This recipe is inspired by Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Thai Green Curry recipe. It's very different from the original but was the inspiration for the dish, hence the title.
The dish isn't trying to be authentic Thai or anything. It's a million miles from from it. It's more of a spin on a classic flavour, with a more fruity, sweeter taste. It's seriously good and really, really easy to make.
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Slice the chicken into thin strips lengthways along the breast and season lightly with salt and pepper. Skin the mango (not on the same chopping board, and I hope you washed your hands after handling that chicken! *wrist slap*) and separate the useful fruit from the pulpy, seedy bits. Slice into roughly the same shape as the chicken pieces. You should be left with about the same volume of mango as you have of chicken.
Next, finely chop the chili (deseed first, if you like your curry mild) and chuck into a pestle and mortar with the garlic. Mash it up like the culinary mofo you are. Chuck in the curry paste and give it a good mix.
Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and heat through on a medium heat. Don't let it boil. Wait till it's simmering gently then remove from the heat. In a large frying pan, heat a tablespoon of the oil (I use sesame oil) on a high heat until it's just about smoking. Chuck in everything from the pestle and mortar and stir-fry for about a minute. Don't let it burn or brown. Just fry it enough to release the flava.
Transfer the coconut milk from the saucepan to the frying pan and give it a good mix with a wooden spoon. Savour the aroma. Have a quick taste of the sauce and adjust seasoning accordingly. Allow the coconut milk to reduce and become a little bit thicker (just a little bit).
Place your chicken and mango into the mix and reduce stove heat by about 20 percent (i.e. if your hob is on 5, set it to 4). Keep stirring until chicken is completely cooked through. This should take about 5 or 6 minutes tops. Don't let the sauce become too thick. If this happens, you might want to thin it our little with some chicken stock or water. Have some on hand just in case.
When the chicken is cooked through, squeeze the lime juice over everything and serve with a simple boiled rice or sticky rice and plenty of sauce.
Nice.
If you're going to buy one cook book within the next 10 years, make sure it's Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cookery Course. It's a fantastic book and should be in everyone's kitchen. I forsee this book replacing the Bible some day.