Veggies in the Fridge, the Leftovers Edition: Thai Green Curry

What to do the day after you’ve made Balinese Gado-Gado and have a refrigerator full of vegetables just begging to be eaten? Roll with the punches. Give them what they want.

And what do they want? Well, they desperately want to be made into a spicy, fragrant Thai Green curry.

I’m particularly fond of Thai food. It’s both comforting and fresh, spicy and sweet, and it makes use of some of my favorite ingredients: coconut, chili, cilantro, brown sugar, and lime to name just a few.

This green curry is plumped up with chicken and plenty of green vegetables like sugar snap peas, Napa cabbage, green bell pepper and sprouts. And carrots, which aren’t green, but wish they were.

It’s a lovely meal no matter whether you’re using up gado-gado leftovers or starting from scratch.

Thai Green Curry
The recipe for this paste is very similar to the paste in Thai Pumpkin Curry. However, this version is a bit brighter, more suited to summer vegetables like green beans, bell peppers, and peas, than dusky fall ones like pumpkin. As in that paste recipe, I use a very small amount of pre-made chili paste in addition to what I blend myself. These pre-made pastes are generally very dull on their own, but they can help to add some extra punch to a self-made paste.

Green curry paste:
1 small red onion
2 garlic cloves
5 birds-eye chilis
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp. lemongrass, minced
½ tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp. prepared Thai green chili paste
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. fish sauce
½ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. cumin
Juice of 1 lime

Curry:
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 carrot
1 cup green beans, trimmed
1 green bell pepper
½ cup sliced Napa cabbage
½ cup sprouts
2 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
1 cup coconut milk
1 kaffir lime leaf
Juice of ½ lime
2 chicken breasts
Salt, to taste
Green curry powder (opt.)

To serve:
Basmati rice
Lime wedges
Handful chopped cilantro

To make the paste, chop onion, garlic, chilis, and cilantro. Place them in a food processor with lemongrass, ginger, chili paste, brown sugar, fish sauce, coriander, cumin, and lime juice. Pulse until the mixture forms a thick paste.

Prepare your vegetables and set aside: Trim sugar snap peas, peel and julienne carrot, clean and slice bell pepper, chop cabbage and measure sprouts.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a skillet and add the paste. Stir for 2 minutes, until the paste is fragrant. Add peas, carrot, and bell pepper to the skillet, and toss vegetables in the paste. Allow to cook for about 3 minutes, then add cabbage and sprouts as well as coconut milk, lime leaf, and lime juice. When the coconut milk begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium.

In the meantime, slice chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and, if desired, powdered green curry. Sauté in a hot skillet with 1 tbsp. oil until browned. Add to the cooking curry.

Turn heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until vegetables are softened, but still have a slight bite. Season with salt to taste and serve with basmati rice, lime wedges, and freshly chopped cilantro.