Thai Green Curry with Chicken and Eggplant

I simply can’t get enough of Thai curries. The combination of fresh herbs with creamy coconut milk and layered spices can be transcendental and delicious. This curry combines thinly shredded chicken with eggplant, red peppers, coconut milk in a fresh green curry broth. I usually make all my curry pastes from scratch but I found a pre-made version from a local Thai market that I like a lot. I recommend finding your own local asian or Thai market that has all the ingredients you need, no substitutes needed! If you do go for the homemade version, recipes can be readily found online. This recipe is easy to throw together and doesn’t require much prep or cooking time. Serve with rice and if you want to make the meal vegetarian, substitute one package of extra firm tofu for the chicken and switch out chicken stock for vegetable stock.

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts, very thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp hot chili oil
• 6 purple shallots, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 inch knob ginger, minced
• 1 eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch circles
• 3 tbsp green curry paste
• 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 large red pepper, sliced
• 1 can (14.5 oz) coconut milk with cream
• 3 handfuls thai basil, chopped
• 3 handfuls fresh mint, chopped
• 3 handfuls cilantro, chopped
• 1 Kaffir lime, zest
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp lemongrass paste or 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
• 2 Thai chilies, chopped
• 1 cup white or jasmine rice
• 2 cups water

Directions:

1. Take the sliced eggplant and place between two layers of paper towels. Set something heavy on top to remove the bitter liquid from the eggplant. Let sit under the towels for about 20 minutes.
2. In a sauce pot, heat the chili oil and stir in the shallot, garlic and ginger.
3. Add the green curry paste and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Dice the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes and add into the pot. Cover and cook about 5 minutes.
5. Add sliced chicken, coconut milk, palm sugar, fish sauce, sliced red pepper, kaffir lime zest, and lemongrass into the pot.
6. Stir, cover and bring to a boil.
7. Once a low boil is reached, turn the heat down low and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
8. Meanwhile cook the rice with the 2 cups of water in another pot, or as directed on the package.
9. Stir in the fresh basil at the very end, just before serving. Taste and adjust fish sauce and palm sugar amounts if necessary.
10. Serve with rice and garnish with kaffir lime juice, thai chilies, cilantro, mint and more basil.