Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Dumpling Man likes his curries, specifically Thai yellow curries.  I'm not such a fan, but I'll eat it.  It's just a bit too creamy and sweet, but that's exactly how Dumpling Man likes it.  I prefer Vietnamese curry instead which is more fragrant from lemongrass and ginger and saltier from a good helping of fish sauce.  So my curry somehow walks the middle road, and as a result is never sweet enough for Dumpling Man.

I've made this before but with the lemongrass cut into short stalks.  This recipe from Ravenous Couple called for finely sliced lemongrass.  If you've cooked lemongrass before, you'll know that it is not something that softens as you cook.  So, all that lemongrass ended up being lost in the sauce and into my bowl and it was not fun to chew on.  Next time, I'm keeping the lemongrass in stalks so they can be fished out at the end.

Your basics.  I found these mini cans of coconut milk.  Perfect for making a serving of curry like this.  For most recipes, a mini can like this may short change you on the called for amount of coconut milk, but I'd rather have a less coconutty curry than half a can of coconut milk that will slowly mold in the back corner of my fridge.  I randomly picked this curry powder.  It's pretty darn spicy.

First you gotta marinate your meat.  I like to keep my meat in semi-large pieces so that they end up being fall apart tender after a while.  Unfortunately, it takes longer to cook that way.

Just after adding in the coconut milk.

You can really tell the difference once the coconut milk cooks through and the stock is added.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Adapted from Ravenous Couple

1.5 lbs chicken thighs, cut into pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped into 3 inch pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 tbs Massaman curry paste, divided in half
1 tbs cooking oil
1 mini can coconut milk (~1/2 cup)
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 potato, peeled, cut about 1 inch pieces

2 carrots, peeled, cut on diagonal 1 inch pieces

1 green onion, thinly chopped

Fish sauce & sugar to taste

1.  First marinate the cut pieces of chicken with shallots, garlic, minced lemongrass, salt, pepper, and 2 tbs of curry. Make sure curry paste coats the chicken evenly. Allow to marinate about 1/2 hr covered in fridge.

2.  In the meantime, prepare the potatoes, carrots, and onion. If you're going to make the pot pie, allow to thaw slightly at room temperature. Place your container on top of puff pastry and cut around the container with a pizza cutter leaving about 1 inch margin. Return the puff pastry back to the freezer until ready for use.

3. In a large pot on medium heat, add about 1 tbs cooking oil and sautee the chicken along with an additional 2 tbs of curry paste. When the outside of the chicken is browned, roughly 3-5 minutes, add coconut milk. Stir and meld together for another minute and then add chicken stock and the remaining stalk of lemongrass.

4. Then add the vegetables according to how quick they cook. We add carrots first, potatoes about 3 minutes later, and finally onions just when it's about to boil. Bring to boil and reduce to low heat and simmer until vegetables are just soft but not too mushy. Season with salt or fish sauce and sugar to taste. Garnish with thinly chopped green onion.

What's meat and rice without veggies?  I just stir fried some cabbage, garlic, a scrambled egg, and a couple dashes of fish sauce on really high heat.  Now that I have a gas stove top for the first time in my adult life, I realize how a really hot pan can change your dish.  My veggies always cooked in its own puddle of water, but now I get great color and flavor!


Bon appetit!