Thai Yellow Curry Chicken

Thai Yellow Curry

Serves 5
This is how my children started their Thai food journey - with tender chicken thighs and melt-in-your-mouth potatoes swimming in golden, sweet Thai yellow curry. Nothing, absolutely nothing beats a Thai curry made with freshly hand-ground paste. Yes, I mean hand-ground using a large stone mortar and pestle, where you add the dry ingredients one-by-one and keep pounding, slowly releasing oils from all those herbs and spices. But, if you don’t have the patience, sticking it all in your blender also works or simply use quality store-bought curry paste.
Thai curry powder is another ingredient I try not to skip in my yellow curry. Although not traditional, this aromatic mix of spices takes the dish to a whole new level; it is quite hard to find except in specialty Thai stores so simply omit it if you can’t find it. Other than that, all you need is some steaming hot Thai Jasmine rice to enjoy this ultimate comfort food at home.

Ingredients
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​Ingredients for homemade paste:
1 stalk lemongrass (thick bottom half), finely chopped
1-2 fresh chilies, chopped
3 shallots, sliced ​
1" galangal or ginger, peeled and chopped
2 large cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon shrimp  paste OR salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/3 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
1/3 cup coconut cream (or 2 tablespoons coconut oil)
​For curry:
400ml can coconut milk
600 g chicken thigh, chopped into large pieces
1 large potato, cut into large pieces
10 small shallots, halved
5-6 Kaffir lime leaves, torn
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon Thai curry powder, optional ​
2 tablespoons fish sauce or 1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon lemon/lime juice, optional
handful Thai sweet basil leaves, for garnish
1/2 small red bell pepper or 1 large red chili pepper, thinly sliced
If using store-bought curry paste ​
2 tablespoons Mae Ploy or Mae Pranom yellow curry paste
1/3 cup coconut cream/2 tablespoons coconut oil (for mixing with store bought curry paste)

Recipe
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1Open a can of coconut milk and leave it in a warm place for 30 minutes. Coconut cream will rise to the top and skimmed coconut milk will settle at the bottom. Set aside 1/3 cup coconut cream. Some brands of coconut milk contain stabilizers which prevent the milk from separating, in which case simply replace the coconut cream with 2 tablespoons coconut oil.

2Place all ingredients listed for making paste in your food processor and blend until very smooth. If using store bought paste add 1/3 cup coconut cream (or 2 tablespoons coconut oil) to 2 tablespoons yellow curry paste.

3Heat a wok on medium flame, pour in curry paste and stir-fry for about a minute until fragrant (or until oil separates). Add chopped chicken and stir-fry for a few minutes until no longer pink.

4Pour coconut milk, potatoes, shallots, kaffir lime leaves. Add turmeric powder, Thai curry powder, fish sauce and brown/palm sugar. Bring to the boil, lower heat, cover and cook for about 20 minutes until potatoes and chicken are tender.

5Add lime juice, stir. Garnish with Thai basil, red pepper and serve hot with Thai Jasmine rice.

NOTE: If making vegetable curry, fry paste until fragrant. Next, add coconut milk, shallots, vegetables, kaffir lime leaves, turmeric powder, curry powder, fish sauce (or salt) and sugar. Bring to the boil. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes until vegetables are cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves/Thai basil and red pepper. Serve hot with Jasmine rice.
For more delicious recipes, check out our upcoming hands-on cooking classes in Downtown Singapore.​
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