Thai Green Curry w Duck
Thai Green Curry
Those three words have always brought me a deep sense of comfort. Whenever I’m craving a deliciously creamy, hearty, veg-filled bowl of lime-lemongrass spiced broth, I know the exact level of satisfaction I’ll get from consuming this dish.
It is also a dish rooted deep in my childhood memory, and remains one of my earliest introductions to “spicey“ food. Now, Thai Green curry is by no means known to the western palate as a spicey dish - if anything it tilts slightly more towards the sweet side. But having followed my parents around Thailand as a young child, I was always envious of the captivating aromas that surrounded the variety of curries that would land on the colorful plastic tables we sat huddled around. I guess there was something friendly and inviting about the way a green curry looks (and smells), that appealed to my child-like senses.
Since leaving school and having access to making food for myself + others, where ever I was, I would find myself craving a bowl of the good stuff. Especially during uni, and even more so during the winter months. Despite being veggie for a couple of years, my digs mates and I would always be up for a Thai Green curry. The five of us each took a weeknight to cook dinner for everyone, and Tuesday nights were Gabs’ night, and more often than not she would whip up a generous batch of Thai Green. The weekends often found us jumping in my little car and driving to our favorite Asian Supermarket in the neighborhood to grab a tub of the Mae Ploy Green Curry paste (if you know you know), some of their freshly made tofu, and a big bunch of shimeji + oyster mushrooms.
After giving up on my short stint as a vegetarian at uni, I found myself in the working world, living with not enough people to cook with + for communally, and suffering from the classic post-work slump. Thai Green curry was a savior most nights, and sat comfortably in my flat mate and I’s top 6 dinners that we’d have on rotation in the house. Still, we mostly kept it veggie - only a handful of times straying down the route of replacing our much loved tofu with chicken thighs.
Upon more recent visits + stints living back home with the fam in Hong Kong, my mum’s indulged us in a variation of Thai Green with Duck breast. And wow it’s good. I think it’s easily become my favorite way to consume this dish. Duck calls for a little sweetness, and the subtle hint of it from the coconut milk and palm sugar pairs so well. And with the gamey-ness of the meat, the layers of aromatic flavor in the curry compliments one another beautifully. Served with a side of half half sticky rice, you’ve got a winner.
Recipe 5 servings
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Ingredients:
8 small shallots or 1 large white onion, sliced in thin-medium half rings
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
Handful kaffir lime leaves
2 stalks lemongrass, bashed
2 medium pieces of galangal, bashed (can use ginger as substitute)
Small bunch coriander, stalks finely diced, leaves for garnish
2-3 tbsp green curry paste (depending on curry paste brand/personal spice level preference)
1 tbsp coconut/palm sugar
1 can coconut milk
1.5 cups chicken stock (1 stock cube dissolved in water if you don’t have homemade stock on hand)
Small tin/100ml coconut cream
2 limes juiced
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 large duck breasts (replace with firm tofu if going veggie)
1/2 cup jasmine rice
1/2 cup glutinous rice
2 cups water
400-500gs mixed veg, whatever you have/like (mushrooms, sugar snaps, green pepper, broccolini, broad beans/edamame, baby sweet corns)
Method:
1. Add a splash of neutral oil to a large, lipped pan or wok with the heat on med-high.
2. Add in all the aromats and chopped coriander stalks, caramelizing for a couple of mins until they start to colour slightly. Mix the green curry paste in and turn down to med-low.
3. Add about a third of the coconut milk to the pan/wok, making sure all the curry paste is well incorporated. Let it caramelize for a couple of minutes before adding the remaining coconut milk and the chicken stock + turn down to low heat. Stir occasionally
4. While the curry sits on a low heat, prep the duck breasts. Pat the fatty sides dry, and score lightly. Place the duck breasts fat-side down in a medium hot pan and slowly render the fat down until golden and crisp. Watch the heat on the pan + turn down to med-low if need be. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Note: If you are replacing duck with tofu, prep it according to your preference at this stage - diced in cubes and lightly pan-fried works well.
5. Combine your rice mix and rinse. Put the rice in a pot/rice cooker, add the water, a large pinch or two of salt and steal a couple of lime leaves or lemongrass stems. If cooking in a pot, bring it to a boil, leave it for 30 seconds, turn it to the lowest setting and place a lid on top. Leave it for 10-12 mins before removing the lid to see if your rice has cooked.
6. While the rice is cooking, prep your vegetables in a pan/small pot to fry/parboil + season to taste.
7. Add the lime juice, sugar and fish sauce to the curry, stir + taste. Adjust seasoning if needed.
8. At this stage, finish the cook on the duck by placing it back in a medium heat pan with some of the reserve duck fat from rendering, now flesh-side down. For medium rare-rare, cook for 10 or so mins (depending on how large your duck breasts are), remove from the pan to rest on a board for at least 5-10 mins.
9. Slice up the duck + season generously with salt.
10. Warm the green curry up when ready to serve (if made in advance) + remove the aromats. Compose your bowl with your rice, scattering of veggies, curry ladled in and duck slices on top. Garnish with fresh chili/chili oil, more lime juice, spring onions/coriander leaves and chopped toasted peanuts.
Ps. This curry keeps well and is even more flavorful the next day. A great 2-4-1 weeknight meal for two x
