Thai Green Chicken Curry and Coconut Rice

Ive previously mentioned and wrote about my love of the Thai cuisine, not just for it’s scrum-diddily-upmtious  light refreshing flavors but also for the immense health benefits that come from the simplest of their dishes.

You see Thai cuisine is based around the purpose of reflecting three core values;

Nutrition, Culture and Health & Wellness.

Most all the ingredients associated with Thai food, are packed with healing properties, like the spices and herbs used contain powerful properties that can among many things, help fight inflammation, protect the body from toxins and free radicals which cause cancer and other auto immune diseases and generally make one feel better just by consuming them.

One of my all time favorite dishes from this amazing cuisine is the infamous Thai Green Curry.

Its amazing fusion of ingredients, given their individual healing powers, beats a pot of homemade chicken soup any day in nutritional punch, so the next time you’re feeling a bit under the weather, why not make yourself a Thai green curry which will surely perk up not only your taste buds but your entire body.

Just so you are aware of the good you are doing yourself as you spoon mouthful after delicious mouthful of the creamy curry into your body, here are the almost magical benefits of the main ingredients of this dish;

Coconut Milk;

Coconut milk is hands down one of my absolute favorite things in the food world, and I believe a staple of any healthy diet. Once considered bad for your health for its very high fat content, ( especially during the low fat diet crazy fad of the latter part of the last century) Coconut is now reclaiming its proper place as an extremely beneficial health food and its meat, oil, milk and sugar are all being touted for their amazing healing properties. Coconut is know seen as one of the healthiest fats to include in your diet, helping to in fact lower cholesterol, fighting free radical damage which cause disease and aging, and promoting the growth of strong nails and hair.

Lemongrass;

A delightfully fresh and citrus smelling grass, and a key ingredient in Thai cuisine, Lemongrass has long been used in Chinese medicine as a tonic for warding off colds and flus. Its also great for relieving headaches and cramps that are usually associated with such viruses and to top it off it adds the most amazingly refreshing flavor to any dish.

Coriander

Also known as cilantro , coriander is a little herb with big health benefits, some of which include treatment of swellings, anemia, menstrual disorders, skin disorders and high cholesterol.

Ginger

Not only a culinary delight ginger is also considered one of the worlds few superfoods and quite frankly there’s no wonder its been used medicinally for over 2000 years.  Boasting abilities to be more effective at curing staph infections than antibiotics, killing cancer cells, resolving brain inflammation and preventing diabetes just to name a few, just a little piece of root ginger added to a dish not only adds a big flavor punch but a huge health punch for your lovely body too.

Chilli Pepper

As green chilli peppers are what we specifically use in a green curry, whether mild or fiery they are extremely nutrient dense. They contain phytochemicals which fight off free radicals which damage our cells. They are also rich in Vitamin A, and C (both essential for good eyesight) Vitamin b6 (vital for chemical reactions throughout the body like those involving the brain and immune function.) Beta- carotene and Lycopene which can help protect against certain types of cancer like breast and ovarian.

So now that you know just what kind of goodness is in the fragrantly scrumptious Thai Green Curry, why not go ahead and make yourself a pot of it from scratch. Delicious and nutritious… what more convincing do you need to get your chefs hat on!

THAI GREEN CHICKEN CURRY

Ingredients

4 spring onions (scallions) trimmed and coarsely chopped

1-2 fresh green chillies seeded and chopped

2 cm piece fresh ginger root

2 garlic cloves

5ml thai fish sauce

large bunch of coriander

small handful fresh parsley

3 tbsp water

2 tbsp coconut palm sugar (optional)

2 tbsp coconut oil/ or sunflower oil

4 skinless chicken breasts diced

1 green bell pepper seeded and thinly sliced

600ml/1 pint/2 ½ cups of Coconut milk

1 2/3 cups boiling water

Salt & pepper to taste

Method;

1. put the spring onions, green chillies, ginger,garlic fish sauce, coriander, and parsley in a food processor or blender. Pour in 2 tbsp of water and process to a smooth paste, adding a little more water if required.
2. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and cook the diced chicken until evenly browned and then transfer to a plate.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the green pepper and stir fry for 3 minutes, then add the chilli and green paste. Stir fry for a further 3-4 minutes until the mixture becomes fairly thick.
4. Return the chicken to the pan and add the coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper and coconut sugar and bring to the boil, then reduce heat, cover the pan and let simmer for 8-10 minutes.
5. When the chicken is cooked transfer it with the green pepper to a plate and then boil the remaining liquid in the pan for a further 5-8 minutes until reduced and thick.
6. Return the chicken and peppers to the curry sauce, stir well and cook gently for 2-3 minutes to heat through.
7. Serve with some coconut rice.*

Coconut rice is a delicious alternative to regular basmati rice, and it’s super easy to make. Just replace the required amount of water with coconut milk and add 2 tbsps of coconut palm sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until all the liquid had evaporated.

Eat and Enjoy!!

Love,

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