THAI GREEN CURRY WITH CHICKEN, BROCCOLI, AND MUSHROOMS

Why this recipe works thai curries embrace a delicate balance of tastes, textures, and colors that come together to create a harmonious whole. This authentic green curry is perfumed with green chiles, lemon grass, and coconut milk. A food processor made quick work of blending together the curry paste, made with Thai chiles, shallots, lemongrass, cilantro, garlic, ginger, coriander, and cumin. To approximate the flavor of traditional makrut lime leaves, we added grated lime zest. We then cooked coconut milk with the curry paste to make the silky, intensely rich sauce. With the inclusion of chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, and bell pepper, all you need is some white rice to accompany it. If you can’t find Thai chiles, substitute serranos or jalapeños.

SERVES: 4

TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

GREEN CURRY PASTE:

• ⅓ cup water
• 12 green Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 shallots, quartered
• 2 lemon grass stalks, trimmed to bottom 6 inches, and sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons grated lime zest (3 limes)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro stems
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt

CURRY:

• 2 (14-ounce) cans coconut milk, not shaken
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and sliced thin Salt
• 8 ounces broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch-wide strips
• 1 green Thai chile, stemmed, seeded, and quartered lengthwise
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS:

FOR THE GREEN CURRY PASTE:

1. Process all ingredients in food processor to smooth paste, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed; set aside.

FOR THE CURRY:

1. Spoon off 1 cup of top layer of cream from one can of coconut milk. Whisk coconut cream and green curry paste in Dutch oven until combined. Bring to simmer over high heat and cook until nearly all liquid is evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until cream mixture is separated and curry paste is very aromatic, 4 to 10 minutes.
2. Whisk remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar into sauce in pot, return to simmer, and cook until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season chicken with salt. Stir chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms into sauce and cook until vegetables are nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and Thai chile, and cook until bell pepper is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil, mint, and lime juice. Serve.