How to feed a Crowd? - Thai Yellow Curry
For our third Feed-a-crowd recipe video, Zac teaches us how to make our own Thai Yellow Curry paste and cook a delicious chicken curry for 10+ guests. This is a great recipe to save not only for when you are cooking for guests, but also for your weekly meal preparation, as it freezes really well.
Thai Yellow Curry
Your very own homemade Thai yellow curry paste
Makes 500g, which you can store in your fridge or freezer. You can make this ahead of time and store in jars or even just in a takeaway container. It lasts forever, but pop it in the freezer to be safe.
- 30 g garlic minced
- 60 g galangal grated
- 60 g ginger grated
- 50 g long red chillis chopped and blended
- 50 g lemongrass chopped and blended
- 30 g kaffir lime leaves
- 40 g tumeric
- 60 g salt
- 80 g canola oil
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Don’t worry if your processor leaves it still a bit chunky still – a bit of texture adds character.
Rice for 10
- 3 cups jasmine rice, rinsed until water turns clear
- 4.5 cups water
- A few pinches of salt
- Bring rice, water, and salt to the boil, lid off, stirring once or twice as it heats up.
- Pop on a lid and turn down to low heat.
- Turn off heat after 10 mins, but keep the lid on for at least another 5 mins. And feel free to leave the lid on for longer to keep the rice warm.
- When you’re ready to serve, fluff the rice gently with a fork or metal spoon.
Chicken for 10
- 10 chicken thigh fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper
- Canola oil
- Get a pan on high heat and pour in a little oil – about 3-5mm depth across the pan.
Just as the oil reaches smoking point*, cook only as much chicken as fits comfortably in the pan without squishing up - cook in batches if you need to.
*Ideal smoking point is when the edges of the oil in the pan get a little wispy with smoke, but not so hot that the entire surface of oil is smoking. - For those who love details, here’s a further breakdown of how to cook the chicken beautifully:
- Get the first side evenly browned by lifting each piece and allowing the oil to slip underneath.
- Check the chicken as you go, rotating to and away from hot spots as needed.
- Flip the chicken when you’re happy with it and give the second side a quick seal – this can be a little less golden if you’re keen to press on with the cooking.
- The chicken can still be a little raw inside at this point, as you’ll finish cooking it in the curry sauce soon. The main idea is to get a good crust for extra deliciousness.
Yellow Curry Sauce for 10
- About 5-7 tablespoons your very own home made Thai yellow curry paste (see above)
- 3 x 400ml tins coconut cream
When you’re out shopping for this, check ingredients on the back of the can and choose a product closest to or at 100% coconut cream - About 1.5-2kg of whatever vegetables you feel like using, chopped however you feel like chopping them
- About 7-10 limes, juiced
- Cook the curry paste in a large pot, stirring as you go, until beautifully fragrant
- Add coconut cream and bring to a simmer. Use a lid if you’re pressed for time as brings up the heat a little faster.
- Add chicken and vegetables, timing as needed. Here’s a few timeframes:
- Sweet potato diced 2-3cm: 15-20 mins or until just softened but skill with a slight crunch to it
- Chicken thigh fillet, seared on the pan and slightly raw inside: 10 mins or until cooked through and tender
- Carrot sliced 1cm: 3-4 mins, until bright and slightly crunchy
- Capsicum sliced 1cm: 2-3 mins, slightly sweeter but keeping it pretty crunchy still
- Cucumber quartered, cored, sliced 5mm: less than 1 min off the heat
- Zucchini quartered, cored, sliced 5mm: less than 1 min off the heat
- Stir through lime juice
- Serve up and garnish with fresh bean sprouts / sliced chilli / sesame seeds / picked coriander / Thai basil / mint / lime juice / anything else that springs to mind that feels fresh and flavourful.
