Southern Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Submitted by Terese

"I served this at a dinner party and it was very popular. Do not expect heat or intensity or even subtlety. Instead you will have a rather heady, aromatic dish. Service with rice or rice vermicelli."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
• vegetable oil (for frying)
• 8 shallots, finely chopped
• 4 stalk fresh lemongrass, finely chopped
• 2 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 fresh red chilies, finely chopped
• 29.58 ml mild indian curry powder
• 450 g skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 4.92 ml sea salt
• 300 ml coconut milk
• 600 ml chicken stock
• fresh Thai basil (optional)

directions

1. Shallow-fry the potato pieces in hot oil until lightly browned.
2. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
3. Heat a little oil in a pan and saute the shallots with the lemon grass, garlic and chillies until soft.
4. Add the curry powder and stir for 2 minutes.
5. Add the chicken and cook, stirring until it is opaque.
6. Add the potatoes, salt, coconut milk and chicken stock.
7. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
8. Garnish with Thai basil leaves, if using.

Reviews

[Missy_Belle]

Lovely. My first recipe from the site and first time using coconut milk and lemongrass. Well actually, I improvised to save some calories by par-boiling (for 5 mins) some sweet potatoes (instead of frying) and added in 150ml of low fat evaporated milk with 1/2 teaspoon of coconut essence (instead of coconut milk). I also added some brocolli. I didnt follow recipe exactly, just used the same ingredients in various quantities. I added to rice noodles. It gave a wonderfully refreshing tasting. I will definitely be experimenting further with this combination of herbs and spices.

 

[JustJanS]

A really good recipe thanks Terese. We only used one cup of stock along with the (light) coconut milk as I thought it would be a bit "soupy" with the full amount (600ml). There seems to be a mistake at step 5 (and I didn't have time to contact you) so we cooked the chicken until it turned white, then proceeded. We had ordinary basil, and that added a nice (if not authentic) flavour, and I think I would add a bit of fish sauce next time.