4/24/2017

This reversal

I recently stumbled across a recipe for Vietnamese chicken curry that captures that brothiness I so love in my food. (In case you've haven't noticed.)


My maternal grandfather's quick-and-dirty Malaysian chicken curry recipe uses a whole can of coconut milk and not very much water (in fact, as little as you can get by without burning the food), but I liked this reversal I found on Hungry Huy.

It calls for only half a cup of coconut milk to 4-5 cups of liquid. He uses a mix of chicken broth and water, but since I stock (couldn't help myself*) Costco's organic stock which isn't very salty, I use all stock in my version for extra flavor.

(*When the cartons of chicken stock in your pantry notice you checking on your supply a lot, do they say, "Are you stocking me?" Souper sorry for that. Not.)

I was pleasantly surprised with how far that half cup of coconut milk went, giving the whole pot just the right amount of creaminess and Southeast Asian flair, and so instead of disregarding the recipe and just throwing the rest of the can in, I decided to make coconut sticky rice with mangoes, because obviously.

One last note on the curry before I share both recipes. While you can serve this over rice, the Viet way to enjoy this is with (Vietnamese, if possible) French bread.

You will be floating like this French bread after eating this.
(Okay that was not the last note because I have one more thing to say, as always:)

The leftovers are also amazing with noodles - such as vermicelli, udon, or by making a packet of ramen (spicy or regular) with some of the seasoning and broth, and throwing the curry into it, plus a poached-in-the-pot egg.

Actually, the egg can be eaten on any version of this dish. SEAsians were "putting an egg on it" way before it was the trendy thing to do. If you've never had a crispy fried egg with an oozing egg yolk over a bowl of curry rice, well, then, stop everything you're doing right now and get thee to a kitchen.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry (cà ri gà)
adapted from Hungry Huy

2 lb bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, marinated in 2 t salt and 2 T curry powder
1 large yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 5" lengths (smash the base to expose more flavor, and cut lengthwise in half, if desired)
3 bay leaves, or a few stalks of curry leaves, if you are so lucky to have access
1 1/2 lb potatoes, cubed (~2")
3-4 carrots, cut into 3" lengths (the chunky look is nice for this soupy curry)
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (full-fat, try to use a Thai - not American - brand)
1 tsp sugar
4 cups chicken broth
extra curry powder to taste (I like Baba's, which can be found at Ranch 99, but a Vietnamese Madras curry powder would be great, too)
fish sauce and/or fermented shrimp paste, to taste
squeeze of lemon and/or cilantro, optional, for garnish

Marinate the chicken at least two hours in advance, or overnight. Don't be afraid to over-salt. This flavor will be dispersed into a pot of broth with over two pounds of vegetables, and salting the pot later can never match the level of flavor you get from pre-marination. (Pre-marinated murder?)

In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, sear the chicken pieces in batches and set aside on a plate. Heat up more oil and sweat the onions in the pan. Add minced garlic, stir a few times, then add broth. Return chicken to the pot, along with sugar, bay leaves, lemongrass, carrots and potatoes.

(Hungry Huy has you par-fry the potatoes and carrots so they don't disintegrate into the broth, but I'm giving you the lazier version. Just cut your vegetables larger, and watch them so they don't melt.)

Bring to a boil, then lower and let simmer until everything is cooked, probably about 20 minutes. Stir in coconut milk. Taste for salt and add fish/shrimp sauce if it needs some extra funk. Serve with cilantro and lemon and with French bread.



Coconut Sticky Rice with Mangoes

1 1/2 to 2 cups Thai sweet rice
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (conveniently, what you will have leftover after you make the above recipe)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 t sea salt
2 mangoes (Champagne/Manila/Ataulfo are the best for this, as they are sweeter and less fibrous), cubed or sliced

Make sticky rice however it is that you make sticky rice. I'm lucky that my Zojirushi makes it for me, but if you have to use a steamer, this looks like a reliable method.

While the rice is cooking, simmer coconut milk, sugar, and salt together on the stove top. Taste it and make sure it has a good hit of salt. (I like it with the salt and feel that it makes up for the reduced amount of sugar I use compared to restaurant versions of this dish.)

When the rice is done, stir in about 1 cup of the coconut-sugar mixture into the warm rice, reserving the rest for serving when you plate.

To serve, you can mold the rice into a small bowl or some other mold, then invert it onto your serving plate(s). Arrange mango on the side and drizzle more coconut mixture on everything. It can be served warm or at room temperature.

Share, if you're generous, or destroy the evidence, if you're not.

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And for what we're eating this week:


P.S. Writing about coconut prepared two ways reminded me of the time I wrote about pumpkin: sweet+savory.

P.P.S. One other coconut PSA. Saw this recipe and I'm tempted to try it out!


2 comments:

  1. I can't wait to try this!! That looks amazing.

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    Replies
    1. Awesome! Can't wait to hear how your family enjoys it! :)

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