When I go to Thai restaurants, I always try really hard to get something other than Thai Green Curry, but almost always fail. It is just too tasty. Get yourself a good quality Thai curry paste though, and you can create a dish of restaurant standard at home, for a fraction of the price, and hardly any effort.
The paste you buy really is key, so I would recommend steering clear of the supermarket usuals on this occasion (Sharwoods, anything with Lloyd Grossman's face on it etc) and go for one which is slightly more authentic. The ethnic food sections of large supermarkets tend to have a pretty good selection, including a brilliant range by Thai Taste, which I would heartily recommend.
In terms of meat and vegetables, you can throw pretty much whatever you want in a Thai curry, but I find that chicken, pork or prawns work best, while vegetables such as baby-corn, bamboo shoots, green beans and of course aubergine peas (if you can track them down), are most commonly used in restaurants.
If you can find kaffir lime leaves (Waitrose do them) then throw a couple of these in with the ginger, chilli and garlic for an extra authentic flavour, but the dish will be perfectly good without them.
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 chicken breast, butterflied and then finely sliced
1 small handful of babycorn
1 small handful of green beans
1 can of bamboo shoots
2 tablespoons of thai green curry paste
1 400ml can of coconut milk
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
A 1inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 dried kaffir lime leaves (if using)
Rice to serve.
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan and add the ginger, chilli and garlic, and lime leaves if using. Fry on a low heat for 3-5mins. Add the curry paste and fry for a further 2mins.
Stir the can of coconut milk and bring to the boil. Add the chicken and simmer gently for 15mins.
Add babycorn, green beans and bamboo shoots and simmer for a further 7mins.
Serve ladled over steamed jasmine or basmati rice.