This can obviously be made with store bought green curry paste and will be quite delicious, but I had a specific taste in mind so made my own. I did cheat however, as the idea of the effort needed using a mortar and pestle to make the paste did not appeal and I therefore blitzed everything in the blender. Note to self: making green curry paste from scratch takes under 5 minutes. It is also a very forgiving recipe - you can adjust everything to suit your taste and omit or add according to what you have to hand.
I originally planned on this being an all vegetable extravaganza to make up for the holidays and all of my recent comfort food eating but L. had other ideas and demanded some meat if he were to eat this dish. I therefore made my dish as planned and topped his with thinly sliced beef that I tossed in black bean sauce and stir fried. Mine was really, really good. His was delicious.
This dish made enough curry for 6 so I froze 4 portions and there was enough paste left over after I used 1/3 of a cup in my dish to make 8 ice cubes of it for future use. I always like recipes that keep on giving towards future meals. AND this took less than 30 minutes from start to table.
For my version of the green curry paste:
1 stalk lemongrass, outside layer removed and remaining cut in chunks to make blitzing in the blender easier
1 thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and cut in 4
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 shallot, peeled and cut into chunks
stalks from 1 bunch coriander
1 chili pepper (Thai bird's eye chili would have been authentic but I had serrano to hand and used that instead)
1/2 can full fat coconut milk
zest and juice from one lime (retain the squeezed lime halves- see below)
2 tsps fish sauce
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt
Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth. Set aside 1/3 cup for the curry and freeze the rest in an ice cube tray for future use.
For the curry which made 6 portions:
1/3 cup green curry paste
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 squeezed lime halves (this with the zest used above somewhat replicates the flavor of kaffir lime leaves which I did not find at the store which usually carries them)
1 package zucchini noodles
4 cups leafy greens (I used a combination of rainbow chard, dandelion greens, carrot greens and spinach)
1 block firm tofu, cubed
1 tsp oil
Topping for the 2 portions that I served (to be made again when you defrost the remaining portions of curry or multiplied by 3 if you are serving all of the curry at once):
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/4 pound thinly sliced beef, if using (shabu-shabu or carpaccio beef)
2 tsps black bean and garlic paste (available in the international food aisle of most supermarkets)
1 Tbsp coriander leaves
1 Tbsp mint leaves
1 tsp oil
Heat one teaspoon of the oil in a stock pot over medium heat. As soon as it starts shimmer, add the green curry paste and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until the garlic and shallot have cooked through. Since this is a paste, you will have to rely on smell for this.
Add the stock and the 2 lime halves. Bring to a boil and lower the heat.
While the stock is coming to a boil, cut the leafy greens into bite sized pieces. In a separate bowl, mix the bean sprouts (and the meat if using) with the black bean sauce. Set aside.
As soon as the stock boils, lower the heat and add the greens and the zucchini. Cook until the greens are cooked (2-3 minutes) then add the tofu. Taste the stock and adjust the flavor if needed with either coconut milk, fish sauce or hot sauce.
At this point, heat the remaining teaspoon of oil in a frying pan over high heat and, as soon as it starts to smoke, add the bean spouts (or bean sprout - meat mixture). Stir fry until cooked through and slightly charred. Sprinkle with some salt.
Ladle some of the curry into a soup bowl making sure that you remove the 2 lime halves from the pan first. Top with the bean spout mixture and sprinkle generously with mint and cilantro.
This is good when it is cold out and miraculous should you have a cold.