Thai Green Chicken Curry

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil

2 dessert spoons thai green curry paste (start with Amoy paste)

2 tablespoons thai fish sauce

1 tin coconut milk

chicken breast (raw or ready cooked) cut into 1inch pieces

1 mug of thai fragrant rice

cold water to cover by half an inch

salt

Method

Add rice to a saucepan and wash under the cold tap a couple of times. The water will turn cloudy, this is the starch in the rice which would make it sticky when cooked. Cover the rice with enough cold water to reach half and inch above the level of the rice and add salt. Bring to the boil, stir once, cover with a tight fitting saucepan lid and turn heat to the lowest simmer possible. Don't be tempted to look at the rice, leave it for 10 minutes then turn off the heat. Leave rice until you are ready to serve the curry. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat the oil of a medium heat, add the curry paste and fry for about 1 minute stirring continuously, be careful it spits.

Add the coconut milk and fish sauce, stir and simmer for about 1 minute.

Add the chicken to the sauce and turn heat to a simmer, if raw cook for about 15 minutes, if using ready cooked, for about 5 minutes.

Serve

Tips:

I cheat and buy a hot roast chicken and then strip the breast meat straight into the curry sauce, just don't burn your fingers picking it off the bone.

Curry pastes vary with the brand, I have found that the Amoy paste is very tasty and mild, suitable for those who don't like fiery curries, if you do like them hot, buy the traditional green paste which comes in plastic tubs, be warned, use only 2 teaspoons of paste unless you book the fire-brigade.