This ‘summer’ – yes, I have to use the quote marks – has been so beset by rain that I want a do-over. As I write this the sky is again a dark grey and I am still wet from my morning walk with Brutus. The poor dog is so fed up with the rain that he occasionally gives up and pulls me back home with a resigned look on his face.
I long for the sun to shine and the clouds to part, for paddling pools in the garden instead of puddles in the park, for hats and suncream not umbrellas and parkas. Never have I ever bought a raincoat and wellies in June before, or craved stews, soups and comfort food.
Well there’s silver lining of sorts in all of this – I have been experimenting with more recipe ideas to keep us warm and cozy while the rain thunders on the kitchen skylights. This recipe for Thai green curry chicken meatballs was such a success that I have made it twice this past week. I used to use store-bought green curry paste in the past, but it doesn’t even come close to the homemade version. So much more flavourful, fully customisable, and so incredibly easy to make in my new Sage Kinetix Control blender.
I am kind of enamoured with this blender – not only does it have five different speed controls for mixing, chopping, blending, liquefying and pureeing, it has a setting especially for crushing ice and one for smoothies. I love its versatility, but most of all I love that food doesn’t get stuck when blending or chopping.
This can be a real issue even with some of the most powerful machines but the Kinetix has central blades which pull food down to crush and chop and wide bowl-hugging blades to aerate the mixture. I had no issues chopping the chicken thighs used for this recipe – if fact I was totally amazed how quickly they turned into meatball mixture. And another massive plus is that the blender container can be cleaned either using the auto clean setting or in the dishwasher.
Now I won’t lie to you. The chicken thighs turn into a sort of paste in the blender and it does feel a little gross when you are forming them into meatballs. But the meatballs are so tender and tasty that you won’t mind this too much! And as another plus you can turn this into chicken burgers if you like – a healthier alternative to the usual beef burger. And you can use the Thai green curry paste to make the traditional curry or a vegetarian or fish version – it’s really yummy stuff. Serve the meatballs with rice or perhaps some spiralized noodles.
- <b>For the curry paste</b>
- small bunch fresh coriander cilantro roughly chopped
- reserve a few leaves to garnish
- 4 green chillies deseeded and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 shallots peeled and quartered
- 2 stalks lemongrass outer leaves removed, roughly chopped
- small piece fresh ginger peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 tbsp palm sugar optional
- 2 kaffir lime leaves or zest of 1 lime
- juice of 1 lime
- <br>
- <b>For the meatballs</b>
- 580 g | 20oz skinless chicken thighs or chicken mince
- 100 g | 3.5oz Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 shallot peeled and quartered
- 1/2 tsp salt
- –––
- 400 g | 14oz coconut milk
- green and red chillies finely chopped, to garnish (optional)
- lime wedges to serve
- 2-3 tbsp coconut oil melted, to cook
- Put all the ingredients for the paste in a blender or food processor and blitz until you have a well blended paste. Transfer to a bowl but do not clean the blender.
- Add the shallots, breadcrumbs, salt and chicken to the blender and blitz until you have a uniform paste. Transfer to a large bowl, cover and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- With slightly damp hands, form the meatballs and set aside.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large non-stick pan and then fry the meatballs, in batches if necessary, over medium heat until nicely browned on all sides.
- Add your paste to the pan and stir until heated through. Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, testing one of the meatballs to make sure it is completely cooked through.
- Serve with steamed rice or spiralized zoodles. Sprinkle with finely chopped green and red chillies, garnish with a few coriander leaves, and serve with lime wedges on the side.
Janice Nelson says
Sounds wonderful! Can’t wait to try them! Your Sage blender sounds pretty awesome too!
belleau kitchen says
These look amazing and I love the green tinge. I always forget about chicken meatballs. Must make some!
Lucy Parissi says
I wonder why they don't offer chicken mince they way they do turkey mince. It tastes miles better and makes fantastic burgers and meatballs!