Thai Green&Red Chicken Curry

I saw a Thai chef on instagram use green and red curry pastes in the same dish and everything changed. Mixing pastes are fun, but why is this pairing a complex yet sustainable marriage. From now on, one will never be without the other.

Green curry paste is bright and fragrant, but it doesn’t create as much umami oil. Red curry paste produces a nice oil with a bold, savory flavor, but lacks that high note. Combine the two and you get a lemongrass, coriander, cumin, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, red and green chili depth that I’ve decided to make a home in. I use store bought green and red curry paste, which you can find at local asian grocery or Amazon.

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Thai Green&Red Chicken Curry Recipe

3 tbsp of Green Curry paste

2 tbsp of Red Curry paste

3 medium-sized boneless Chicken thighs

1 can of Coconut milk

1 can of Bamboo shoots (~8 oz)

1/2 lb of Thai Eggplants or Indian Eggplant (purple)

4 cloves of Garlic

1 medium sized Shallot

3 tbsp of Vegetable oil

4 Bird’s eye chili

1/2 can of low-sodium Chicken broth

1 tsp of Salt

2 tbsp of Fish sauce

1 large bunch of Basil leaves

2 cups of cooked Jasmine rice on the side

Steps

1. Finely dice garlic- add extra if you fight vampires for a living, or if you generally just like to fight.
2. Finely dice your shallot.
3. Wash, remove the tops, and quarter your Thai eggplants. If using an Indian eggplant, cut into bite-sized pieces.
4. Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and set aside for later.
5. Add vegetable oil to a large pot and add shallots and garlic. Stir fry for around 2 minutes. Add in thai eggplant and stir fry until the oil has been fairly absorbed and the eggplant has softened around the edges.
6. Remove the thai eggplant mix and set aside in a bowl.
7. In the now empty pot, add half a can of coconut milk.
8. Add green curry and red curry paste to the coconut milk.
9. Stir well and let it come to a simmer. Let stand until pockets of oil begin to develop.
10. Add chicken thighs to your curry sauce, stir-fry for a minute letting the curries get comfortable with each other. They are long lost lovers reconnecting in this lifetime.
11. Next, drain and add a can of bamboo shoots, the cooked thai eggplant mixture, remaining can of coconut milk, one tbsp fish sauce, and half a can of low-sodium chicken broth.
12. Let cook on high heat for 4 minutes or until chicken seems cooked through. Keep an eye on it and stir every minute.
13. At the very end, cut the bird’s eye chili in half and add into the curry. Roughly cut the basil and add that in as well. Stir and let cook for one extra minute.
    • add the chili at an earlier phase and let it cook longer if you like your curry spicier.
14. Add the remaining tbsp of fish sauce according to your tastes, and enjoy with jasmine rice and a light lager or pilsner beer.