Coconut Chicken Curry Recipe • 5★

Recipe from Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy

Adapted by Genevieve Ko

Published January 5, 2021

Julia Gartland for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)

Curry powder is stirred into this braise only during the last minute of cooking, delivering a bright hit of spice on top of the paprika and turmeric mellowed into the slow-simmered chicken. This dish from “Burma Superstar” by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy (Ten Speed Press, 2017), needs time on the stove but not much attention, and gets even better after resting in the fridge, making it an ideal weeknight meal that can last days. There’s plenty of coconut milk broth to spoon over rice or noodles. At his restaurant, Burma Superstar in Oakland, Calif., Mr. Tan also serves this with platha, a buttery, flaky Burmese flatbread, for dipping. —Genevieve Ko

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2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 tablespoon ground paprika

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

⅓ cup canola oil

2 yellow onions, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (13-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk

1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce, plus more as needed

1 teaspoon Madras curry powder

½ teaspoon ground cayenne

Cooked rice or noodles, for serving

1 cup cilantro sprigs, for serving

1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Step 1Trim the chicken thighs of excess fat and cut into ½- to 1-inch pieces; transfer to a bowl. Add the paprika, turmeric and salt, and use your hands to mix well. Let the chicken marinate at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients, or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Trim the chicken thighs of excess fat and cut into ½- to 1-inch pieces; transfer to a bowl. Add the paprika, turmeric and salt, and use your hands to mix well. Let the chicken marinate at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients, or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Step 2In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high. Stir in the onions, lower the heat to medium-low and cook gently, stirring often to prevent scorching, until tender and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring often, until most of the water from the onions has been cooked out and a glossy layer of oil has risen to the surface, about 5 minutes more.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high. Stir in the onions, lower the heat to medium-low and cook gently, stirring often to prevent scorching, until tender and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring often, until most of the water from the onions has been cooked out and a glossy layer of oil has risen to the surface, about 5 minutes more.

Step 3Add the marinated chicken and stir to release the spices into the onion. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a near boil. Let the coconut milk simmer briskly for about 4 minutes to thicken a bit. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the fish sauce. Stir in 1 ½ cups water and bring to a near boil. The broth will thin out as the chicken starts to release its juices.

Add the marinated chicken and stir to release the spices into the onion. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a near boil. Let the coconut milk simmer briskly for about 4 minutes to thicken a bit. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the fish sauce. Stir in 1 ½ cups water and bring to a near boil. The broth will thin out as the chicken starts to release its juices.

Step 4Lower to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Droplets of paprika-red oil will rise to the surface. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne, simmer briefly and remove from the heat.

Lower to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Droplets of paprika-red oil will rise to the surface. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne, simmer briefly and remove from the heat.

Step 5If time permits, let the curry sit for at least 20 minutes before serving. This allows the chicken to soak in more flavors as the curry cools. Bring to a simmer again right before serving and taste, adding more salt or fish sauce if desired. Serve over rice or noodles, with bowls of cilantro and lime wedges.

If time permits, let the curry sit for at least 20 minutes before serving. This allows the chicken to soak in more flavors as the curry cools. Bring to a simmer again right before serving and taste, adding more salt or fish sauce if desired. Serve over rice or noodles, with bowls of cilantro and lime wedges.

A list of ingredients is good, but I also wish recipes were written like this:

Trim 2 ½ pounds chicken thighs of excess fat and cut into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces; transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon ground paprika, ½ teaspoon turmeric and 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and use your hands to mix well. ... In a large pot, heat ⅓ cup canola oil over medium-high. Stir in 2 yellow onions, finely diced ... add 4 garlic cloves, minced, and continue to cook ... add 1 (13-ounce) can unsweetened coconut

A Cantonese take on Thai. Very good, very bland. So I doubled & pounded the garlic, grated a 1 1/2" piece of ginger, used 3 tbsp fish sauce, used 2 tbsp of Thai red curry paste (not the cayenne) & 1 full tsp turmeric, added the zest of 1 lime, & sauteed in coconut oil. Also used good chicken stock instead of water, reducing the amount to 1 cup. Served with chopped cilantro & lime wedges. Delicious, though NOT as written.

I also wish that recipe writers were more specific about onions. Yellow onions range widely in size, so cups or ounces or grams would be much appreciated in the interest of following the recipe precisely! Geez!

I made this dish this evening and it was incredible! Everyone at the table loved it. I'm excited to try Ginger and I totally forgot the lime, but it was still absolutely incredibly delicious. I was a little nervous when I saw the amount of water, but then I realized that if I turned the simmer up a little bit and let it cook down. We made it all the way to the 45 minutes and the sauce was perfect. So, my comment to those who say that it was watery is that maybe you need to turn the heat up a little bit and simmer the liquid out. I don't know if I had MADRAS curry, and interestingly, they didn't say that they had it at the local health food store! This was amazing and I served it with asparagus on the side.

This is such a simple recipe but sooooo delicious. I cut down the chicken to 1 1/4 pounds - it was plenty. I did not find this bland at all. I might have added a bit more cayenne.

Tasty dish but the sauce is pretty thin - I recommend using chicken broth instead of water. I also added chopped broccoli for some color and vitamins. Great addition.

Adapted from “Burma Superstar” by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy (Ten Speed Press, 2017)

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021760-coconut-chicken-curry