Thai Chicken Chop Curry

Ingredients

1 large chicken crown cut across keel bone into chops (approximately 1 inch thick) then marinated in green curry paste for a minimum of 1 hour (overnight is best).

Thai Curry Paste

• 4 green Bird’s eye chillis
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp galangal, chopped
• 2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped
• 4 Kaffir lime leaves, chopped
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric

Thai Sauce

• 3 tsp vegetable oil
• All the Thai curry paste (prepared using recipe above)
• 400g full-fat coconut milk
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 fresh limes
• 1 handful Thai basil leaves
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric

Method

1. Place all the ingredients for the green Thai paste in a food blender and purée on high until smooth.
2. Next, cut the chicken crown into chops, place them in a bowl and pour 1/3 of the green Thai paste over the chicken and allow it to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour (overnight is best if you have the time).
3. To make the sauce, pour the oil into a thick-bottomed pot and place on a medium to high heat.
4. Add the rest of the paste and cook on a medium heat for 3 minutes; reduce to a low heat and cook for a further 2 minutes. Next, add the chicken and coat it in paste.
5. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock and fish sauce and cook for around 30 minutes on a low to medium heat until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce has reduced by 1/3.
6. To finish, stir in the juice of 2 limes and the Thai basil and serve on a bed of jasmine rice.