Food Blog

Update: This recipe got clipped off and lost during some site maintenance. At one time it was a very high google result for Thai Chicken Curry, which was a shame since it’s not very authentic Thai, and many have commented on that fact. But this is something I make all the time because I always have most of the ingredients on hand. If I always had kaffir leaves and other more authentic ingredients around, I would be making a far different curry. In the interest of those seeking real Thai curry, see the recipe below mine

This semi-Thai-style chicken curry has lots of varieties of peppers and mushrooms in it. The ginger, curry, tarragon and saffron give this hot dish a flowery aroma.

1 can coconut milk
1 finger hot pepper
1 hot thai pepper
1 poblano
1 halapeno
1 red bell pepper
1 oz dried shitakes
1 oz dried oyster mushrooms
1 oz wood ear or other fungus
(about 4-5 mushrooms of each)
1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
1 teaspoon curry
2 skinless chicken breasts
ground ginger
dried tarragon
ginger juice
butter
rice flour
5 strands of saffron

Soak the dried mushrooms in simmering water for 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up the peppers, diced the hot ones really small, leaving the poblano and red pepper in two inch juliennes. Moderate the heat by removing the seeds and inside membranes of the hotter peppers.

Cut up the chicken into large bite size pieces and dust them with ginger and tarragon. Brown in a big frying pan. Strain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. They always tell you to strain the liquid through a coffee filter, but I just let the sediment settle, and pour only the top. Slice the shrooms into thin strips, and add to the pan, with 2 tablespoons of butter. Let the shrooms brown just a bit, then add the peppers. Add some drops off ginger juice and some more tarragon. The two make a wonderful smell together. Mix the red curry paste with a little water and some yellow powdered curry. If you can find Panang paste, this is the best. Add the curry mix to the pan, and mix everything up. Add the coconut milk. Add the saffron. Simmer to reduce the liquid a bit. Add a mixture of half a tablespoon of rice flour to half a tablespoon of water to the pan to thicken. Serve over rice, perferably jasmine.

One comment I recieved on this recipe made fun of the butter and tarragon and noted “Almost any recipe you’ll find for Red Curry asks you to fry the red curry paste in a few tablespoons of coconut cream” and “I’d probably ditch the saffron, the rice flour, and ground ginger too. ”

Well since the commenter is an actual far-eastern chef, I have to agree. And in the interest of the traditional dish, I post Madman Madhu’s red curry recipe (takes 10 minutes):

200 ml thick coconut milk
2 T of Red Curry Paste
1/4 – 1/2 cup chicken stock (depending on how thick you like the curry)
200 gm boneless chicken breasts
1 T fish sauce
4 red chillies (adjustable to taste)
2 teaspoons palm sugar
2 Kaffir Lime leaves (sliced into thin strips)

Let the coconut milk rest for a while so that the cream forms on the top.

Heat wok, add coconut cream and let it bubble. When the oil starts separating, add the red curry paste and the red chillies and stir well till the curry paste is blended into the cream. Cook for 3-4 few minutes till the oil separates from the mixture.

Add the rest of the coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, and palm sugar and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Add the chopped chicken breast pieces, stir well, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes till the oil floats to the top and separates from the curry. Add the Kaffir Lime leaf strips, stir-once and turn off the heat. Let it sit for a minute or two for the lime leaf flavour to permeate the curry.

That’s all there is. Want to add mushrooms? Reduce the quantity of chicken and use mushrooms in its place. Throw it in at the same time as the chicken.

Couldn’t be simpler. All you have to watch for is the salt level in the food. Some brands of fish sauce are saltier than others. You may not need any fish sauce if your curry is salty enough.