Thai curries are usually cooked in coconut milk with curry paste. There are different kinds of curry pastes – red, green, yellow – which are made up of a good mix of herbs, spices and chili. These give out the flavorful and aromatic smell in curry.
Green Thai curry is somehow similar to red curry, except that the colour comes from green chili. Green curry contains lime leaf, coriander and basil, which both enhance flavor and green property. Chicken and curry are a perfect combination because the meat’s taste is accentuated with the spices, instead of clashing flavors.
Here are a few questions we asked Tiffany, the owner of Jasmine Thai, to learn more about this popular Thai dish.
Question: What does this dish remind you of Thailand? Is there a certain time/occasion when you would eat this in Thailand yourself?
Answer: Thai people in the countryside villages traditionally choose the green curry chicken as one of the main dishes they cook for guests attending the wedding ceremony, ordination ceremony or funerals. You also can normally see green curry being sold as one of the most popular dishes for street food (food served in pits) as well. Thai people cook and eat green curry all year round both lunch and dinner.
Q: Did you usually eat this with another side dish or drink?
A: It’s usually eaten with steamed jasmine rice or rice vermicelli.
Q: What’s in the dish? Are there any options? e.g. lamb or beef
A: There are options like chicken, beef, prawn or vegetarian
Q: What are some details about how this is prepared and cooked? Anything interesting to mention?
A: Main ingredients are: green chilli, coconut cream, salt, sugar, kaffair lime, Thai herbs and Thai basil.
Q: Do you use any fresh local ingredients? What is good about the ingredients used? e.g. bought fresh daily or bought from local producers
A: All the vegetables and ingredients we use are fresh and hand prepared daily.
Q: How is your cooking style different to other Thai restaurants? Why is your dish better?
A: We pick the freshest vegetables, meats and fruits for our cooking. To replicate the authentic flavors, we also hand made our own house sauces from scratch.
Q: How is this dish modified for Australian taste?
A: Green curry in Thailand comes with pea eggplant and apple eggplant, which cost far more than local seasonable vegetables. Jasmine Thai attempts to find the middle ground, using fresh local ingredients.