Gosh - what did I do right? I tried to reconstruct in my mind the steps I took to prepare thai yellow curry with chicken today, as I took in heady whiffs of the aroma that still lingers in the air some 2 hours after preparing the curry. Though I have previously cooked thai yellow curry using the same concoction on several occasions, it was the first time I experienced such an aromatic sensation !
OK, let me write down the steps - see if I could get the same aromatic intensity next time when I make thai yellow curry with chicken.
Ingredients:
1 large red onion
5-6 garlic cloves
1/2-inch yellow ginger
2 tbl peanut oil
2 boneless chicken thighs
kaffir lime leaves from 2 sprigs
4 bird chillies, minced
1/2-1 ts salt - 1/2-1 ts sugar, 1/2-1 ts rice vineger : all balanced to taste
Tiparos fish sauce - only a bit for flavoring
6 potatoes, cut and microwaved for 7 min
2 tbl coconut cream powder
Fresh milk, about 1-2 cups
1-2 tbl butter
First, mince or chop roughly 1 large red onion and 1/4-inch yellow ginger and saute in a hot wok with 1/2 ts salt (to draw out the water and intensify the flavor fo the ginger and onion) without oil. About 30-40 sec later, add cooking oil to the hot wok and stir fry until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Then add 4-5 cloves of chopped garlic. Fry until fragrant. The onion should become translucent with browned bits and the garlic likewise, but not burnt.
Add 2 boneless chicken thighs that have been cut into bite-sized chunks and left to marinade in 2 tbl thai yellow curry paste and 1/4 ts salt for 1 hour. The salt will draw out the water from the chicken and that will allow the curry paste to better flavor the meat.
Fry to allow the chicken chunks to absorb the onion-garlic-ginger infused oil, about 6-7 minutes.
Dissolve 2 tbl coconut cream powder in about 1-inch water in a cup and add to the hot wok. Fry to coat the meat with the coconut milk. Then add enough fresh milk to cover the chicken chunks.
Add 4 sliced bird chillies, 2 sprigs of kaffir lime leaves and 1-2 tbl butter for added creaminess.
Add to the simmering curry Tiparos fish sauce, 1-2 ts sugar, 1 tbl rice vinegar, and salt to taste.
Finally add 6 potatoes that have been cut into bite-sized chunks and microwaved for 7 minutes.
Add water - just enough to cover the potatoes and simmer over low flame for 30 minutes.
Serve with wedges of cucumber and tomatoes on freshly steamed jasmine rice.
Really nice and very aromatic !
Note: All the Thai curry pastes can be bought from ethnic grocery stores. The brand I use is Mae Ploy, probably very popular and well-known because it is not only available in Singapore but also in Melbourne and Sydney ! Thai emigrants - who would know which brand is a good curry paste - must have introduced Mae Ploy to both countries.
VARIATION 20-Jan-2011
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3 chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 tbl Mae Ploy yellow curry paste
1 star anise
1-inch cinnamon bark
5 tomatoes, chopped into 1-inch cubes
1/2 medium size yellow onion, chopped into 1-inch cubes
2 potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 shallot, chopped
3 slices ginger
1/2 cup ie 125 ml coconut cream (Kara brand), mixed with 1 cup water
3 t brown sugar
1 t fish sauce (Tiparos brand)
1/2 t salt (added only at the end of the cooking, to taste)
1 - Saute the ginger slices anise, cinnamon in hot oil under medium heat for 1 min, add shallot and saute for another minute, then add garlic and saute until slightly brown.
2 - Add the onion, tomatoes, and curry paste. Adjust flame so curry paste don't get burnt.
3 - When fragrant add the chicken pieces. Bring the curry to a boil and immediately turn down the flame to a simmer. Total cooking time for the chicken should not exceed 20 min in order to retain the texture of the chicken.
4 - Meanwhile, microwave the potato with a little water in a bowl for 6 min or until a fork can easily pierce through the cubes.
5 - Add the potatoes to the curry.
6 - Spoon the curry into a bowl and garnish with roughly chopped fresh coriander.
I omitted chillies - which are optional - so that you could slather the curry onto your jasmine rice just like Hainanese Chicken Curry or Japanese Curry, topped with fried eggs or tauyu pork. If you like spiciness, you may add chopped bird chillies to the curry. Also, be mindful that only 1 tbl yellow curry paste was used as too much will make the curry more spicy !
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