What’s perfect for Auckland’s stormy weather? Bowl of fragrant delicious green curry soup with nourishing rice noodles, mouth-watering oyster mushrooms and plenty of crunchy green vegetables. Delicious!
Add your favourite seasonal vegetables and mushrooms. Cauliflower, zucchini, Asian eggplant, long beans, mung bean sprouts or broccolini work great in this recipe.
Thai cuisine has a great variety of curries, most categorized by the colour of the curry paste—red, yellow, and green. It is the colour of the chilli that imparts each signature hues, and each curry has its own distinct flavour. Green curry is one of my favourites. It is made with fresh, young green chilli which makes green curry hotter and tastier than other curries, however, if you are not a big fan of extremely hot food just substitute part of chilli with coriander and you will get a less hot but absolutely delicious curry paste.
Discover creative ways to use green curry paste, add it to soups, stir-fries, fried rice or Asian style salads.
For green curry paste, you will need some Asian ingredients, such as:
Lemongrass or Citronella grass is a stalky plant with a lemony scent that grows in many tropical climates, most notably in Southeast-Asia. A common ingredient in Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian cooking, lemongrass provides a zesty lemon flavour and aroma to many dishes. Use lemongrass in marinades, stir-fries, salads, spice rubs, and curry pastes. Lemongrass is also an aromatic healer, a cup of lemongrass tea before sleep good way to relaxation.
Kaffir lime leaf is a fragrant leaf of the wild lime tree that used widely in Indonesia, Thai and South-East Asian cuisine in the same way as the bay leaf is used in the West. It has a spicy, lemony flavour and gives a distinctive citrus scent to soups and curries. Kaffir lime leaf is an important ingredient in Tom Yam soup, Rendang, Bubur Ayam and Urab.
Galangal root, also known as blue ginger or Thai ginger, is the edible rhizome of the Galangal perennial tree. Galangal is known for adding exotic flavour to culinary dishes, it has the delicate taste and light perfume notes. Where to find? Check the nearest Asian store or market. You can also use dried galangal for your cooking.
Shrimp paste is a paste made from fermented ground shrimp mixed with salt. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Shrimp paste delivers a richness and deep to the taste that’s totally unique, one of those magic ingredients that completely transform a dish.
Keep the prawn paste in the closed jar or airtight container to prevent odour in your fridge.
Tip: If you’d like to make authentic Thai green curry paste, you’ll need a good stone mortar and pestle, and some patience.
Making curry paste by hand with a mortar and pestle gives a tastier end result than making it with a food blender. A mortar and pestle will crush and smear the ingredients into a paste, creates the flavoured oil. While a food processor will chop and slice them into a mince.
Thai Style Green Curry Soup
Ingredients
3-4 Serves
- 150g medium rice noodles
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 3 cups chicken stock
- a handful of green beans
- a handful of snow peas
- a handful of oyster mushrooms
- 1/4 of the broccoli head, cut into florets
- salt or fish sauce
For the green curry paste:
- 1-2 green chilli, chopped
- 3 lemongrass stems, white part only, chopped
- bunch of coriander (cilantro) with stems and roots, chopped
- 1 thumb-sized chunk of ginger, chopped
- 1 thumb-sized chunk of fresh or dried galangal
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 red onion or a few Asian shallots, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (optional)
- splash of neutral vegetable oil (I use grapeseed oil)
To serve:
- fresh coriander leaves (and flowers)
- lime wedges
- sliced green chilli
Directions
- Boil a large pot of water and cook rice noodles follow directions on the pack. Place cooked noodles in cold water.
- Place all ingredients for green curry paste in a food processor, chopper, or blender. Process well to form a fragrant paste. You can also use a mortar and pestle.
- Heat a big saucepan, add the curry paste and kaffir lime leaves. Cook slowly on a low heat until fragrant and soft. Add three cups of boiling chicken stock and broccoli. Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes. Add oyster mushrooms, snow peas, and green beans and cook another 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk. Season with salt or fish sauce. Remove from the heat.
- Drain well rice noodles, then transfer to the soup bowls. Pour in the hot soup (reheat it if needed). Serve immediately with fresh coriander, chilli, and lime. Enjoy!
Tip: How to save the beautiful green colour of the soup and vegetables? It’s simple: you have to reduce cooking time in order to preserve the colour.
