Thai green curry is fab, but have you ever tried it with lamb? My Lamb Thai Green Curry is full of the delicious, aromatic flavours of lemongrass, coriander, cumin, garlic and chilli, and can made from scratch in under 30 minutes! It’s also dairy and gluten free and can be adapted to make it mild enough to serve to young children – or you can make it as hot as you like!
I adore Thai green curry…it is nearly always the dish I order when I go out to a Thai restaurant (I know I should be more adventurous – but I just love it!) and I love cooking it at home too. But until recently I have never made a Lamb Thai Green Curry – which I feel is a bit of an oversight!!
Eons ago I used to work for a ‘well know luxury supermarket’ in their wine buying team and one of the perks of being in the buying teams is we regularly got the opportunity to do cookery workshops. (I think this was probably more relevant for the buyers who worked in the food buying teams – especially those who worked on ready meals etc., but we all got to participate nonetheless, and I absolutely relished the opportunity and signed up for as many classes as I could do!)
One of the recipes I learnt to make during that time was a Thai green curry…and it has been an absolute favourite ever since.
Over time my Thai green curry recipe has evolved and been adapted – partly to simplify it and partly to improve the flavour and I am really happy with it…but when I initially used it with lamb it was a bit of a disaster – all I could taste was the lamb – the delicate Thai flavours had all but disappeared! (Though the lamb still tasted yummy.)
So the second time I tried this out I seriously beefed up the quantities of herbs, chilli and spices to ensure the flavour of the sauce could be tasted as well as the lamb – and it did – second time round the balance much better.
To improve it further, I cooked the lamb first and poured away the fat, before adding the homemade Thai green curry paste. A lot of the flavour of lamb is in the fat – which is usually a really good thing as it adds a ton of flavour to a lamb tagine or Indian style lamb curry. But with the delicate Thai flavours of lemongrass and coriander, it was too much. Simply by draining the fat I was able to get the balance right…
…and I am so pleased I did, because my Lamb Thai Green Curry now tastes wonderful – perfectly balanced flavours and just a touch of heat coming from the chilli. If you haven’t yet tasted a Thai green curry made with lamb I really recommend that you do!
I have used 4 mild green chillies in my sauce – the normal larger sized green chillies you can buy from supermarkets (in the UK, at least). If I am making this for the kids I remove all the seeds and some of the membranes to give a milder taste. You can leave them in if you prefer a hotter flavour. Alternatively, if you prefer not to handle fresh chillies, you can use 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes instead for a similar level of heat as my milder version.
I like to serve my Lamb Thai Green Curry with simply cooked plain jasmine rice, but it would also go well with coconut rice, noodles, some stir fried vegetables or a simple Asian-style salad.
I very, very rarely suggest white wine with lamb, but this is an occasion when I actually think it works much better – I find a red wine just kills the delicate aromatic flavours in a Thai curry, whereas a robust, but aromatic white will still stand up well to the flavour of the lamb and compliment the aromatics in the sauce beautifully. My best match would be a ripe and zesty Sauvignon Blanc from somewhere like New Zealand or South Africa, or a rich and tropical tasting Viognier, or Viognier blend, from the South of France or Chile.
If you like this recipe…
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Lamb Thai Green Curry
Ingredients
Green Curry Paste
- 4 lemongrass stalks roughly chopped
- 6 spring onions roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 4 cm ginger roughly chopped
- Stalks from a 30g (1oz) bag of fresh coriander cilantro
- 4 large green chillies see note
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 6 tablespoons coconut milk
Lamb Thai Green Curry
- 2 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil
- 4 lamb leg steaks
- 400 ml tin coconut milk minus the 6 tablespoons used above
- 1 red pepper sliced into batons
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce optional
- Juice of 1 lime
- Leaves from a 30g (1oz) bag of fresh coriander cilantro, chopped finely (save some for garnish)
To serve
- Reserved fresh coriander for garnish
- 1 lime cut into 4 wedges
- 200 g jasmine rice or basmati, or long grain
Instructions
- Start by making the paste. Place the lemongrass, spring onions, garlic, ginger, coriander stalks, chillies, ground coriander and cumin in a small blender or food processor, along with 6 tablespoons of the coconut milk and blend to a smooth paste. Alternatively you can place all the ingredients in a small jug or bowl and use a hand blender to mix to a paste.
- Set aside the green curry paste while you fry the lamb.
- In a wide, deep frying pan, heat up the oil for 1 minute on high, then add in the lamb leg steaks and fry for 4 minutes on each side. Remove the lamb from the pan and rest for 5 minutes.
