michelle picker cooks

At a recent potluck, Jane brought this traditional Malaysian chicken curry and kindly shared her recipe with me. It’s fragrant, comforting and delicious. Jane cooks this by feel so ingredient amounts are a little flexible.

For the curry paste you will need 2 medium yellow onions, 4 garlic cloves, a similar amount of ginger, 3 slices of galangal, 3 red shallots, 5 dried Thai chillies (soaked in hot water and deseeded), 5 fresh red chillies (de-seeding optional), 3 stalks of lemongrass (white part only), 2 sprigs of curry leaves (about 15 leaves), 1 whole star anise, 6 whole cloves, 1 small cinnamon stick, 2 teaspoons of toasted belacan (shrimp paste), 5 tablespoons of Malaysian curry power (Baba’s ia a good one),  ½ a tablespoon of ground coriander, 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric, ½ a teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of palm sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of chilli powder (optional). Blend or pound all these ingredients to a smooth paste. Heat 4-5 tablespoons of oil in deep pot or wok over medium heat. Add the curry paste and lower the heat. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the paste turns fragrant and you can see the oil starting to split from the paste. Make sure you stir continuously as the paste can easily burn. Now add 4 bone-in chicken legs with thighs attached (cut into smaller pieces) and stir and cook until the chicken is evenly coated in curry paste. Add 600ml (1 pint) of chicken stock, turn the heat to high and bring to boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Now add 4 medium peeled and quartered potatoes and cover again. Simmer on low heat for a further 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Next add 600ml (1 pint) of coconut milk, cover and simmer over low heat for another 20 minutes. Season to taste with more salt or palm sugar as needed. Garnish with fried shallots and fresh mint and serve with rice, roti or noodles.