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Gia-Gina Across the Pond

So I've decided to follow my husband to his native Italy. Follow our adventures as we eat, drink, travel, adapt to and explore this remarkable country. Part food blog, part photo blog but mostly my rants and raves. After our two years in Italy, we relocated across the Atlantic "pond" and are back in the States.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Chicken Curry

The Asian cuisine in our home is coming along slowly but surely. Today I received a package of Asian goodies from my friend Pia and yesterday I went with new friend Laurie, to the Asian stores. It has taken me a while to gather enough Asian ingredients to actually make a palatable dish but today I improvised and made a “fusion” curry, it’s a mix of Vietnamese and Indian curry. It was piquant even without much chili (the hubby likes it medium) with plenty of spicy notes, all tempered by the coconut milk. I cooked some jasmine rice, without a rice cooker, and ladled the sauce on top. I am still looking for all the ingredients for an authentic Thai curry but am having trouble finding the shrimp paste, lime leaves and galangal, this will have to do for now. It was very nice, if I do say so myself.

Chicken Curry with Peas

2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1- 2 in. piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, white end only chopped
1 15 oz can of coconut milk
1 large chicken breast, sliced, seasoned and coated with 1 t. corn starch
1 C. peas, frozen or fresh (blanched)

Spices:
1 T. cardamom pods
½ t. cumin seeds or ground
1 t. coriander seeds or ground
1 T. curry powder
1 T. fish sauce
½ t. ground ginger
½ t. white pepper

1. Add the cardamom, cumin and coriander to a small pan and toast until fragrant and golden, do not burn. If you happen to burn the spices, start over.

2. In another pan, add a bit of oil and sauté the onion, garlic, lemongrass and ginger until soft and fragrant but not browned, about 10-15 minutes. When ready add the toasted spices, curry powder, fish sauce, ground ginger, pepper and sauté until everything has combined and the whole mixture has been infused. Cool and add to blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding a tablespoon or two of water if necessary.

3. Add the paste back to the sauce pan and add the coconut milk, reduce a bit and taste for spice and salt. Strain the whole mixture through a fine sieve and set aside.

4. Heat another sauté pan until hot; add canola/peanut oil, heat until just smoking. Quickly stir-fry chicken until lightly brown on all sides. Add peas, add the curry sauce to chicken and cook for 5 minutes on high. Do not over cook the chicken. I like to reduce the sauce until it is not soupy but more like a gravy, when I do this I take the cooked chicken out of the pan before I fire up the burners for the reduction. Garnish with a lemon slice or chopped cilantro.

2 Comments:

At 7:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi,

My name is Sabrina, I am Italian from Novara and I love cooking... I was surfing on the Internet and found your blog... I was very interested in your Chicken Curry.

I have been in Singapore now for almost 6 months and like this Indian dish a lot. I saw that yours is a Thai- Indian Chicken Curry... I will try the recipe and let you know.

Ciao,
Sabrina

giacometti_sabrina@yahoo.com

 
At 6:22 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi!
That curry looks delicious.. If you want, you can add it on our recipe site; http://www.expatsinitaly.com/recipe/ - I'm sure that there are more who would love to try this out!

 

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