Spring has…ah, sprung? At least according to my kitchen, but not according to my wardrobe. I’m still knee deep in long wooly socks, leather boots, thick sweaters, but in my kitchen, the lighter linens have been washed and ironed, the roasting pans are full of baby green veggies and the sun tea is trying, with every ounce of its being, to brew. With my eyes squeezed tight, fists clenched and feet stomping… I’m chanting spring is here, yes, spring is here, and I will continue to chant until the windows are wide open and I can twirl with my arms wide open feeling the slightest hint of sun on my face. Until then, my kitchen is my spring oasis, gradually filling up with all the fabulous new produce sprinkling into the market. Thai green curry is one of those dishes that welcomes each spring in our home, it is like an aromatic slap in the face that banishes winter and opens the senses. It is also the one recipe that seems to disappear on us, until the original recipe that I learned from a London neighbor has been forgotten and molded into a mix of what we think goes in there and what we have. The recipe has been scribbled on post-it notes then lost in a the junk drawer, taped to the fridge only to be swept away in a frenzy of cleaning, texted to my husband, screen saved on my iPhone and then finally, after much delay, being written here so that I can find it when I feel like taking the time to do it correctly, rather than from the hip at 5pm on a Wednesday night.
We make a small batch and then store it in the fridge for 10 days, adding it to everything from chicken soup to rice…there is no end to how you can use this paste. Make it as spicy as you like, you can always dilute the heat with coconut milk or stock, but it is nearly impossible to add more heat after the fact without wrinkling the over all aroma.
Thai Green Curry Paste
- 2-3 tablespoons of grapeseed oil for binding
- 1 inch of fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 fresh stalks of lemon grass, cut lengthwise, then chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 fresh green chilies, stalks removed
- 3 spring onions, chopped
- 1 cup of fresh cilantro, including the stalks for a heavier aroma
- 1/2 cup of fresh basil
- zest of 1 lime
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon of Fish Sauce
Place all your ingredients into a blender and blitz until finely chopped. Add more grapeseed oil if the paste needs more binding, blitz again and then transfer to an air tight jar. If, like us, you like a thicker paste, stop blitzing until just before smooth to give you dish an added bite. Or you can blitz until smooth and creamy. For the perfect curry sauce, add 3 tablespoons of the blend to a cup of coconut milk.