In 50 Great Curries of Thailand, Vatcharin Bhumichitr offers the Malaysian classic, one now served in restaurants around the world. The smoothness of coconut cream, pinch of kaffir lime leaves, and the brightness of curry paste all marry here is a rich dish. You may have had this already in your local Thai restaurant, and wished then that you could enjoy this at home. Now, you can.
Variations here are obvious. You can use turkey meat or duck instead. Think of using leftover turkey on the Friday after Thanksgiving — surely just the sort of “culinary shift” we often seek on that day-after day.
This recipe calls for Penang Curry Paste. One of the excellent feature of 50 Great Curries of Thailand is a section devoted to making authentic curries. There is a recipe there for this paste and I’m twisting your arm a bit here: buy book!
You substitute a curry paste of your preference, find some Penang in your local store or choose one of the many recipes on web. You have lots of choices to excellence here.
Chicken Penang
Yield: serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 2 cups coconut cream
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons Penang Curry Paste
- 1 pound boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
- 2 large fresh red chilies, thinly sliced
- 20 holy basil leaves
Preparation:
Gently heat the coconut cream in a small pan, but do not let it boil. Remove and set aside, reserving 1 tablespoon as garnish.
Heat the oil in a wok or pan, add the curry paste, and stir fry briefly for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and stir fry until it is lightly cooked.
Stir in the coconut cream, fish sauce, and sugar, stir well for a few then add the lime leaves, chilies, and basil. Spoon into a bowl and top with the reserved coconut cream.
Source: 50 Great Curries of Thailand by Vatcharin Bhumichitr [Kyle Books, 2016]