Chicken Curry

Filipinos have adopted dishes from all over the world, but most of our cooking is influenced by the Spaniards and Asian cuisine. There are several versions of Chicken Curry; the most popular ones are the Indian version which mostly uses powdered curry and the Thai version which uses curry paste.

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. Skinless & Boneless chicken breast cut into 2 cubes

1 Can coconut creme (14oz.)

1 Tbs. Patis (fish sauce)

1 Medium onion (diced)

1 ½ Cups of green and red bell peppers cut into bite sized pieces

1 Cup Celery cut in ¾ inch pieces

5 Jalapeno peppers (stems removed)

3 Potatoes (quartered)

¼ Cup ginger (julienned)

4 Cloves of garlic (smashed)

¼ Tsp. freshly ground peppercorns

½ Tbs. Crushed pepper flakes (optional)

4 Tbs. Cooking oil

For the Curry Powder:

½ Tsp. Cumin

½ Tsp. Caraway

½ Tbs. Whole White Peppercorns

1 Tbs. Coriander

¼ Tsp. Nutmeg (powder)

½ Tsp. Turmeric (powder)

Cooking Process:

For the curry powder: Begin by roasting all whole spices (cumin, caraway, white peppercorns, and coriander) for 1 minute on high heat. Once they are roasted, pound them using a mortar & pestle or electric spice grinder if you have one. Set aside.

For the chicken breast: Lightly season chicken with 5 Tbs. cooking oil and a pinch of salt & pepper. Mix well and brown on all sides and set aside.

For the potatoes: Brown potatoes on all sides with 5 Tbs. of cooking oil. Set aside.

Cook garlic until golden brown using the remaining cooking oil you used to brown potatoes and chicken. Add the onions when the garlic is golden brown and let them cook until soft.

Add the ginger once the onions are soft and stir it well. Allow the ginger to cook for one minute and then add the chicken you browned earlier.

Let the chicken breast saute for one minute and season it with patis. (fish sauce) Next, add the spices you roasted and pounded earlier along with the ground Nutmeg and ground Turmeric.

Stir well for half a minute and add the coconut creme. Stir coconut creme, return the cover, and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. Lower your heat and stir coconut creme intermittently during the ten minutes to avoid scorching the coconut creme.

After 10 minutes add the potatoes, stir well, and let the potatoes cook for 5 minutes. After that, add the celery and allow it to cook for 5 minutes before adding the red and green bell peppers.

When the celery is cooked, add the red and green bell peppers and again let it cook for 5 minutes.

At this stage, you can do your taste test and adjust accordingly by adding more salt and pepper if needed. After that, you are ready for your last and final ingredient which is the 5 Jalapeno peppers. Serve Chicken Curry with white steamed rice.

Optional: Garnish Chicken Curry with crushed red pepper flakes.