Thai Green Chicken Curry

Originally coming from small town Illinois, I wasn’t exactly exposed to much of what I would call Authentic International Foods.  Sure I’ve had Orange Chicken from the local chinese take-out, and I’ve also eaten more than my fair share of Chicken Alfredo from Olive Garden.  Oh and don’t forget the loaded nachos with a margarita or three from the mexican restaurant on the corner…..But….These are all international dishes that have been Westernized to cater to the western palate.  I’m sure this might not be the case for those who have lived in larger cities, where the authentic cultural influence may have been a lot stronger.

In 2009, at the ripe ol’ age of 39, I found myself in a new country(Australia), a city of 2 million people, surrounded by a vast number of authentic international restaurants, and markets.  It was enough to excite and encourage me to explore some of the different cuisines the other side of the world had to offer.  These have now become some of the favorite dishes of my family and our household, and I hope they soon become some of yours too!

One of my all time favorite dishes that has stayed with me is Thai Green Curry Chicken. For me, it has become a great comfort dish, and was super easy to convert into a keto recipe.  This dish was taught to us from an Authentic Thai Restaurant, and uses a lot of authentic brands and ingredients from Thailand(which we’ve linked for you).
We’ve also included some authentic techniques, that will help you achieve that classic Green Curry taste, color and texture.  It’s the littlest things that make the biggest difference….It’s the whole “WHEN IN ROME”  right?

I know…I know…there are Thai Green Curry Sauces already made up for you to heat and serve that you can buy at your local “Mega-Mart” down the road….But trust me on this one, you will not get the same flavor, taste or texture as the authentic one made with real ingredients…And not only are they far inferior, to the original, but they are usually ALWAYS filled with sneaky carbs, sugars, and goodness knows what else!
In our recipe, we used zucchini, but you can also use any kind of greens, like bok choy, choy sum, baby spinach and mustard greens also work awesome…or even a mix of several.  We’ve kept it basic for this recipe.

Thai curries are always served over Jasmin rice, but being on keto we’ve had to utilize the standard “Cauliflower Rice” which i’m sure most of us have come to dislike.  I’ve tried making my own, using all sorts of methods to try and make it taste and feel like rice, but it’s always been JUST CAULIFLOWER that’s trying to be rice.   The flavor is off, the texture is off…But in recent times, we’ve developed a method that gets it pretty spot on to the texture of rice, and the cauliflower taste is so dulled down, that if you use it with a curry, a risotto, or arroz con pollo, where there are some more dominant flavors, you honestly can’t tell it’s not rice.  Check out our Kitchen Tip below.

Curries are even better the next day, so if you’re a MEAL PREPPER, then this is the perfect dish for you!

So hop on down to your local asian grocery, and get those authentic ingredients.  For those of you who don’t have one in their vicinity, we’ve linked those ingredients for you, so you can find them and have them delivered to your doorstep.

INGREDIENTS

1     large pack of boneless skinless chicken thighs/breasts cut into stir fry sized strips
1     can coconut cream
1     can coconut milk(don’t use the stuff in the carton in the cold milk section of your                supermarket -it’s a completely different kind of coconut milk)
1     cup good quality chicken bone broth
1     can bamboo shoots thinly sliced and drained
1     can thai green curry paste(we use Maesri brand) *NOTE: use half can if you want it MILD.  However the more paste the richer the flavor.
1     lime(juice and zest) *If you can get your hands on 2 Kaffir Lime Leaves – even better!
1     TBSP fish sauce
1     TBSP stevia/erythritol blend sweetener
1     TBSP coconut oil
6     large basil leaves torn and some for garnish
1     medium zucchini *or any of the other greens suggested.
*cauliflower rice for serving
*thai red chillies for garnish(very hot but husband likes it)
*extra fish sauce for drizzling over the top(Only for those that like a very Thai Experience)

• Heat coconut oil in a wok over medium/high heat, then add in the coconut MILK.
  Stir milk and reduce until quite thick and most of the watery liquid has evaporated away.

THIS IS THE WOK WE USE

• Add in GREEN CURRY PASTE (1/2 can for MILD, Full Can for more flavor) Stir curry paste into coconut milk until well combined.  Let that cook down for about a good minute.  You should be able to smell the paste get very fragrant after a minute.
• Add your chicken, and mix through, continuously stirring and moving it around. Cook for about 3 minutes.
• Add coconut CREAM, chicken broth, fish sauce, lime juice and sweetener.  Stir until well incorporated.
• Add in bamboo shoots, basil and lime zest. Stir then bring to a boil, then turn your burner down to a simmer until chicken is cooked through.
• Add in your zucchini or greens about 10 minutes before serving.
• Serve over Cauliflower rice and Garnish with fresh basil and maybe some chillies.  If you’re like my husband who likes some extra authenticity, drizzle you some extra fish sauce and an extra squeeze of lime.  That’s not for me though!!

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