Nourish the family CHELSEA'S COOK-UP

The MasterChef NZ winner is back with fresh delights

- 

Thai green curry

PREP 10 MINUTES COOK 40 MINUTES SERVES 4

PASTE

¼ cup refined (flavourless) coconut oil, melted

3 large green chillies, seeds scraped out, flesh roughly chopped

2 shallots, peeled, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled

Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled, chopped (about 20g)

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp ground coriander

1 packed cup roughly chopped fresh coriander, plus extra to serve (optional)

CURRY

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup carrot, finely chopped

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

Zest of 1 lime or 1 makrut lime leaf (optional)

1-2 tbsp coconut sugar

1-2 tbsp lime or lemon juice, plus extra to serve

2 tbsp fish sauce

400ml can full-fat coconut cream

500g white fish fillets (hāpuku, tarakihi, hoki, moki, monkfish, bluenose) (see notes for using chicken)

1 cup frozen peas and/or organic corn kernels (see notes)

White or freshly ground black pepper, to season (optional)

TO SERVE

Cooked rice (wild, brown or jasmine)

½ cup roasted cashews, chopped (optional)

1 To make the paste, blend all the ingredients together in a blender or processor with ¼ cup of the coconut cream from the curry until slightly lumpy.

2 Add this to a pan with sides or a flameproof casserole dish over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often so the paste doesn't catch and burn, for 10 minutes or until thick, looking a bit darker and smelling fragrant. This is an important step to get the bitterness and raw taste out from the aromatics.