nam prik gaeng kheo wan (thai green curry)

thai green curry is the hottest, most fresh tasting curry i've ever had. the thai green chili (a.k.a., bird's eye or bird shit chilis) is really really hot. pick firm and small chilis. the smaller and greener the hotter. for this paste, you can freeze it so it will last about 6 months, or you can fry it in oil and jar it in the fridge for about 3 months.

Thai Green Curry (Yields 4-5 T)
dry ingredients:
1 t coriander seeds (roasted until brown)
1/2 t cumin seed (roasted until brown)
1/2 t black peppercorn (warm em up just for fun)
1/2 t salt

fresh ingredients:
1 t ginza/siamese ginger/galangal (skin removed & chopped)
3 T lemongrass (lower 1/3 only, chopped)
1 t kaffir lime peel (chopped - can substitute local lime peel)
2 T coriander root (chopped - can substitute coriander stalk)
2 T shallots (chopped)
1 T garlic (crushed)
1 t shrimp paste (ignore the awful smell and use it!)
1 t tumeric (skin removed & chopped)
20 small, green chilis (stems removed and chopped)
1 C sweet basil leaves

Make a powder of the dry ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Then add all the fresh ingredients and pound to a paste. This takes a while, 15-20 minutes of heavy mashing. But its totally worth it. The smells of all the ingredients will create this beautiful complex relaxing aroma. Its a very meditative process. The paste should be very very smooth and should stick to the pestle. If you'd rather use a food processor you can add a little water, but for some reason it just doesn't taste the same. Use immediately for best results.


Gaeng Kheo Wan Gai
Green Curry with Chicken (serves 4)
this dish is also good with tofu

1 1/2 C chicken breast (thinly sliced)
1 C thick coconut milk
1 C thin coconut milk
4 T green curry paste
3 long eggplants cut into 1 cm pieces
1/2 C small eggplants
2 T palm sugar
2 T fish sauce
2 kaffir lime leaves torn into pieces (discard the stem)
1 C sweet basil leaves
1 big green chili
1 big red chili

Heat a wok over high heat. Fry the thick coconut cream until the oil begins to crack out of the cream. When you see the oil, add the curry paste and fry until fragrant (about a minute). Then add the chicken or tofu and fry quickly until it turns white. Since tofu is already white i guess you can just keep going. Add the thin coconut milk and when it boils add the egg plants. Simmer until the eggplants are slightly soft. Add palm sugar, lime leaves, and fish sauce. Stir until the palm sugar dissolves. Add half the basil leaves. Garnish with the red and green chilis and the rest of the basil. Drizzle some coconut cream over the top if you have any left for a nice effect. Eat. Marvel at your genius.