Recipes: Chabaa Thai Bistro & Yanako’s Moon’s Green Curry

Chabaa Thai Bistro & Yanako‘s chef/owner Nongyao “Moon” Krapugthong:  At home, we can make our own chili paste from scratch. Today we may find a variety of chili pastes at any convenience store. Pre-made curry is convenient; however, I would suggest adding the key herb and spices to the curry paste. The recipe below is my classic version of homemade Green Curry. Enjoy!

Moon’s Homemade Green Curry

Servings:  2 main servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ lbs Chicken or Beef
  • 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoon Green curry paste
  • 1 ½ cups Coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoon Sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoon Fish sauce
  • Black pepper ½ teaspoon
  • 2 oz Carrot, diced
  • 2 oz Bamboo shoot sliced
  • 3 oz Eggplant (regular or Thai)
  • 1 oz Mixed bell, diced
  • 3-5 leafs Lime leaf
  • 1 teaspoon (for garnishing) Lime leaves, finely cut
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kaffir lime zest (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon Galangal chopped (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon Lemon Grass chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cilantro root chop (optional)
  • 2-4 Green fresh Thai chili pepper (optional and base on personal spicy level)

Instructions:

  1. If you enjoy herbs and spices, finely grind all the herbs and spices with mortar and pestle or grinder, and then mix well with chili paste.
  2. Pan roast the green curry paste with oil and 2 tablespoons of coconut milk. With medium heat, stir until the curry dries and gives off a full aroma (about 5-8 mins).
  3. Transfer roasted curry to the pot.
  4. Add your choice of protein (see NOTE below), fish sauce, sugar, whole lime leaves and the rest of the coconut milk. Bring to a boil with medium heat.
  5. Add vegetables, and heat for 5-30 minutes to allow the curry to penetrate into the meat and the vegetables to cook.
  6. Garnish with bell pepper and lime leafs. Serve over steamed white rice.

NOTE regarding protein:  For beef, use high heat to cook thin-sliced beef in the curry soup. Another approach I would also like to recommend is using bigger beef cubes (1.5 x 1.5 inch cubes) and slow cooking until the beef cubes are tender. For shrimp, my dad always liked to trim the shrimps’ heads but keep the shells on. Fast cooking will bring bright color to shrimp and vegetables.

Moon's Kang Keaw Wan (Green Curry)
Moon’s Kang Keaw Wan (Green Curry)
Moon's Kang Keaw Wan (Green Curry)
Moon’s Kang Keaw Wan (Green Curry)
Moon's Kang Keaw Wan (Green Curry)
Moon’s Kang Keaw Wan (Green Curry)

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