Every Friday, I ask Mack a question he dreads, “What do you want to eat for dinner next week?” It ensures we have a meal plan for the week, but more importantly, helps us generate a shopping list for our routine stop at the farmers’ market on the following day. Most of the time, Mack falls back on old favourites, but last week, he was adamant about satisfying a craving for Thai green curry.
Though we have made coconut milk-based curries in the past, we’d never experimented with more authentic recipes. By chance, Chef Elaine Wilson, Thai cuisine enthusiast, was featured in the Journal that same week, so it was meant to be!
We adapted her recipe for Thai green curry with chicken. It was the first time I’ve encountered instructions on how to separate coconut milk (leaving the can in the fridge overnight, opening it from the bottom, then draining off the coconut water). This seemed to make all the difference, in terms of the resulting creamy, thick sauce. The kaffir lime leaves (which we bought frozen from Lucky 97) were also key, lending telltale citrus notes to the coconut base.
Mack somehow had the impression that green curry could only incorporate green-coloured vegetables, so we substituted blanched broccoli, green pepper and green beans for the eggplant (and peas). Next time, we would double the amount of sauce to accommodate the quantity of vegetables we threw in.
Thai green curry
The curry turned out wonderfully – the heat was manageable and the broccoli florets, as Mack noted, was perfect for soaking up and retaining the sauce.
Dinner!
I’m pretty sure the next time I ask Mack what he wants for dinner next week, “Thai green curry” will be his response.
Only Here for the Food 
I’m with Mack, I also dread this question!