Toast curry paste in coconut cream until fragrant, then simmer chicken in a balanced, creamy sauce built with tamarind and fish sauce
Ingredients
Ingredients
- FOR THE PANANG SAUCE:
- 4 Tablespoons panang curry paste
- 3 Tablespoons of coconut cream skimmed off the top of the coconue milk (or coconut oil)
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, cut into a chiffonade
- 1 Tablespoon Casa M Spice Co® Chain Reaction®
- PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER:
- 6 cups full-fat coconut milk (reserve 3 Tablespoons of cream off the top for cooking the curry)
- 1/2 cup white onion, diced
- 1/2 cup sweet basil, roughly chopped
- 2 pounds chicken breast or thigh, boneless, skinless, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup canned bamboo shoots
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 Tablespoon Thai fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 Tablespoon tamarind paste
- serve over cooked longn grain white rice
Method
-
01
Gather and prep all ingredients
15 minDice onion and bell pepper, chop basil, cut chicken into bite-size pieces, chiffonade lime leaves.
-
02
Skim coconut cream and prep curry base
3 minSeparate 3 Tablespoons coconut cream from cans for cooking.
-
03
Heat coconut cream and fry curry paste
2 minHigh heat, stir constantly like making a roux.
-
04
Add lime leaves and seasonings, cook until fragrant
5 minAdd coconut milk gradually until paste reaches peanut butter consistency.
-
05
Add onion, basil, and remaining coconut milk
2 minBring to full boil while mixing well.
-
06
Simmer sauce until reduced by 25%
20 minLow heat until sauce coats back of wooden spoon.
-
07
Add chicken, vegetables, and seasonings
2 minMix well and bring just to a boil.
-
08
Simmer until chicken is cooked through
12 minReduce to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
-
09
Cook white rice
20 minCan be done in parallel with curry cooking.
-
10
Serve curry hot over rice
2 minLadle the curry into bowls over fluffy jasmine or basmati rice, making sure each bowl gets plenty of that creamy sauce and tender chicken. The rice should soak up the coconut curry without getting mushy — you want it to stay separate and absorbent, not gummy.
From Mike's Notebook
Fry the curry paste in that coconut cream like you're making roux — the browning adds depth the coconut milk won't give you.
Skim the cream before opening the second can; the first can always has more separated cream on top.
Stop reducing when the sauce coats a wooden spoon — oversimplify it and you lose the sauce's silky texture.