Thai Northern Curry Chicken

This Northern Thai Curry Chicken recipe combines the best of Indian and Thai cuisines. So if you like Thai food and Indian curries, you'll love this warm and flavorful dish. Plus it's as easy as a cassarole to make, and all the herbs and spices make it extremely healthy. Unlike a lot of northern Thai dishes, I've added coconut milk to this curry recipe, resulting in a creamy curry sauce you'll find to be very sumptuous. Enjoy!!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 00 minutes

Ingredients:

• CURRY SAUCE: (SERVES 4)
• 1 can good-quality coconut milk
• 3 shallots OR 1/2 cup purple onion, sliced
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1-3 fresh red chilies, depending on how hot you want it, OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 Tbsp. finely sliced lemongrass (for more instructions, see below)
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 thumb-size piece of galangal OR ginger, sliced or grated
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. shrimp paste (available by the jar at Asian/Chinese stores)
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1 tsp. tamarind paste (available by the jar at Indian stores) - OR substitute 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar (or more to taste)
• OTHER INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 medium chicken, chopped into pieces
• 3 potatoes, cut into wedges of chunky cubes
• 1/2 English cucumber (or 1 field cucumber), peeled if non-organic, and sliced
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews), roughly chopped or ground
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander

Preparation:

For more on how to prepare lemongrass, see my: All About Lemongrass Guide.

1. To make the curry sauce, simply place all curry sauce ingredients in a food processor (or blender). Process well to form a smooth sauce.
2. Place chicken pieces in a fairly large cassarole dish, and pour the curry sauce over. Stir well.
3. Add chopped potatoes, plus 2 (whole) cinnamon sticks. Stir again.
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until chicken is well cooked (depending on your oven and the thickness of the chicken pieces, you may need to let the curry bake another 10 minutes or so).
5. Remove the curry from the oven. If you find the curry sauce too thin, (the thickness of the sauce will depend on how thick your coconut milk was), you can easily thicken it: Just dissolve 2 heaping tsp. cornstarch in 3 Tbsp. cold water. Pour this mixture into the curry and stir. The sauce will still be hot enough to absorb the cornstarch and will quickly thicken.
6. Now add the cucumber rounds, stirring to incorporate.
7. Taste-test the curry for salt, sweetness, and spice level. If not salty enough, add up to 2 more Tbsp. fish sauce (instead of salt). Add 1/2 to 1 more Tbsp. brown sugar if the curry is too sour for your taste. Add more fresh chili or cayenne if not spicy enough. If too spicy, add a little more coconut milk or yogurt.
8. To Serve: Scoop some of the curry chicken onto a serving platter, including potatoes and cucumber as well as chicken. Sprinkle with chopped or ground nuts, plus fresh coriander. Serve with penty of Thai jasmine-scented rice, and ENJOY!

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