Again and again friends asked me for my chicken curry recipe. Once more last weekend. There is no big secret, just a bit of a challenge to get here in Uruguay all ingredients together and a bit of experience to mix the right consistency. Anyway here it is.
The Story Around.
With this post I like to introduce you to several recipes, different tips and how to make an original stylish Thai Chicken Curry. Therefore it is wise to read my earlier articles under the category „Recipes“ or the tag „Curry“ about Curry’s.
One of the many floating markets in Bangkok.
My love for Thai food started more then 40 years ago when I was frequently flying between Europe and Australia and had many stopovers in Bangkok. I had the chance to follow some „Thai Cooking Schools“ offered by the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. There were lessons teaching what and how to buy ingredients at the floating markets or visiting the Oriental owned vegetable and herbs nursery’s up in lush green mountains of Chiang Mai.
Norbert Kostner, center, many years head-chef of the Oriental Hotel Bangkok and founder of the Oriental Thai Cooking School. He and especially the General Manager of the Oriental, Kurt Wachtveitel, both Germans, were responsible for the immense success of that hotel. The Oriental was choosen for many years in a row as the „No. 1 – The Best Hotel in the World“.
Besides I had the chance to travel and cook with Norbert Kostner, executive head chef of the Oriental in Bangkok. Above all that I followed street vendor and boat vendor cooking methods during the years.
Fantastic Thai hospitality. Fresh prepared Thai snacks at the garden terrace of the Oriental Hotel, free to use for hotel guests. My experience in the 1990’s.
Thai Red Curry Chicken.
As you read in my earlier posts you know that we have mainly the following different curry’s – green curry,red curry, yellow curry, white curry and a few curry’s named by their origin – like „Masman Curry“ (also called Massaman Curry, contents are with cloves, cinnamon and star anise, mostly used with beef). In this article we talk about Thailand only, not about so many delicious curry dishes from other parts of the world, like India.
Typical „Indian Style Curry“, just red curry paste (but an Indian masala mixture), vegetarian type with chick peas and onion, a naan aside.
Thai Red Curry Chicken is a colorful dish that combines fresh ingredients and aromatic herbs over a classic mix of spices and mellowed with rich coconut milk. Be sure to serve with a traditional accompaniment, a refreshing salad (see my post „Thai Green Mango Salad“), or „Thai Cucumber Salad“. Made in less then 30 minutes, Thai Red Curry Chicken is perfect for a weeknight dinner.
The Curry Paste Challenge.
As I said before, a Thai curry chicken can be made within 30 minutes. But only if you have some curry paste, ready to use. In Uruguay you have to search for the paste ingredients and mostly you have to improvise. Then, if you found once your ingredient at one place, there is no guaranty that they have it next time if you look for.
Delicious red chicken curry with cucumber salad.
So many friends fly in and out the country, why not to ask them for a favor and get some ready paste from abroad ? My favorite is the Original Thai Curry Paste from Mae Ploy. When we moved from Panama to here, I brought a few containers with me. One we forgot in a cupboard and found it years later. Meantime 5 years over the expiring date and still good. I like this brand.
Mae Ploy curry paste in a Panamanian shop.
All recipes can vary a bit depends on ingredients one can get the hand on. I buy most of my cooking ingredients at MAM market in Montevideo. See my post about MAM under category „Uruguay“ in this blog.
MAM in Montevideo. Many „green grocers“ have all you need, especially „hot chilli’s“ in all colors. I choose red ones, but all the yellow ones you see in the crate will turn red. Mostly I buy a bag of chilli’s and keep them in my freezer for many weeks. At El Granero you’ll find all other ingredients and spices you are looking for. El Granero has 2 shops at MAM with a different assortment of products. Now – how do we cook curry ?
Ingredients.
Curry Paste.
1 medium red onion
4 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander roots
3 tablespoons fresh chopped lemon grass
4 teaspoons fresh chopped red chilli
These are the red chilli’s I buy at MAM. Not a bad size and piping hot. If they are frozen, like I use them here, they loose a bit of their heat. Anyway 1 or 2 will be sufficient for your paste.
