Thai green chicken curry. An utterly exciting visit

There are only two days a week that I am allowed to run as long as I want without the pressure of coming home to get the children ready for school. When I get back home is Nick’s turn to play tennis and I mind the children. This way, we are both happy.

This Saturday morning I saw many interesting things happening around the village while I was running. It was about 6am and there was a young couple coming out of the bushes at the park, hair and clothes a bit messy. I am sure they just wanted to sleep under the stars. Very romantic, I thought.

Then I run through at least 15 cars parked outside of a house not far from where we live. A party was ending, not starting. Drivers and yayas having a good time while waiting for ma’am or sir to finish their last drink.

After that, I followed the track nearby the gate of the village and an ex-pat in his tweenties was walking opposite to my direction and doing funny movements. He was drunk and probably coming from a big night out. He decided to “run” next to me. I did a sprint and left him behind. I didn’t want to start my day with trouble, and specially next to a stranger smelling alcohol. I had enough with the smell of the rotten water coming from the canal.

Nick’s parents, Paul and Maree, arrived last night to spend Christmas with us. This year we are very lucky to have some of Nick’s family visiting us. In addition I am having the fortune (in terms of luck and money!) of spending time with my own family in Spain with Aurelia and Juanan. I feel less heartbreaking thinking that Gab will be very spoilt by grandpa and grandma and, of course, by dada.

When Nick texted me at 3.30 that the plan had landed, Aurelia started to dance, jump and shout loudly of excitement. Gabriel, who is two years old and copies his sister in everything she does, “monkey sees, monkey does”, started to throw cars and balls everywhere. Thank goodness I could escape with baby Juanan and avoided to be hit.

The traffic in Manila is dreadful in general, but pre-Christmas, is a nightmare. Sometimes the car doesn’t move at all. It is so frustrating when you have two kids shouting and sometimes fighting, while I try to settle baby Juanan. I now pack some books and snacks for the car, even if we just go to Rockwell, which is literally 15 minutes away from home but it takes you at least 40.

10 minutes later, next text from Nick was “the traffic is bad, we will be late”. I told gently Aurelia but she didn't take the news very well. Gabriel, of course, followed her reaction. I put on my soldier uniform and pointing with my index finger towards the main entrance  I said : “to the park now!”.

Nick, Paul and Maree came home tired due to the traffic on the road. However, three overjoyed children were waiting with much anticipation under the illuminated Filipino farol (colourful Christmas light) with a note saying “welcome from Gabriel, Aurelia. To papi and meme”. 

With the visit from the Australian grandparents my children have already embraced Christmas, even before Santa Klaus arrives...

I made this Thai green curry the night before because I had plenty of time to make the paste from scratch. It was absolutely delicious the next day, at least that is what my in-laws said. Timing is the tricky part so if you wish to make this recipe of David Thompson from his cookbook Thai Food, my advice is to do it when you are free of any jobs or when your children are entertained by watching the movie “Home alone “. As I did.

4-6 people

·      12 coriander roots

• ·      30gm green birdseye chillies, finely chopped
• ·      3 lemongrass stalks, whit part only, thinly sliced
• ·      2cm piece galangal, finely chopped
• ·      5gm turmeric, finely chopped
• ·      Rind of 1 kaffir limes, green part finely chopped, pith discarded
• ·      4 red schallots, finely chopped
• ·      4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ·      1 tsp shrimp paste roasted: wrap it in foil and roast at 200C for about 5-1m minutes.
• ·      10 whole whit peppercorns
• ·      ½ tsp coriander seeds, dry-roasted and ground
• ·      2 cups coconut cream
• ·      50ml coconut oil
• ·      2 tsp palm or brown sugar
• ·      2 tbsp fish sauce
• ·      8 chicken tighs or 4 big chicken breasts
• ·      1 cup coconut milk
• ·      250 ml chicken stock
• ·      ½ cup Thai basil
• ·      coriander leaves to garnish
• ·      400gm apple eggplant ( I didn’t include it because when I bought them and chopped them in half, they were alive with two happy cartepilars inside. I added some local snake beens).

1. 
   
2. Scrape fibrous outer layer from coriander roots, soak in a bowl of cold water to remove grit, then drain, rinse, finely chop and set aside.
3. Pound birdseye chilli and 1/4 tsp sea salt to a fine paste in a mortar and pestle.
4. One at a time, at the coriander root, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, kaffir lime rind, shallot and garlic, pounding each to a fine paste before adding the next ingredient. Add shrimp paste, pund to combine, then add the peppercorns and pound until finely crushed. Add ground coriander and set aside.
5. Simmer coconut cream and coconut oil in a large saucepan over low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened and oil rises to the surface, 5-10 minutes.
6. Add half of the curry paste ( I reserved the reminder for another use in the freezer) and stir until fragrant and deepened in colour, 5 minutes. Add sugar, cook until lightly caramelised and then add fish sauce and stir to combine.
7. Add chicken and coat well. Add the coconut milk and stock (and the eggplant if you use it), and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Add Thai basil, kaffir lime leaves and chilli. Adjust seasoning.

   Note: 

   According to David Thompson, "the traditional way to make curry paste is to pound the aromatics using a mortar and pestle, starting first with the chillies and then adding each ingredient from the hardest to softest. 

I   If you don't have this utensil, use a blender but never a food processor. Use a little bit of water to loosen the paste, but never oil.

p  Pastes made by hand have an integrity and intensity of flavour that machine-made do not possess".