Weeknight Curried Chicken

I love curry. Seriously. Curries of all kinds. But… a lot of the curry recipes I’ve found can take hours to make and require trips to special stores like H Mart, or if they are quick, they tend to be bland and underwhelming.

So finally, when I found an awesome medium spicy curry powder that I wanted to try out, I bit the bullet and combined a few recipes to make my own. One that has lots of flavor, is made from ingredients I keep around the house or that are readily available at the local supermarket and only takes me about an hour to cook!

On canned coconut milk: This recipe calls for canned coconut milk, but doesn’t use the whole can. For a while I struggled to figure out what to do with the rest of a can when I used one, until I learned you can just freeze it. So now, I put the remainder in a container and freeze it. When it thaws, the fats will have separated out, but a few blasts with an immersion blender and they emulsify back in just fine.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 Shallot (diced) or small onion
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 tsp ginger (minced)
  • ~ 2 Tbsp medium spice curry powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ – ¾ tsp black pepper
  • Several bay leaves
  • 6 chicken thighs
  • ¾ cup diced tomatoes
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp white vinegar

Steps

In a large sauce pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and toss in shallot, garlic, ginger. Cook until soft

Add spices and cook a few minutes until fragrant

Add chicken and tomatoes to pan, stir to coat and cook uncovered for 10 minutes over medium high flame. Stir occasionally to prevent burning

Add coconut milk, water, vinegar and sugar to pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Taste and adjust accordingly

If the sauce is not thick enough, simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes to thicken.