Quick Thai Green Curry

                                                                                So, in our quest to bring you the best of Venezuelan and Irish food, allow me to present... Thai curry.

Well, our main mission is to bring you the food we love, and this is a particular favourite of Eileen and I. That creamy, spicy, sweet and sour sauce is certainly hard to beat. 

This recipe is also very easy to do. I make this almost every week (leftovers for days), and can get this out in twenty minutes, making it a great mid-week meal. Furthermore, you can follow the recipe below, but feel free to swap any veggies and protein you prefer, taking advantage of what ever is left in your fridge.

Before we begin, I just wanted to address the Thai elephant in the room. Now, I'm not making my own this time (if people want I can give a recipe for that in a later post), but this doesn't make this recipe any less authentic, few people would ever make their own paste. Anyway, I feel the added convenience far outweighs any possible loss of authenticity.

Ingredients

For 4-5 people

1/2 Kg pork loin

1 can of coconut milk

2 Tbs green curry paste

2-4 Tbs fish sauce

2 tsp palm sugar

3-4 kaffir lime leaves

1 pepper

1 bundle of asparagus

150g mangetout

4 tsp vegetable oil

Method

Heat some oil in a saucepan. When hot, add the curry paste, stirring and heating for about 30 seconds, until all the fragrances are released. Add the coconut milk, then fill the empty can with water, and add that to the pan as well. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar and kaffir lime leaves. Taste the sauce and adjust it how you like (I like to go overboard on the fish sauce). Gently bring to the boil.

While the sauce is heating up, it's time to prepare your protein. Today, we're going with a pork loin. With a sharp knife, remove any excess fat and the silvery membrane. Cut into into thin slices and add to the curry sauce. Stir, and let cook for 5-8 minutes, depending on how thickly you cut it, until done.

Cut the asparagus and peppers into large chunks. Add all the vegetables to the curry sauce, stir and cook for about a minute and a half, until they are done to your liking. 

Serve with jasmine rice.

Tips

• Many supermarkets will sell dry kaffir lime leaves these days, but I don't think they are worth it. If they are all you can find, re-hydrate them first in a little hot water before adding to the coconut milk. For preference, buy frozen leaves from an Asian supermarket. These can be added straight from the freezer and have a far superior taste than the dried king.
• As I said earlier, the meat and vegetables in this dish can be swapped out with anything you want: chicken, shrimp, tofu, green beans, broccoli, bean sprouts, whatever you have to hand.
• For a red curry, simply use a red curry paste and follow the rest of the recipe. Again, I'd recommend visiting your local Asian market  when buying paste. You can get more, and of better quality, and generally for cheaper.