Kim Kaewkraikhot at Thaikhun, Oxford presents this week's special

Kim Kaewkraikhot moved to the UK in 1999 to be with her partner Martin Stead after a tough upbringing in Thailand.

Their vision was to open a Thai restaurant in the UK.

They began in 2004 with the opening of their first restaurant Chaophraya in Leeds.

Over the past decade they have grown this into 11 restaurants all sitting under the Thai Leisure Group name.

Thaikhun. which specialises in Thai street food, started in Manchester in 2014 and opened on Oxford’s George Street at the end of April.

Ingredients:
50g green curry paste made with:
10 x fresh green (or dry) chillies
2 x shallots
2 x lemon grass
½ galangal
2 x garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp shrimp paste
4 Kaffir lime peel (or lime leaves)

450ml coconut milk
4 red Thai chillies
2tsp palm sugar
2tbsp fish sauce
10 basil leaves
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:
Make the curry paste. Using a pestle and mortar, crush and mix together all the ingredients until it forms a thick paste.

Heat the curry paste in a small amount of oil.

Stir until fragrant. 

Put a medium sized pan on a medium heat, add oil and curry paste, stir it until fragrant.

Add the chicken until cooked through.

Gradually add a little coconut milk at a time and stir until a film of green oil surfaces.

Add the fish sauce, salt, sugar, red chillies, citrus leaves, basil and stir it for a few seconds over the heat to warm them through.