Jeremy Pang

Nadiya Ziafat explores the dishes she loves and enlists help from cookery writers and chefs in getting them just right

Learn to make a traditional Thai green curry with the help of the School of Wok chef and owner Jeremy Pang on

Jeremy Pang, chef and owner of The School of Wok cookery school, shares his secrets to creating a perfect green curry.

JEREMY’S TOP TIPS

A pestle and mortar is the most important piece of equipment to extract the oils out of herbs and spices. Homemade paste makes the best curry. You can buy authentic Thai curry pastes, but when you make it from scratch it’s completely different, and will have more flavour. Make a big batch of paste and freeze whatever you don’t use – it lasts for around six months. You can freeze the paste in ice cube trays, ready to drop into your pan.

Thai green curry

SERVES 2 PREP 20 mins COOK 25 mins EASY

1 tbsp vegetable oil

200g chicken thighs, skinned,

deboned and cut into chunks 400g can coconut milk

2 Thai aubergines

50g pea aubergines

2 baby corn, sliced at an angle 50g sugar snap peas

2-4 tbsp fish sauce

2-4 tsp sugar or palm sugar 2 lime leaves, stems removed ¼ bunch of Thai basil

1 red chilli, sliced

For the curry paste

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 8 green chillies, finely sliced thumb-sized piece fresh turmeric 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised and

finely chopped

25g galangal, finely chopped 2 stalks coriander root, finely

chopped

2 lime leaves, roughly chopped 4 Thai shallots, peeled and thinly

sliced thumb-sized piece ginger, finely

chopped (optional)

½ tsp shrimp paste

1 To make the curry paste, pound all the ingredients, except the shrimp paste, one by one, using a pestle and mortar, to form a rough paste. Add the shrimp paste and pound to a smooth paste. Will keep chilled in an airtight container for up to five days, or in the freezer for three months.

2 For the curry, heat the oil in a saucepan over a low heat. Add three-quarters of the paste (you can save the rest for another recipe) and stir until fragrant. Increase the heat to medium, then stir in the chicken to coat. When the chicken browns, add half the coconut solids, avoiding the water at the bottom of the can as this will split the curry. Stir continuously for 10 mins until the chicken is cooked through.

3 Add the remaining coconut solids, discarding the water or saving it for another recipe. Turn up the heat to bring to the boil, then return the heat to medium. Add the Thai and pea aubergines along with the baby corn and sugar snap peas, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 mins until the flavours combine, the sauce thickens slightly and the vegetables are tender.

4 Gradually add the fish sauce and palm sugar to taste, stirring and tasting after each addition. Add the lime leaves and most of the Thai basil, then cook for a further 5 mins to let their flavours infuse. To serve, pour the curry into individual serving dishes and scatter over the sliced chilli and the remaining Thai basil leaves.

GOOD TO KNOW vit c • 1 of 5-a-day • gluten free

PER SERVING 590 kcals • fat 46g • saturates 31g •

carbs 16g • sugars 11g • fibre 4g • protein 25g •

salt 4.1g