Chicken in Creamy Red Curry Sauce

It’s been quite some time since I posted anything cooking related.

For this evening’s meal I put together chicken cooked in a red curry sauce. I browsed a few recipes to get some ideas and refresh my memory as to the different spice combinations and cooking methods.

I had some bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in the freezer. I have plenty of potatoes. I also had about a cup of cream left in a container. Finally I had a few carrots in the refrigerator. All of that combined with the usual suspects –onion, garlic, ginger, spices – should do the trick. I wanted red curry, not yellow curry, so I used some bright, red paprika and omitted the turmeric. One of the recipes employed white vinegar, but I had a can of diced tomatoes lying around, so I used that to add the acidity to the curry.

If the chicken was already defrosted and I had enough time, I probably would have marinated the chicken, or at least let it sit in brine, but I didn’t have time for that so the chicken turned out a bit bland all by itself. It was fine though eaten with the sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. potatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 inches fresh ginger, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 large onion, chopped medium
• salt
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. cardamom seeds
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
• black pepper
• 4-5 carrots, large dice
• 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)
• 1 cup whipping or heavy cream
• More salt to taste

Directions

1. “Bake” potatoes in microwave (many microwaves have a “baked potato” setting – that is what I used). Let cool. Peel and dice into 1-inch chunks.
2. Place garlic and ginger pieces in food processor. Add 2-3 Tbsp. water and process until paste is formed. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large sauté pan (I use a 13-inch pan with 2.5-inch high sides with a lid) over medium-high heat. When hot, place chicken pieces in pan and brown, about 5-6 minutes per side. (Use a splatter screen.) Remove and set aside.
4. Without removing pan from heat, add onions into the chicken juices and fat, sprinkle with about 1 tsp. salt, and cook until they become slightly softened. Move onions to the sides of pan and in the open space in center, pour in the garlic-ginger paste. Stir and fry until most of the liquid has evaporated. Combine with the onions and continue to fry until onions are translucent.
5. Move the onion mixture to the sides of pan once more. Pour in the spices (cumin through black pepper) in the open area, stir and fry for about half a minute, then combine with the onions. Stir and fry another minute longer.
6. Add the tomatoes, their juice, cream, and carrots. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low. Add potatoes and stir gently to combine. Taste sauce and add more salt if desired.
7. Return chicken pieces to pan, skin side up, creating holes in the pan contents so that chicken sits well in the sauce, but without covering the skin. Simmer 18-20 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.