Green Curry with Hand-Pounded Paste

Method

1. Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry 16 cm pan over medium-low heat for 2 min, shaking, until fragrant and a shade darker. Tip out and grind finely with the white pepper. Wrap the shrimp paste flat in foil and toast it in the same pan for 1 min, turning once, until it smells savoury and toasty.

   Add in this stepCoriander seeds 1 tspCumin seeds ½ tspGround white pepper ½ tspShrimp paste 1 tsp

   medium-low heat

2. Roughly chop the green chilies (seed half of them for a milder curry) and just pull the stems off the bird's eye chilies. Peel the outer layer off the lemongrass and thinly slice only the tender bottom 10 cm. Thinly slice the galangal, roughly chop the garlic and shallots, and finely chop the cilantro stems and roots. Finely grate the green zest of the lime.

   Add in this stepLong green chilies 6Green bird's eye chilies 3Lemongrass stalks 1Galangal (or ginger) 10 gGarlic cloves 5Shallots (or small red onions) 2Cilantro stems and roots 10 gLime (for zest) ½

3. Pound the salt and chilies in a mortar first until crushed, then add the toughest items, the lemongrass and galangal, and pound. Add the shallots, garlic, cilantro and lime zest, and finally the ground spices and toasted shrimp paste. Pound for 12 min until you have a smooth paste with no visible fibres. In a blender, add 1 to 2 tbsp water or oil and scrape down often.

   Add in this stepCoarse sea salt ½ tsp

4. Without shaking the can, spoon off the thick coconut cream and set aside 1 tbsp per serving for finishing. Put the rest of the cream and the oil in a 20 cm wok and cook over medium heat for 5 min, stirring, until the oil separates. Add the paste and fry for 3 min, stirring constantly, until the raw smell of garlic and shallot is gone, the paste darkens slightly and green oil seeps out. Homemade paste needs longer frying than store-bought.

   Add in this stepCoconut milk 100 mlCooking oil 1 tsp

   medium heat

5. Add the chicken with a splash of the fish sauce and a little palm sugar and stir over medium heat for 3 min until the outside is cooked and glossy with paste.

   Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 240 gFish sauce ¾ tspPalm sugar 0.4 tsp

   medium heat

6. Add the remaining coconut milk, the eggplant, torn lime leaves and the rest of the fish sauce and palm sugar, and heat over medium-high heat until it boils (about 3 min). Lower to medium-low heat and simmer for 7 min, until the eggplant is soft and the chicken is cooked through.

   Add in this stepCoconut milk 250 mlEggplant (Thai eggplant if you can find it) 160 gMakrut lime leaves 4Fish sauce 2¼ tspPalm sugar 1⅛ tsp

   medium-high heat→medium-low heat

7. Taste and adjust with fish sauce and palm sugar, then turn off the heat and add the Thai basil and shredded red chili. Ladle into bowls, drizzle a line of the reserved coconut cream over the top and serve with jasmine rice.

   Add in this stepThai basil 15 gFresh red chili 1Coconut milk 50 ml