Kinds of Recipes: Frank's Thai Chicken Coconut Curry

Ingredients:

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon of mustard seeds
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds, crushed
2 medium sized onions, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 medium sized carrot, julienned
1 large red paprika, diced
red curry paste ("mae ploy"), 3-5 tablespoons to taste (for medium "heat", Frank uses about 50 gr, or half of a standard small can of 114 gr / 4 oz.)
1 can (appr. 400 ml) of cream of coconut (not coconut milk!)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1-2 tablespoons of thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon of fresh or dried orange zest
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons of shaved fresh ginger root or 2 tablespoons of finely chopped candied ginger
1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic
4-6 tablespoons of sugar (Frank uses Indonesian palm sugar, "gula jawa")
3-4 kaffir leaves [mandatory ingredient!]
1 bunch of fresh coriander (the coriander leaves are also called cilantro or Chinese parsley in the US), coarsely cut
peanut oil (do not use olive oil!)
salt
plum wine
basmati rice

Instructions:

brown the chicken pieces in some oil or butter, then set aside
heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a wok
add the mustard seeds and coriander seeds
when the seeds start popping, add the onions, celery, carrot
cook while stirring regularly
when these veggies are almost done cooking, add in the paprika
dissolve the curry paste in a couple of tablespoons of coconut cream
add the remaining coconut cream to the veggies
add the dissolved curry paste to the veggies
stir in the fish sauce, peanut butter, orange zest, sugar, kaffir leaves, sesame oil, ginger, garlic
while stirring occasionally, let reduce until the sauce has the desired thickness
season with salt
just before serving, stir in the coriander (or sprinkle them on top after serving)
serve with chilled plum wine and basmati rice
freezes well
can be made with shrimp instead of chicken
sauce can be made & frozen separately. [Frank Dörenberg]

Kinds of Recipes