Easy Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Curry is a popular dish in the Asian cuisine.  I love curry, and I have posted a few recipes for making curry before. Vietnamese curry is unique and easier to make than Indian curry.  At least the ingredients used are less intimidating than Indian curry. The flavor of curry broth is almost the same with the main ingredient being coconut milk or cream. I think Vietnamese curry is light in taste and a little sweet from the coconut cream. Some authentic Vietnamese curry uses carrot and daikon to sweeter the broth.  I add some peanut butter while marinating the chicken or blending some peanuts with the spices. There are plenty of curry recipes, and each recipe has it owns unique taste.  I can't say which one I like the most.  It always depends on the ingredients that are available to me on that day.  I hope this recipe will be the one that my blog followers will enjoy making most often.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. chicken breasts, boned and skinless

2 lbs. sweet and baked potatoes 

14.5 oz can of coconut cream

2 cups coconut milk

1 cup chicken broth

2 tbsp peanut oil

Seasonings:

1 tbs sugar1 tsp salt, black pepper

Fish sauce

Marinade ingredients:

2 lemongrass stalks, chopped

3 garlic cloves
1 piece galangalor 1 tsp galangal powder *

1/2 white onion

1 tbs curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1/4 cup peanuts

1 tsp salt

1tbs fish sauce

1/4 cup oil

1/2 chili flakes or cayenne

Directions:

Cut the chicken into big chunks and set aside.
Peel potatoes and cut into big chunks.

To make the marinade:

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a mini food processor and grind them into paste.

Put chicken in a large mixing bowl, add the ground the marinade ingredients and half of the oil. Mix well to combine. Cover and marinate for a few hours or overnight.

Heat half of the oil in a large pan and start to brown the chicken on all sides.

If using thick coconut cream, reserve about 1/2 cup of the thick cream to add before the curry is done.

Mix the rest of the cream, coconut milk, and chicken broth and add to the chicken.

  Stir well and bring to just boiling (simmer for 40 minutes). While the chicken is cooking, place the potatoes on a baking sheet, sprinkle with some salt, and drizzle with some oil.  Bake the potatoes in an oven set to 350° for 15 minutes.

 You also can brown the potatoes before the chicken (if you prefer to pan-fry the potatoes, you will need more oil).

Add baked potatoes 20 minutes before the chicken is tender. Adjust the seasonings after adding the potatoes.

 Stir occasionally. Add 1/2 cup reserved cream and turn the heat off.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and green scallions before serving.

Curry can be served with bread, rice, or noodles.

*If fresh galangal is not available, galanga powder is okay as a substitute.