A Meal at Home : Thai Green Coconut Curry with Chicken

Closeup view of our green thai curry chicken dish on rice noodles

We had been craving some Thai food lately, and being in the rural area we were, our selection isn't that big. So we opted for a nice Thai meal at home. It was so delicious I thought I should share here for anyone who wants a little bit of this delicious Thai Spice in their life.



I am not going to pretend to be an expert in Thai food, but I don't mind telling you that this recipe is delicious!

Sure, you could make your own curry paste, but it can be a serious time saver to have a curry paste you love, and make it about as fast to do at home, as it is to order take-out.

Recipe: Green Thai Curry Chicken in a Creamy Coconut Sauce on Rice Vermicelli

You'll Need: 

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Green Thai Curry Paste of Your Preference
Garlic
Ginger
Onion
Bell Peppers
Rice Vermicelli Noodles
Your Favourite Hot Sauce
Saute Pan
Coconut Milk
Sesame Oil

Extras:
Lime Leaves or a Lime
Cylantro leaf

Procedure: 

1. Do a medium chop on your onion (thumbnail size or slightly larger), and a similar chop to your bell pepper. (Separate the pepper for now) 
2. Grate or press garlic and ginger.  I love both of these things, and if you ask me this dish can handle lots of both garlic and ginger.  
3. Cut your chicken. I did thin slices. Imagine a schnitzel thickness, but instead of half a plate large, many more pieces, the size of your thumb.  Remem
4. Start a Wok on the heat, medium to high for now.  If you have non-stick that is great. At the same time start a pot of water separately if you're cooking for a few people, or just boil some water in the kettle for one or two people. 
5. Add a drop of oil, and your thinly sliced chicken and onion to the wok, it should sizzle when you put it in. 
6. Add your curry paste
7. Toss the pan to make sure onions and chicken are well covered as they are seared on the pan 
8. When the chicken is about 70% cooked, add your coconut milk, your chopped bell peppers, and a lime leaf or a wedge or two of lime if you have it. 
9. You're going to simmer for a while now to let those flavours mix together. If you were doing chicken thighs, whole breasts, or anything where you cooked all day, or in a slow cooker, you could let it go for quite a while and the flavours would really develop.  The chicken breast strips I described will only need about 10 minutes after the whole wok has come to a boil again. 
10. While its simmering, your water should boil at some point, before you're finished simmering, you'll want to heat your noodles. I used rice vermicelli, so they cook very fast. I actually used a kettle of hot water and let them sit in the bowl for about 10 minutes. Your kettle won't boil enough water to cook more than 2 portions of noodles like this though. If you have more than two people you should boil some water. Don't overcook the noodles.
11. Now your chicken should be fully cooked after some gentle boiling time. If you're using large pieces, use a thermometer to check them. 
12. Give your sauce a taste. If it tastes bland, add some more curry paste and some salt. Garlic and ginger added at the end have a different taste than those added at the beginning. Squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice can help cut down the richness if the coconut tastes too creamy.  I really like a splash of sesame oil at the end for a nice subtle seasoning. Since we haven't added any salt yet, you will definitely want to add some. See tips at the end for adding salt. A few leaves of cilantro will add a nice fresh taste but you have to like the flavour too.  
13. Stir it all together, taste again. You're probably ready to serve. 
14. I served my noodles on the bottom of the bowl and poured the curry on top because it looks better in a photo. You can mix your strained noodles with the sauce straight up for a flavour that gets more deeply rooted into the noodle.  If you undercooked your noodles earlier you can heat them up in the pan in the sauce to finish cooking them also. 

Still steaming - Green thai coconut curry chicken on rice vermicelli noodles - delicious take out style food at home

Extra Tips

• Remember, chicken is the star of your dish, so make sure its pieces are cut the largest. The size of the pieces you cut play important roles in the finished outcome of your dish for a variety of reasons. 
• Carefully taste your curry paste alone. The store bought ones vary in potency. Know how much to use. The first time you try this dish with a new curry paste may be a practice run.
• Noodles should not be crunchy and not by mushy before you mix it with the rest of the hot dish at the end. 
• A bland taste is usually a sign of not enough salt, especially if you have a lot of flavourful items - the problem is there isn't enough salt to really open up your tastebuds.  So it's a very hard thing for a chef to describe, but you shouldn't notice the salt the consciously. Instead, you should taste a small amount of the dish and if it makes your taste buds water on contact, then you're right in that sweet spot - and if you start to notice the saltiness then you've gone too far.. This applies to basically everything you make, ever.