Green Curry

Green curry is chicken simmered in coconut milk with a paste built on fresh green chillies, galangal and lemongrass — hotter to look at than it tastes, and sweeter than Thailand's red or yellow curries.

What it really is

The paste is pounded, traditionally in a mortar: green chillies, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, garlic, shallot and shrimp paste. It is fried in the thick cream that rises to the top of a tin of coconut milk, until it splits and the oil shows, then thinned with the rest of the milk. Chicken goes in to simmer; fish sauce and palm sugar balance the paste's heat, and Thai basil is stirred in right at the end so its aniseed scent survives the heat.

The name describes the paste, not the finish. Green curry is the sweetest of Thailand's curries — the palm sugar is more generous here than in the red or yellow versions — and its heat comes entirely from fresh chillies rather than dried ones, which is why the colour reads hotter than the dish actually is.

How it is served

• In a bowl, with jasmine rice on the side to carry the sauce.
• Hot, the basil leaves still whole and fragrant on top.
• With extra fish sauce and sliced chilli on the table, for the guest to adjust.

How to write it on the menu

• Say chicken, beef or vegetables — the paste and coconut milk stay the same.
• Fish sauce and shrimp paste make the classic version neither vegetarian nor vegan; soy sauce and a shrimp-paste-free version with tofu are the usual substitution.
• The dish itself carries no wheat, though it is usually served with rice.

The ingredients, allergens and dietary notes listed here describe a typical recipe. They are not a binding declaration for any particular restaurant: recipes, portion sizes and the products used can differ.