Thai green curry with mince beef/ chicken/ turkey
This is a very lazy take on a Thai curry prepped between coming home from a morning swim, showering and getting to work. I use the timer in the oven so that the oven will turn itself off. The dish is fine in the oven until dinner time.
This is a more traditional “go the whole-hog” recipe should you like to make a more authentic curry: http://www.templeofthai.com/recipes/thai_green_curry.php with a lot of suggested recipes down the right hand side bar. Here is another helpful link to an article on the Guardian website about “How to make the perfect Thai green curry”; it really is worth a read if you are a foodie.
I believe that the key to a good curry should you not be making it from scratch is a good quality and authentic pre-made curry paste; after this you cannot really go wrong with minimal ingredients. It is advised to buy your curry paste in an Oriental or Ethnic store as this is where the real deal pastes are. Here is a food review on the topic of which green curry paste is best:
So here are a few comments:
- I used beef mince because I had beef mince in the fridge and it had to be used; so I was making a recipe based on what I had available. If I had tomatoes then perhaps a Bolognese may have been whizzed up. Other meats that will work well in this curry include turkey or chicken mince and fillets of meat such as lamb, beef, turkey, or chicken. Dense white fish and prawns will also work a treat once you adjust the instructions to accommodate the different technique needed for these other meat and fish options. If you prefer to go vegetarian then sprouted beans or canned chickpeas or other beans will also taste divine.
- I started this on the hob and finished it in the oven as I wanted to simply let it cook itself with minimal intervention so that I could get on with the day. I love my Le Creuset pot for this reason as it can be used on the hob and in the oven.
- We will serve this on either steamed broccoli or cauliflower rice if keeping this lower in carbohydrate for leaner less active days. Helmsley and Helmsley detail a nice recipe for cauliflower rice in their curry recipe here; the curry recipe is also one worth trying. I love this pairs work and their cookbook is one I highly recommend to clients.
- Mostly however we will add a source of gluten-free complex carbohydrates such as cooked basmati or jasmine rice, quinoa, brown rice couscous, or millet as we are both in hard training in this house.
- Although it may not be called for in the recipe don’t be afraid to load more vegetables into your prepared dish to raise nutritional density; yes it may not be a traditional dish but who cares when you have nutrition goals to meet. I would expect finely chopped green cabbage, coriander, kale, or spinach would sneak into this nicely; courgettes, baby peas, shelled peas, or mangetout peas, spring onions, green peppers, asparagus, green beans, and aubergine also.
- I tend to use slightly less coconut milk than called for. I choose full fat coconut milk but I will add some stock or water. If you have higher energy demands and are an endurance athlete in intense training don’t be afraid to use only full fat coconut milk; these are helpful energy fuelling and recovery supporting fats.
Ingredients:
- Coconut oil
- Red onion – finely chopped
- Ginger – finely chopped
- (Garlic – I didn’t have any)
- Red peppers x 2 – washed and sliced
- Beef mince
- Thai curry paste
- Lemon grass dried x 1 teaspoon (if you don’t have any this recipe will still work. I bought my lemongrass from Lidl and to be honest I don’t think it tastes at all proving the point that ethnic spices are best purchased in an ethnic store!)
- 1 x 400g can full fat coconut milk
- Additional water or stock as required
- Vegetables or grain of choice to serve
- Optional fresh coriander to serve
Instructions:
- Turn your oven to 160 ° C
- In your le Creuset pot or large saucepan sauté the red onions, ginger, (garlic), for a few minutes in coconut oil.
- Add your chopped peppers and allow to sauté for approximately ten minutes or until the peppers are starting to soften.
- Raise the heat and brown the mince; breaking it up as you go.
- Add the curry paste, lemongrass, and coconut milk; stir everything through.
- Transfer to the oven and allow to cook for approximately 40 minutes to an hour or until cooked through. I let mine cook for 30 minutes and will cook for another 30 minutes later before serving. If you started this dish in a saucepan simply transfer to a suitable casserole or Pyrex dish for the oven.
- Serve as preferred. I suggest you include more veggies and coriander when possible to raise the nutrition content of the meal.
Enjoy, love Andrea
PS check this recipe out also if you fancy a vegetarian option
