In their book Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet , Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid suggest buying fresh lime leaves any time you see them, and stashing them in the freezer for later use. I tend to do that, but then I'm not always so great about actually bothering to use them. I made green curry today because I wanted to use some lime leaves. And in the process I remembered how delicious and fun Thai coconut curries can be. I'm no expert, but I've been playing with these for a bit, so here are some thoughts.First a word on curry itself. This has been rehashed over and over lately (see especially a great map of curries from all over the world in the spring issue of Lucky Peach), but many people have the mistaken belief that "curry" is a spice of some sort. This makes intuitive sense. Cumin powder is made from cumin. Turmeric powder is made from turmeric. Why wouldn't curry powder be made from, well, curry? And it's even more confusing because South Asian cooking uses something (totally unrelated to the powder) called a "curry leaf." But it's just not so. Curry refers not to a spice, but a style of cooking that involves a spiced sauce of some sort.
Thai curries typically involve a spicy paste and coconut milk (except "jungle curries," as coconut palms are scarce in the jungle), along with a protein and some vegetables. When cooked traditionally, this is a quite clever way of preparing a meal. Rather than cooking the protein in oil and then adding coconut milk (as is sometimes specified in US cookbooks), Thai cooks separate thick from thin coconut milk and use the thick milk as a cooking fat for the curry paste and protein.
It's worth noting here that not all coconut milk is created equal. It would, of course, be ideal if -- as in most Southeast Asian markets -- we could all just go buy freshly pressed coconut milk. Not the case here in Chicago, however, so I use canned. (It's also possible to make it yourself with fresh coconuts, but I haven't tried this yet as I'm not unhappy with the canned milk.) There are many brands to choose from, and it actually does matter because many are too thin to really cook with. I recommend Chao Koh, which is often easy to find. Arroy D is another common brand, but I don't like it as much. Avoid "low fat" or "light" canned coconut milk; it's just the normal stuff diluted with more water.
Then we get to curry paste. It's not hard to find decent curry paste in jars, but it's extremely rewarding to make it yourself. Tracking down the ingredients can take a bit of effort, but you can make a bunch at a time in the food processor and freeze it. Typically there are some dried spices (often coriander seed and cumin, sometimes mace or nutmeg) or chilies, and some combination of galangal, lemongrass, a scary number of fresh Thai chilies (often 20 or more!), shrimp paste, shallots, garlic and maybe another thing or two. The green curry paste I made today had a cup of fresh sweet Thai basil leaves as well.
Cooking the curry is quite clever. First, you separate the thick and thin coconut milk (one will usually pour out of the can first; it's not very scientific but be sure not to shake the can), and pour the thick milk (1 cup or so) into a hot wok. It will begin to lightly brown and thicken right away, which will give the curry a wonderful flavor. Stir it until it separates, and then add a few tablespoons of curry paste. This then gets stir fried until aromatic (or you have a coughing fit), and the protein is added to begin to cook it.
Once the outside of the protein is cooked (i.e., chicken turns white), the rest of the coconut milk is added to create a bubbling liquid. To this the vegetables are added and simmered. My green curry had eggplant (I used western-style eggplant, which is non-traditional but delicious). Yellow curries often have potatoes or carrots. If using eggplants, note that traditional Thai recipes often call for "big" or "small" eggplants. But it's important to know that, oddly, all Thai eggplants are smaller than you expect. "Big" ones are about the size of golf balls, while the smaller ones are the size of marbles. I've only seen the smaller ones in North America once; at Granville Island market in Vancouver.
After a few minutes of simmering the vegetables, you can add some fish sauce (for saltiness), possibly some palm sugar, and maybe -- yes, here they are -- some torn lime leaves (sans stem) for aromatics. In green curry you can also add some Thai basil leaves and perhaps strips of bell pepper. I like my coconut curries to be thick, so usually let the sauce reduce a fair bit at this point.
Then serve with some jasmine rice for a delicious and rewarding meal!