- Drain off any fat from the pan, then add the curry paste and cook for 3 minutes, then add the rest of the coconut milk, red pepper, fish sauce and lime juice, and cook for 2 minutes.
- When the lamb has rested, chop the lamb into bite-size pieces and add the lamb back into the pan, together with most of the chopped fresh coriander (cilantro). Cook for 2-3 minutes, then serve with jasmine rice, extra coriander as a garnish, and lime wedges on the side.
Notes
This is a collaborative post with the ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ campaign. ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ is an EU funded campaign which aims to increase the use of lamb in everyday cooking. Lamb is often considered difficult to cook, expensive, or something to be saved for Sunday roasts. The aim of the campaign is to demonstrate just how tasty, easy and fun lamb is to cook with every day of the week!
Want more delicious lamb recipes? Find more here…
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Mel says
Green Thai curry is the perfect dish at this time of the year with colds and things. Don’t you find that it shifts colds? I don’t know if it’s because it’s a bit more spicy than other curries I have, but I always find I feel a tiny bit better after eating a Thai Green curry when I have a cold 🙂 #FreeFromFridays
Eb Gargano says
Totally agree – spicy food seems to do wonders for colds! Chilli is supposed to have all sorts of health benefits, I believe…Gives me a good excuse to eat lots of it 😀 Eb x
Rebecca Smith says
I love thai flavours but sadly I’m the only one in our family…reckon I’ll have to make this all for myself.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, that’s a shame! But I assure you this is worth making just for one 😀 Eb x
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
Yes, yes, YES! Thai green curry is an all-time fave of mine, although I have to admit to using tinned green curry paste when I’m in a time-crunch. Your paste sounds just amazing! I’m going to have to try this ASAP, because I’ve only ever made this curry with chicken. Time to get adventurous! 😛
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Michelle. I do occasionally use Thai curry paste too when I’m pushed for time, but this one is so easy it only takes a matter of minutes to throw together and there is definitely a benefit in terms of freshness of flavour and also I like to know exactly what’s actually in my food (and be able to pronounce it all), so I cook from scratch whenever possible! I do encourage you to try the lamb version – it really works and it makes such a nice change from the usual chicken or prawn versions. Eb x
Eva says
This looks utterly delicious, I love Thai cuisine but I haven’t cooked any Thai lamb dishes, I will definitely try this. 🙂
Eb Gargano says
Thank you Eva. It is well worth trying – the lovely Thai flavours really compliment the lamb! Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
I do like green Thai curry so long as it’s not too hot forget the small children it’s me that’s a chilli wimp. ( We now have a bit of a battle at home as when My youngest (22) cooks he really ramps up the chilli.) I’ve not tried a lamb green Thai curry before but I think it would be good. Interesting that removing the fat should make all the difference. Thank you for linking to this weeks #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Haha – you and me both…I’m more a medium girl than a mild girl these days (but it’s taken me a while to get there!), but I am more than happy to make things milder for the children. A little judiciously used chilli is a good thing, but I like to taste the other flavours and spices too – I really hate it when all I can taste is the chilli! Removing the fat made a huge difference – so much of the flavour is in the fat…which is usually a good thing in more strongly flavoured dishes, but it dominated too much over the more delicate flavours in this curry. By removing the fat, the flavours are beautifully balanced. Eb x
Monika Dabrowski says
I really like this dish – I love the Thai flavours in it as well as the fact it cooks so quickly, your recipes are always so practical which is great as it shows that delicious food needn’t require spending hours in the kitchen!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thank you for this lovely message! Practical recipes and showing that delicious food needn’t require spending hours in the kitchen is EXACTLY what I aim to do! 😀 Eb x
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
I do love a Thai curry, although my favourite is definitely a red rather than green….. Either way, I’ll take a bowl of yours, because it looks yummy and will definitely make my tummy happy! x
Eb Gargano says
I love red Thai curry too! But green just pips it for me. I am sure lamb would work wonderfully as a red curry too…hmmm need to give that a go now! Eb x
Agness of Run Agness Run says
This dish combines some truly palatable and nutrient-dense ingredients, Eb! I love that you used coconut milk for this recipe. Can I use juice from a lemon and not lime?
Eb Gargano says
Thank you Agness 🙂 Yes, you can absolutely use lemon, if you prefer! Eb x
Emma Amoscato says
I think I’m just going to start copying and pasting the same comment onto all your recipes: ‘Wow, looks delicious. My kind of food. I want to eat it now’ Haha! #freefromfridays
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha – aw that’s so sweet – thank you! I’m so pleased you like my food! Eb x