1 1/2 teaspoons galangal powder
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest
1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste (if you have)
2 kaffir lime leaves (dried are possible too)
Thats how kaffir lime looks like, the leaves are the best, from our garden in Australia. Of course one can buy preserved ones in good asian shops. Not in Uruguay, here they don’t like to cook with herbs and spices.
4 teaspoons smoked hot paprika powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 teaspoons nut-oil (no sesame oil)
How to do the paste.
Blend or process all ingredients together until
you have a smooth, but oily/firm paste
This is how your curry paste should look like. Firm, but smooth and a bit oily. Click on pick to have a closer look – as you can click on all pics for better view.
Red Chicken Curry.
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 medium size green onions chopped
500 gram (1 lb) chicken breasts boneless and skinless
and cut into bite size pieces
1 can (425ml) coconut milk or more (depends how much sauce
you like, if curry is to thick add more coconut milk)
For an 8 person curry, which is in total about 10 liters of finished curry, I used 10 cans of coconut milk.
2 to 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (depends how spicy
you like your curry meal)
160 gram (5 oz) snow peas roughly chopped (or use 1/2 bag
frozen peas or use same amount of fresh green asparagus etc.)
160 gram (5 oz) chopped pineapple pieces (from can is fine)
4 kaffir lime leaves or 2 tablespoons lime juice
big hand full of unsalted natural white peanuts
These are the peanuts to use for Thai cooking. They are „sin sal“ and somehow tasteless. Thai’s use peanuts in many dishes. Its a matter of crunch and not taste.
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 bruised stems of lemongrass, just the white bottom
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped (if you like cilantro
use more, also have some for garnish later on)
How to do.
Heat the olive oil in a large wok or skillet until hot.
Add the green onions and stir-fry until soft. Switch heat down.
Add the peanuts and the curry paste and stir-fry until well mixed.
Remove the mixture and set aside. Heat up pan again.
Add chicken pieces to the oily pan and cook until chicken is no longer pink, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in curry and onion mixture and combine well. Chicken will soak in the curry flavor. Just a minute not longer.
Now add coconut milk, sugar, kaffir leaves and lemongrass stems.
Ready to serve Chicken curry.
Bring to the boil and switch heat down, let simmer for a few minutes that just the chicken is cooked through.
Stir in pineapple and peas or asparagus and let it heat through well.
Remove the kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass from the pot.
Remove from heat and garnish with fresh cilantro.
Serve immediately over rice.
Mouthwatering red chicken curry over rice.
Tips.
Your homemade curry-paste is suitable to freeze long time or kept a week in your fridge.
That means you can make the paste days ahead and being quick when you cook.
Some people like chicken breast sliced into thin slices or thin strips. If you want to do this, slice chicken breasts while partially frozen to get satisfying thin slices.
Lovely thin sliced chicken breast curry.
When I cook chicken curry for people who know me and my cooking, I often do it a bit more rustic. That means I like to use chicken thigh’s instead breast, thigh’s are much more tasty and it is a yummy fun soaking off all the curry-meat-sauce from the bones.
If you like to use chicken thigh’s, then cook them for about 30 minutes in a veggie stock. After they are ready peal off the skin (doesn’t taste good after cooking) and go on with your curry. Save the wonderful chicken broth for a later use.
Doesn’t look as elegant as the other curry’s, but its damned delicious. In Europe or anywhere else use 2 thigh’s per person. Here in Uruguay 1 thigh per person will do, because we have elephant-size chicken here.
To bruise the lemongrass, use a meat mallet to lightly crush it. This will ensure you get the most flavor into your curry.
You can leave the kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass stalks in the dish, and just push them to the side of your plate when eating, since they are too tough to eat.
Store remaining kaffir lime leaves in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks. You can also freeze them in a sealed ziploc bag or airtight container.
If you leave your finished curry over night, then this is what you are looking for, the chilli oil has separated beautifully from the sauce.
And finally you should offer these supplements to your curry dish. A nice cool/refreshing salad (Thai Papaya Mango Salad or similar, see, by example, my post „Thai Green Mango Salad“) which goes so well with curry. I always offer the seeds from inside a papaya also, they taste delicious peppery on the salad. Then some additional peanuts and finally some plain yogurt for guests who think your curry tastes to spicy/hot. Enjoy your curry !
