Thai Green Chicken Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbspsunflower oil
• 1onion, chopped
• 500 gchicken thighs, boneless; sliced or cut into chunks
• 4 clovegarlic, sliced
• 280 gthai green curry paste, one standard jar; add gradually and taste as you go, pastes vary in heat
• 400 mlcoconut milk, full-fat
• 2 lchicken stock
• 5 leaflime leaves, makrut (kaffir) lime leaves
• 2 tbspfish sauce
• 1 bunchscallions, green tops chopped and cooked in; the rest sliced and stirred in at the end
• 280 ggreen beans, trimmed
• 150 gbamboo shoots, drained if canned
• 2lime, juice only; blitzed with the basil
• 1 bunchbasil, leaves picked; blitzed with the lime juice

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and fry for 3 minutes to soften. Add the chicken and garlic and cook until the chicken changes colour.

2. 3

   Add the chopped scallion tops, the green beans and the bamboo shoots. Cook for 4–6 minutes, until the beans are just tender with a little bite left.

3. 5

   Serve with lime wedges.

4. 2

   Add the curry paste and stir it around the pan for a minute until it smells fragrant, then pour in the coconut milk and stock and add the lime leaves and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes.

5. 4

   Meanwhile, put the lime juice and basil in a narrow jug and blitz with a hand blender into a smooth green paste. Stir it into the soup along with the sliced scallions and heat through — don't let it boil, or the fresh colour dulls.