If you are a fan of Thai curries, I highly recommend that you invest in some decent Thai curry paste. I like to keep a tub of Mae Ploy Thai curry paste on hand in case I get an insatiable craving for Thai curry. Just be warned that this curry paste is authentically spicy so if you have a delicate palette, proceed with caution.
A Mae Ploy tub of curry usually costs me around £3 and seems to last forever. I normally make around 4 curries with it, so the average cost would be around 75p per curry. As always, each Thai curry will need some coconut milk which you can usually buy at around £1 per 400ml can unit.
In terms of what to put in it, I usually stick to chicken or fish with potatoes and chilis for a yellow curry. Green curries usually contain aubergine (eggplant), bamboo shoots, and whatever meat I have on hand. For Massaman curries, I like to pan-fry duck breasts, then thinly slice them up and add them to the curry mixture. Feel free to make a meat-free curry by just tossing in various chopped fresh vegetables into the mix along with some tofu.
I made this particular Thai yellow curry with the following ingredients:
3 tbsp Thai Yellow curry paste 75p
6 chicken thighs (meat thinly sliced) £2-£3
2 large potatoes (cut into chunks no larger than 2cm/1in big) ~30p
3-4 mixed chilis (deseeded and cut into thin strips) ~50p
400 ml coconut milk ~£1
250ml of chicken stock ~10p
2 tbsp brown sugar ~10p
1-2 tbsp fish sauce £1.75 per bottle
4 Kaffir lime leaves (optional) 90p at Tesco
a handful of |Thai basil (optional) 90p at Tesco
Total cost: £8.30 -£9.30
This Thai Yellow curry when served with some steamed rice can happily feed 3-4 people. I usually don’t make any side dishes with this other than rice as I feel like the curry is a complete one-pot meal in itself.
How to cook
Pour about 100ml (3 oz) into a large pot and cook over medium-high heat until bubbly and slightly reduced. Add curry paste and stir together until thoroughly incorporated. Cook for a minute or two then add the thinly sliced chicken meat to the mix. Stir together and make sure the meat is thoroughly coated in the curry mixture. Cook for a minute or two then add the remaining coconut milk, chicken stock, brown sugar, torn lime leaves, and 1 tbsp of fish sauce. Mix together and add chopped potatoes. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat to low or whatever produces a low simmer. Let simmer covered for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. When potatoes are soft, add the sliced chilis and season to taste with fish sauce and brown sugar if needed. Just before serving, turn off the heat and stir in the Thai basil. Cover and let sit for one minute then immediately served with steamed rice.
1 Comment
If you are a fan of Thai curries, I highly recommend that you invest in some decent Thai curry paste. I like to keep a tub of Mae Ploy Thai curry paste on hand in case I get an insatiable craving for Thai curry. Just be warned that this curry paste is authentically spicy so if you have a delicate palette, proceed with caution.
A Mae Ploy tub of curry usually costs me around £3 and seems to last forever. I normally make around 4 curries with it, so the average cost would be around 75p per curry. As always, each Thai curry will need some coconut milk which you can usually buy at around £1 per 400ml can unit.
In terms of what to put in it, I usually stick to chicken or fish with potatoes and chilis for a yellow curry. Green curries usually contain aubergine (eggplant), bamboo shoots, and whatever meat I have on hand. For Massaman curries, I like to pan-fry duck breasts, then thinly slice them up and add them to the curry mixture. Feel free to make a meat-free curry by just tossing in various chopped fresh vegetables into the mix along with some tofu.
I made this particular Thai yellow curry with the following ingredients:
3 tbsp Thai Yellow curry paste 75p
6 chicken thighs (meat thinly sliced) £2-£3
2 large potatoes (cut into chunks no larger than 2cm/1in big) ~30p
3-4 mixed chilis (deseeded and cut into thin strips) ~50p
400 ml coconut milk ~£1
250ml of chicken stock ~10p
2 tbsp brown sugar ~10p
1-2 tbsp fish sauce £1.75 per bottle
4 Kaffir lime leaves (optional) 90p at Tesco
a handful of |Thai basil (optional) 90p at Tesco
Total cost: £8.30 -£9.30
This Thai Yellow curry when served with some steamed rice can happily feed 3-4 people. I usually don’t make any side dishes with this other than rice as I feel like the curry is a complete one-pot meal in itself.
How to cook
Pour about 100ml (3 oz) into a large pot and cook over medium-high heat until bubbly and slightly reduced. Add curry paste and stir together until thoroughly incorporated. Cook for a minute or two then add the thinly sliced chicken meat to the mix. Stir together and make sure the meat is thoroughly coated in the curry mixture. Cook for a minute or two then add the remaining coconut milk, chicken stock, brown sugar, torn lime leaves, and 1 tbsp of fish sauce. Mix together and add chopped potatoes. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat to low or whatever produces a low simmer. Let simmer covered for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. When potatoes are soft, add the sliced chilis and season to taste with fish sauce and brown sugar if needed. Just before serving, turn off the heat and stir in the Thai basil. Cover and let sit for one minute then immediately served with steamed rice.