In the Kitchen: Chicken Curry Recipe

Here’s another cooking demo for you, and this one is all about curry. I know, you’re thinking, Single Guy, why make curry in hot weather? It’s that age-old Asian belief that in hot weather, you should get your body hot as well and that maintains the equilibrium. Plus, I live in the part of the Bay Area where you still see people wearing scarves at night around this time.

Curry is also one of my favorite things to make because it’s pretty easy, at least the way I make it.

My apologies if this video seems a bit choppy, but I have a tendency to chatter on. And this time I decided I didn’t want to post another two-parter video. So to keep within the YouTube limit, I had to edit down the video to 10 minutes. Hopefully you’ll still get the gist of the demo. If not, I have the full recipe for you below. Enjoy!

Chicken Curry
Copyright 2009 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs (about ½ lb.)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 sweet onion, diced
1 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
1 t white pepper
2 T curry powder
1 t ground cumin
2 carrots, chopped
2-3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 ½ cup chicken broth (or 1 can Swanson’s chicken broth)
1 cup water
1 cup coconut cream (or coconut milk)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T cornstarch
Salt to taste

In a small bowl, marinate the chicken with the white pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.

In a large saucepan or pot, warm the oil over medium high heat and add the chicken to brown on both sides. (About 1 to 2 minutes on each side.) Then toss in garlic and onion and cook until onions soften (about 3 to 5 minutes).

Add chicken broth and water. Cover and bring to a medium simmer.

In a small saucepan, warm the curry powder and ground cumin. Then throw everything in with the chicken. Add carrots and cook for about 10 minutes, then add potatoes and cook until all the vegetables are almost tender (about 15-20 minutes, the length depends on how chunky you cut your vegetables).

Just when the vegetables are almost done, add the sugar snap peas and coconut cream. In small bowl create a cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch with a bit of water. Slowly add this to your curry (you might want to bring up the heat so the curry is near boiling) until thickened to the consistency you like. Taste the curry and add salt as needed for taste. Serve with steamed rice.

Makes 6 servings. Pair with a glass of Riesling.

TIP: There’s a variety of curry powder. I personally like this brand called S&B Oriental Curry Powder that you can find at most Safeway stores. The can has a yellow and red label. The curry itself is a yellow curry and on a milder side. If you want spicier curry, try something from the Asian or Indian grocery stores.

WATCH THE HEAT: When adding the vegetables, you’re going to bring down the temperature of your curry pot so you may need to adjust the heat to bring the pot back to a nice simmer, and then you can lower if needed.

Other cooking demos:
Making Mapo Tofu
Making Won Tons
Making Paella in Two Parts