Gordon’s Thai green chicken curry Recipe | 4Food

Date Published:: 16/01/2008

Don't be put off by the lengthy ingredient list. You could buy pre-prepared paste but make your own and you'll get a fresh and authentic flavour

Gordon challenged Alan Carr to cook one of his favourite dishes on Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live. Alan chose Thai green chicken curry. Here's what Gordon created.

Serves 4

Ingredients for the paste:

5cm piece fresh galangal, peeled & chopped
5cm ginger, peeled & chopped
2 shallots, peeled & chopped
3 tbsp coriander root, chopped (If you can’t buy coriander with the roots still attached, use 5 tbsp of chopped stalks instead)
4 green chillies, de-seeded and chopped
1 tsp shrimp paste
3 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 stick lemongrass, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Zest of 1 lime

For the curry:

200g shiitake mushrooms, cut into quarters
4-6 baby aubergines (depending on size), roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh green peppercorns, drained
600g free-range chicken thighs, skinned and boned and cut into bite size pieces
800ml coconut milk (2 tins)
2 heaped tsp palm sugar
4 kaffir lime leaves
6 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped holy or sweet basil
1 tbsp fish sauce
Olive oil

For the rice:

1 banana shallot, finely diced
2 star anise
1 stick cinnamon
Peeled zest of an orange
Peeled zest of 1 lime
320g Thai jasmine rice
Olive oil

Method: How to make Gordon's Thai green chicken curry

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C

2. Whiz all the paste ingredients together in a blender.

3. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a hot pan, add all of the curry paste and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the mushrooms, aubergine and peppercorns to the pan and stir-fry for three minutes before adding the chicken, cook for two to three minutes.

5. Add the cream from the coconut milk (this is the thicker part that sits on top of the more watery ‘milk’ in good quality brands of coconut milk) and cook for 5 minutes - this will help to tenderise the chicken.

6. Add the rest of the coconut milk together with the palm sugar and lime leaves. Bring slowly to the boil before adding most of the coriander, holy basil and the fish sauce.

7. Simmer until the aubergine and chicken are cooked, you may need to add a little water if the curry is too thick.

8. Meanwhile sweat the shallot in a little olive oil in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid.

9. Add the star anise, cinnamon, citrus peel and rice, pour over the boiling water - check your individual packet for cooking instructions.

10. Cover the rice with a circle of greaseproof paper, put on the lid and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

11. Remove the rice from the oven and stir.

12. Leave for 3-4 minutes to finish cooking in its own steam.

13. Remove the star anise, cinnamon & citrus peel before serving the rice with the curry and garnish with an extra sprinkling of the remaining coriander and holy basil.