Thai Red Curry Chicken

Chakapope’s Thai Red Curry Chicken

This is my friend and colleague, Chakapope (Chuck) Sirirathasuk's Thai Red Curry Chicken dish. He is originally from Thailand and his recipe is exceptional, although I have yet to master it. He lists soy sauce as an ingredient and I think he meant fish sauce. Either that or I was using a different brand than he did. I have since read, compared to Chinese or Japanese soy sauces, Thai soy sauce is a little lighter in both color and body and has a distinctly different aroma and flavor. There is a bit of heat to red curry paste so add a smaller amount if you prefer. Serve over cooked white rice.

FMM Note: you have to cook the Thai curry for a few seconds all by itself prior to adding the coconut milk. This allows for the aroma of the spices to be released.

2 teaspoons oil for sautéing the paste
2 tablespoon Thai red curry paste - he uses Mae Ploy brand
1 stalk of lemongrass
4-5 leaves of Thai lime leaves - in freezer section
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk - his favorite is Chef’s Choice, ChaoKao is good too
1 lb skinless chicken meat, cut into pieces
1 cup of chicken broth
1 TBL mushroom soy sauce* [use fish sauce instead]

[omit - I think this is why it did not taste like his; our Thai Coconut Soup with Shrimp does not use soy sauce and tastes very similar to Chakapope’s red curry chicken; also I have not found a recipe for This Red Curry Chicken that uses soy sauce. I think he meant fish sauce; this is what other recipes use. One recipe even says fish sauce is a must in Thai curries.]

1 tsp sugar [some recipes use brown sugar - in Thailand they use palm sugar]
1/2 cup sliced carrots, julienne
1 white onion quartered then halved
1/2 cup of slice bamboo shoot - Comes in a 14 – 15 oz can
1/2 cup of Straw mushroom - Comes in a 14 – 15 oz can,  can replace with shitake mushroom
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
6 ounce of Thai basil
He also loves putting 1/4 cup of julienne scallion

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Put in the curry paste and stir for a minute [unti it is aromatic]. Put in the lemongrass and the lime leaves.

Without shaking the coconut milk – open the can and scoop out the harden part on the top. Put in the scooped out coconut milk and stir gently for a minute.

Add the chicken pieces and cook and stir for about 2 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add the chicken broth, soy sauce [fish sauce instead?] and sugar. Cook for a few minutes. Taste and add more soy? and/or sugar to your liking.

Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add chicken, carrot, onion, bamboo shoot, mushroom and red bell pepper and turn up the heat to medium.

Cook until chicken is done.  About 6-8 minutes depend on the size of the cut. Stir once or twice.

Add the rest of the coconut milk, basil and scallion. Let boil for one minute.

Serve over cooked white rice. Bon appetite

*Note: This is a dark soy sauce that is infused with either dried straw mushrooms or (less common) dried Chinese black mushrooms. It’s used in place of dark soy sauce to add an earthy flavor to dishes, and also as a table condiment. Feel free to try using it as a replacement for regular dark soy sauce in recipes, particularly red cooked dishes.