The word “curry” has three different meanings. It can be a spice or a spice combination, named Curry Powder, a dish or a leaf. The curry dish includes the spice combination.
It comes from the word “Kari'” in the Tamil language in India, so it is believed curry originated there.
The dish known as curry is now so varied and widespread across the globe that its definition must remain very open to include numerous cuisines and cooking styles.
Curries can be dry or wet. Dry curries are cooked with little liquid, resulting in a dish where the ingredients are coated in the spice mixture. Wet curries often include yogurt, coconut milk, or cream (among other ingredients), creating a sauce or gravy.
We like all kind of curry recipes, be we are especially fond of the chicken curry recipe because of its simplicity and flavor. For this chicken curry we use both red curry paste and yellow curry powder, and a nice rich flavor is developed using onions and garlic, but also a touch of fish sauce. We like to also add a little lime juice.
It doesn’t take a lot of your time, it is ready in 35 minutes and we assure you it will be loved by the whole family, even by the picky eaters.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 small yellow or white onion chopped
- 2 Tablespoons yellow curry powder
- 1 Tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 15- ounce coconut milk canned, full fat
- ½ cup water or chicken stock optional
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- salt to taste
- handful fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- 4 cups cooked white rice for serving
Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add the onions and minced garlic and cook for a few minutes until the onions are fragrant and softened.
- Add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, browning it a little. Add curry powder and paste; cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Add water or chicken stock depending on the consistency you want for the sauce, or let simmer longer to thicken if needed.
- Stir in the brown sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. Taste and salt if needed
- Top with fresh cilantro, serve over cooked rice.
Observations:
In case you want your sauce to be thicker, you can add chicken stock or water. Don’t forget that chicken also has a lot of water and you don’t want to make the sauce too thick. Decide whether to add chicken stock or not at the end.