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1
Pour the coconut cream into a wok or wide heavy pan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cream thickens, then separates — the oil rises to the surface and the solids turn golden at the edges — so that the rendered coconut oil becomes the frying medium for the paste that follows, which no amount of un-split cream can replicate. The smell shifts from sweet and milky to something richer and more nutty; the crack is complete when distinct oil pools are visible and the remaining solids are fragrant and slightly caramelised.
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2
Add the green curry paste to the separated coconut oil and fry over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 3–4 minutes, so the raw, sharp smell of fresh chilli and lemongrass rounds and deepens into a warm, complex, slightly caramelised aromatic. This is where the dish lives or dies: the paste darkens to an olive-green and a thin film of green-tinged oil appears at the edges. Under-fried paste cannot be corrected by the addition of coconut milk.
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3
Add one ladleful of coconut milk to the fried paste and stir steadily until the paste dissolves fully into the liquid, so no concentrated pockets of raw-tasting paste survive into the finished curry. The curry turns a vivid, even green throughout — no streaks of unmixed paste should remain before you continue.
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4
Add the protein and stir to coat each piece evenly in the paste-enriched liquid, so the chicken begins to absorb colour and flavour before the remaining coconut milk goes in.
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5
Pour in the remaining coconut milk and bring the curry to a gentle simmer — never a boil — so the coconut milk holds together as a smooth, glossy sauce rather than breaking into a greasy, separated one. The surface should show a slow, lazy movement only; adjust the heat immediately if a rolling boil threatens.
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6
Season with fish sauce and palm sugar, stir, then taste. The curry should read simultaneously fresh and coconut-rich, with a clear umami foundation from the fish sauce; adjust the balance of salt and sweetness as needed.
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7
Add the fresh green chillies and stir once to distribute them through the curry.
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8
In the final 60 seconds, add the Thai sweet basil and torn kaffir lime leaves, stirring once so they wilt just enough to release their fragrance into the sauce without cooking away entirely. When the basil meets the hot curry, a distinct warm, anise-camphor aromatic rises immediately from the pot — if this aromatic is absent, the basil is old or was added too early. Remove from heat and serve immediately; the curry's character deteriorates within 20 minutes of completion.