Asian Recipes
When Winter comes around, our Vietnamese Chicken Curry transform those cold nights into toasty heartfelt memories: warm bread crunching between your fingers, silky noodles sliding along chopsticks and steaming hot broth melting the chills away.
While that may be enough to keep me craving, it’s not what drives me to make it over and over again.
It’s the fall apart drumsticks that have been flash fried to seal in its juices, then slow cooked in curry broth. It’s the tender vegetables that add anatural sweetness to each mouthful.
And it’s the moment when you dip crusty baguette into the soup to soak up every last golden drop before biting into an explosion of earthy aromatic flavour.
This is hands down the only Vietnamese Chicken Curry recipe you’ll need in your life!
In our family recipe, there are two ways to sweeten the broth without using sugar:
(1) Adding taro. Taro has a natural nutty sweetness that is not only adds flavour, but once it cooks into the curry, the dish becomes incredibly creamy.
(2) Adding sweet potato. Anything with sweet potato will be guaranteed added sweetness because once cooked, the enzymes will break the starch down into sugar.
(3) Adding sweetened condensed milk. This is our family’s secret ingredient to a rich and luscious broth. It makes the fish beautifully smooth and gives a depth of flavour that can’t be achieved with just sugar alone.
You won’t regret it once you try it!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
To get a classic Cà Ri Gà taste, our family marinade consists of tumeric powder, lemongrass and garlic. You can also include curry powder for more flavor.
We also buy curry sauce from the Asian supermarket, which is sold in individually sealed packets as a meat or vegetarian sauce.
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
Cut the lemongrass into 10 cm (4″) segments. Smash the lemongrass and garlic cloves until they’re partially split, then put them in a bowl with the drumsticks and giblets.
Marinate the drumsticks and giblets in tumeric powder.
Heat up a wok on high heat and add the cooking oil. Flash fry the taro until crispy on the outside then set aside.
Note: This will help to develop a crispy crust around the taro which prevents it from breaking up in the curry.
Flash fry the sweet potatoes until crispy on the outside in the same oil, then set aside.
Separate the lemongrass and garlic from the marinated drumsticks and giblets. Reuse the cooking oil (or replace with 3 tbsp new oil) to fry the lemongrass and garlic for 30 seconds.
Pour the drumsticks into the wok and cook for 5 minutes or enough to to sear all sides.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken and pork stock to a boil and add the curry sauce, coconut cream, condensed milk, chicken bouillon powder, salt and curry leaves.
Add the drumsticks, taro, sweet potatoes and onions in and cook on a medium simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve with a squeeze of lime juice, fresh Vietnamese baguette and rice noodles!
FAQS
What can I use instead of the curry sauce?
You can skip this ingredient altogether and replace it with curry powder instead. The sauce just adds creaminess and potent flavor to the dish.
Can I make Vietnamese Chicken Curry in a slow cooker?
Absoutely! I still recommend marinating the meat and flash frying the aromatics and vegetables, but after that you can put everything into the pot and slow cook for 8 hours.
Why isn’t the soup thick?
Traditional Vietnamese curry isn’t thick like Indian curries, which is what makes it unique. If you prefer a thicker soup, mix corn starch with water and slowly pour the slurry into the soup as it simmers just before serving.
TIPS FOR THE BEST RESULTS
Marinate the drumsticks overnight. For the best infused flavors, coat the meat in marinade and leave it in the fridge. If you’re low on time, 20 minutes will work.
Let the chicken come to room temperature. Make sure to take the chicken out of the fridge 20 minutes prior to cooking to avoid having tough meat.
Avoid cooking the sweet potato and taro for too long. The longer they cook in the soup, the softer they become and the more likely they are to break apart.
Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)
Every curry lover will fall for our family's Vietnamese Chicken Curry. It's everything a curry should be: rich, creamy and packed with earthy flavour! One taste and you'll feel at home!
Ingredients
The Chicken Marinade
▢ 10 chicken drumsticks
▢ chicken giblets (optional)
▢ 6 tbsp tumeric powder (or enough to cover all the chicken)
▢ 2 stalks lemongrass
▢ 4 cloves garlic (smashed)
The Curry Broth
▢ 5 L chicken and pork stock
▢ 15 curry leaves (we get it from the local Asian supermarket)
▢ 600 g / 1.5 lb taro (peeled and cut into large chunks)
▢ 600 g / 1.5 lb sweet potato (peeled and cut into large chunks)
▢ 230 g / 0.5 lb curry sauce (we get it from the Asian grocery store; or use 3 tbsp curry powder instead)
▢ 1 L / 4 US cup coconut cream
▢ 2 US cup sweetened condensed milk
▢ 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
▢ 3 tbsp salt (or to taste)
▢ 2 US cup cooking oil
▢ 2 large onions
▢ blood jelly (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the lemongrass into 10 cm (4") segments. Smash the lemongrass and garlic cloves until they're partially split, then put them in a bowl with the drumsticks and giblets.
- Marinate the drumsticks and giblets in tumeric powder.
- Heat up a wok on high heat and add the cooking oil. Flash fry the taro until crispy on the outside then set aside.
- Note: This will help to develop a crispy crust around the taro which prevents it from breaking up in the curry.
- Flash fry the sweet potatoes until crispy on the outside in the same oil, then set aside.
- Separate the lemongrass and garlic from the marinated drumsticks and giblets. Reuse the cooking oil (or replace with 3 tbsp new oil) to fry the lemongrass and garlic for 30 seconds.
- Pour the drumsticks into the wok and cook for 5 minutes or enough to to sear all sides.
- Meanwhile, bring the chicken and pork stock to a boil and add the curry sauce, coconut cream, condensed milk, chicken bouillon powder, salt and curry leaves.
- Add the drumsticks, taro, sweet potatoes and onions in and cook on a medium simmer for 20 minutes.
- Serve with a squeeze of lime juice, fresh Vietnamese baguette and rice noodles!
Notes
Marinate the drumsticks overnight. For the best infused flavors, coat the meat in marinade and leave it in the fridge. If you're low on time, 20 minutes will work.
Let the chicken come to room temperature. Make sure to take the chicken out of the fridge 20 minutes prior to cooking to avoid having tough meat.
Avoid cooking the sweet potato and taro for too long. The longer they cook in the soup, the softer they become and the more likely they are to break apart.
We buy curry sauce from the Asian supermarket, which is sold in individually sealed packets as a meat or vegetarian sauce.
This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Wokandkin.com. Thanks so much!
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