Vietnamese Chicken Curry


Serves 4-6.

1 small onion chopped
1 1-inch piece of ginger
6 stalks of lemon grass, 3 stalks of very thinly sliced, 3 stalks
crushed with a side of a knife
3 cloves of garlic
3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes, or to taste
2 teaspoon curry paste or powder
1 2-pound chicken, split and cut into chucks
2 14 oz cans unsweetened coconut milk, 2/3 cup for the "cream" and the remaining diluted with two cups water for the "milk"
1/2 cup vegtable. oil
3 pound taro root or potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
2 red chiles, finely chopped
Lime wedges
Chopped scallions

In a mortar, pound the onion, ginger, sliced lemon grass, garlic, salt, and pepper to a coarse paste and stir in the chile flakes and curry paste. Put the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the marinade over them. Toss to coat thoroughly. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.

In a large frying pan or wok, heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the taro or potatoes and cooked till brown all over, about two min per side. Drain on paper towels and pour off the remaining oil. Add the remaining oil to the wok. Heat over medium high heat until hot, add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and cook until brown. Add the three stalk of lemon grass, bay leaves, coconut milk, taro root or potatoes, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Add the coconut cream and sugar to the curry and simmer another 10 minutes. Serve the curry with French bread or rice noodles.

Meanwhile, in a mortar pound the salt and chile to combine thoroughly. On the side, put the chile salt in saucers for dipping at the table along with the lime.