore red bell peppers (but I absolutely loathe the green ones; go figure.) You’ve got to go with your gut on how many are right for you. Once you’ve settled that conundrum, sautee everything over moderately high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Then pour in your chicken along with all the marinade. Stir rapidly until the outside of the chicken is opaque but it’s not cooked all the way through.

Now for the most important part — the love potion, if you will. (Did I just type that? I’m really having second thoughts about this whole “romance” metaphor I’ve got going on…) Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste. It comes in a tiny jar, but you only need 1 Tablespoon of it at a time. Normally I’d give you an idea of what’s in it in case you want to approximate, but there’s really no substitute for this complex combination of flavors. Mix it into your pot and cook for one minute, just enough to get the fragrance going.

Now, add one can of coconut milk. Make sure you stir inside the can before you pour, because coconut milk will tend to separate.

Also add 1/4 cup of water…

And 1 Tablespoon of lime juice.

Cover the pot, and let it simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 7-8 minutes.

If necessary, let it simmer uncovered for another couple of minutes to let it thicken a bit.

This is best served over rice. Why is there no rice in my bowl, you ask? Because I’m a doofus and forgot to put it in there before taking the picture. It happens. The peppers and onions may intimidate some kids, but I promise you, they’re going to love this sauce if you can get them to give it a chance. Coconut milk is sweet, and you may also recall we added a Tablespoon of sugar way back when. After cooking in the sauce for so long, all the veggies have soaked up the flavor too, and the result is something you will want to embrace very deeply indeed.

Happy Eating!

The GFCF Lady’s Green Curry Chicken

2-4 chicken breasts
1 TBS sugar
2 TBS Thai Kitchen fish sauce
1 TBS minced garlic
1 tsp black pepper

1 lb. small potatoes
1 onion
1-2 red bell peppers
1 can coconut milk
1 TBS Thai Kitchen green curry paste
1/4 cup water
1 TBS lime juice