Thai Green Curry with Chicken, Carrots, and Potatoes

View fullsize

Is making green curry chicken from scratch an easy feat? On a weeknight even? Yup, it sure is! I’ll admit, those simmer sauces at the store can make life a little easier, but I promise that they are not needed for this dish! The green curry paste comes together in just minutes so you can start on the rest of your dinner right away.

What I love about making my own curry paste is that I know the ingredients are fresh and that there are also no added mystery flavorings or preservatives. In fact, it’s quite the opposite when I make curry paste because we typically grow many of the ingredients in our garden like dragon chilis, lemongrass, garlic, cilantro, and coriander seeds.

Speaking of my garden, this brings me to explaining the chili leaves! Did you know that chili leaves are edible? They’re traditionally used in the curry paste to help produce a gorgeous green color. Even though it’s January, my pepper plant somehow had several nice leaves on it, so I was lucky enough to use them in this dish.

If you don’t have a chili plant growing in your garden and your vendors at your farmer’s market are unable to provide you with the chili leaves (or even the cilantro roots for that matter), you’ll be okay! Just use some extra green chilis for coloring, as long as you can handle the heat, and some cilantro stems instead. No problemo! Curries are flexible like that, and this one is certainly easy, healthful, and delicious!

Thai Green Curry Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes

Time: 30 Minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

Curry Paste
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
10-15 green Thai chilis, stemmed, or 3 large jalapeños, roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. shrimp paste
1 tbsp chili leaves
2 tbsp cilantro roots or stems
1 2-inch piece lemongrass, bruised and roughly chopped
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1-inch piece ginger, roughly chopped

Curry
1 14 oz can coconut milk
2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 medium yukon gold potato, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 large jalapeño, seeded, chopped
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1.5 cups chicken broth
5-10 dried birdseye chilis
2 kaffir lime leves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 small bunch basil, thinly sliced

Steamed rice, for serving

Directions
Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the black peppercorns, cumin, and coriander and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer spices to a food processor along with remaining curry paste ingredients. Blend on high until smooth. 

Transfer chili paste, coconut milk, carrots, potatoes, and jalapeños to a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 10-12 minutes, until the coconut oil separates from the milk. Stir in chicken, broth, birdseye chilis, and kaffir lime leaves and cook for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Stir in fish sauce and light brown sugar. Adjust seasonings to taste and remove from heat. Serve immediately over steamed rice and garnish with shredded basil leaves.