Carole Food.

Green thai curry is one of my favourite dishes! It’s creamy, aromatic, savoury and a tiny bit sweet. Here I’ve used butter beans and the result is a super quick meal! Ideally you need a blender for this dish, however if you don’t have one then I’ve suggested an alternative below in the instructions. 

Why you’ll love this dish

• Quick - this dish is very quick to make, it’s ready in about 20 minutes! Because canned butter beans are cooked, and they don’t require any prep work like chopping, it really cuts the overall time of this dish down. So it’s the perfect thing to make mid week. 
• Nutritious - there’s loads of vitamin A and vitamin C in this recipe from the spinach. And of course, the butter beans provide a great amount of fibre.

What ingredients do you need for this dish (includes possible substitutions)? 

Frozen spinach: you can of course substitute this for fresh spinach, but you may have to blend in batches as fresh spinach has a lot more volume than frozen spinach… 

Coconut milk: I like to use full fat coconut milk in thai curries, but this will still work with the reduced fat varieties. 

Garlic: if you buy green thai curry paste from the shops, then it does usually have some garlic in it, but I like to add a little bit extra because why not…

Green thai curry paste: the quality of your paste will really make a difference in the curry, so make sure you buy one you like and is full of flavour.

Butter beans: as usual, this can be substituted for other beans/pulses. Cannelini beans or chickpeas would both be great. 

Sugar: a small amount of sugar really balances the flavour in this dish, but if you don’t want to add it, then it can be left out.

Chopped coriander: this is optional to sprinkle over the final dish! 

And of course, if you want to, you can add any of your favourite vegetables or some protein too! 

What to serve this with? 

Beans do have a good amount of carbohydrates so you could just have this with a side of veg or protein if you want! Otherwise it is of course delicious with rice. 

Instructions 

Blend the spinach and coconut milk 

Using a high powered blender (e.g. a nutribullet), blend the frozen spinach and coconut milk until smooth. If you don’t have a blender (or don’t want to use it!) then you can skip this step, and add the coconut milk and spinach along with all the other ingredients. However if you want to do this, then I’d definitely recommend using fresh spinach instead of frozen! Also just to be warned, if you choose not to blend the spinach, you won’t get the vibrant green colour of the sauce. 

Fry the garlic and curry paste

In a medium sized frying pan over a low-medium heat, add 1-2 tbsp of oil. Once hot, add the garlic cloves and curry paste. Cook for a couple of minutes and stir often. 

Add everything else

Add the butter beans, spinach mixture, sugar and fish sauce. Stir to combine well then simmer for a few minutes. Top with chopped coriander and that’s it! 

FAQ 

What’s the best way to store this dish? 

Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Then reheat either in the microwave, or on the hob. 

Can this be frozen?

Yes, this freezes well! Just place in an airtight container then either defrost in the fridge overnight, or reheat from frozen using the microwave. 

If you’re looking for another similar dish, be sure to try out these recipes:

• Thai Style Tofu
• Coconut Salmon Curry
• Garlic Tofu