In Southeast Asia, most curry is made by first preparing the spice paste, also known as rempah. The spice paste usually consists of shallots, garlic, ginger, chili, candlenuts, lemongrass and spices like cumin, coriander, and turmeric. The spice paste is then fried in a generous amount oil to get it fragrant before the meat, vegetables and liquid are added, and then simmered into perfection.
As you can probably tell, the process of making your own rempah takes time and effort, so to make things quicker and easier, ready-made curry paste became the answer. And it’s not that it’s not good, in fact I grew up eating curry chicken made with ready-made curry paste and I found them delicious. But when we moved, I only brought one packet of ready-made curry paste with us, and this became a precious commodity, so precious that I decided to try making curry from scratch.
Jump to: Step-by-Step Photos · Recipe
Luckily for me, I found a recipe that does not require me to make the rempah from scratch totally – it’s made with onion, garlic, ginger and curry powder. I found the curry powder I bought is not spicy, so I added a bit of chili flakes (would have used fresh chili but I have none) into the curry paste as well. Which curry powder to use? All I can say is, use one that you like. I simply used one that is on sale in the supermarket and I like how it turned out – fragrant, spicy and so addictive!
The next question is, what do I serve with my curry? There’s rice, noodles, bread, naan etc, but to me, besides rice, the best thing to serve with curry is prata. Prata is a pan-fried pancake that is flaky, crispy and extremely delicious with curry. It’s a popular dish in Singapore and Malaysia but because of the fact that it’s fried in a too-generous amount of oil, I seldom eat it – and now I’m missing it very much!
So to satisfy my craving, I tried out the prata recipe by Dr Leslie Tay from I Eat I Shoot I Post. It’s not a very successful attempt, so no recipe for it, but they look good for the photos and they satisfied my cravings for a while. If I ever do succeed in making them… it will be such a huge achievement!
We had leftover curry so I reheated them the next day and served it with rice, fried egg and stir-fried vegetables. Drenching the rice with a tremendous amount of curry sauce is very shiok! Okay, I shall not blabber anymore, here’s how to make the curry!
Step-by-step Photos | |
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| 1) Peel and roughly chop onion, garlic and ginger. | 2) Blend in a food processor into a fine paste. Alternatively, you can do it in a pestle and mortar. |
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| 3) Add water to curry powder. | 4) Stir to form a paste. |
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| 5) Add in the onion-garlic-ginger and mix into the curry paste. | 6) Rinse and drain the chicken parts (using chicken drumsticks here). |
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| 7) Add in 2/3 of the curry paste. | 8) Mix well and marinate for at least 2 hours. |
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| 9) Fry the remaining curry paste in oil until fragrant and colour has darkened. | 10) Add in the chicken. |
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| 11) Fry for another 5 minutes, flipping the chicken frequently. | 12) Add in water. |
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| 13) Followed by coconut cream and bring to a boil. | 14) Add in potatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender. |
Edit 16/6/2015: Forgot to mention, this post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up (June 2015: Cream) organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe!
Curry Chicken (Curry Powder Version)
INGREDIENTS
Curry Paste
Curry
- About 600 grams chicken drumsticks, 4 pieces
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups water
- 3/4 cup coconut cream
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into huge chunks
- Salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Curry Paste
- Using a pestle and mortar or a blender, pound/blend ginger, garlic, onion and chili flakes (or fresh chilis) into a paste.
- Combine curry powder and water together in a bowl, then add in the ginger-garlic-onion paste. Stir well.
Curry
- Rinse and pat dry the chicken drumsticks. Place into a bowl and mix in 2/3 of the Curry Paste. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add in the remaining Curry Paste and stir-fry until fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the chicken drumsticks and stir-fry for another 5 minutes. Add in 1 1/2 cups of water and coconut cream. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer. Add in the potatoes, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Season curry to taste with salt and add in more water if you prefer a thinner curry.
- Serve curry with rice, prata or bread.
dianaquek says
I love what you cook and I love your photos! 😀
Jasline N. says
Thank you Diana! Have a great weekend ahead!
kaboom says
Do u have any recipe or have u tried the legendary “butter chicken” ? thats my fav indian cuisine and i cant seems to get it cooked right
Jasline N. says
Hi Kaboom, I love butter chicken too and I have collected a few recipes but haven’t got the chance to make them… hopefully they will have the chance to appear on the blog soon!
Zoe (@bake4happykids) says
Hi Jasline,
Wish that I can fly to Japan and enjoy these very shiok curry chicken with you :p
Zoe
Jasline N. says
Hi Zoe, I’m not in Japan haha, but I would love to fly there and meet you there!
Susan says
Spicy and delicious! A winning combination for chicken 🙂
Jasline N. says
Thank you Susan, I love cooking with chicken and curry is one of my favourite ways of cooking them!
Sharon D. says
Ooo..this is lovely, Jasline. I love how ‘rich’ it is in flavour. Awesomeness! ^.^
Jasline N. says
Thank you Sharon! Yes the curry was really gao and good over rice!
Mir says
Wow, this is all homemade! Super impressive. And the chicken drumsticks look SO good!
Jasline N. says
You flatter me Mir, as this is made with curry powder (cheat code), hopefully one day I’ll have the courage to make it 100% from scratch!
Raymund says
That looks like it packs a lot of flavour, Love it in fact that was my lunch last weekend 🙂
Jasline N. says
Thanks Raymund, glad I found another curry buddy!
Bam's Kitchen says
Now this is my idea of perfect comfort food! I bet your neighbors will be knocking at your door soon hoping that you invite them for dinner. Pinned!
Jasline N. says
Thanks Bobbi! Ooops but I didn’t cook enough to share, haha!
bentodays says
Wah this looks sooo good! Both me and hubby are big fans of curry, especially with prata or bread. This looks fabulous!
Jasline N. says
Thanks Jean! I prefer prata to bread maybe because it’s more oily… oops!
Karen (Luvswesavory) says
Hi Jasline,
I too had some quick fix of curry chicken using curry powder last weekend. Seeing your bowl of yummy curry …. I feel like having another round.
Jasline N. says
Hi Karen! Oooh when you use curry powder, does it have the oily layer of chili oil like those curry mee kind? Or is more like Indian curry style? If yours is like the former, please share the recipe with me! Thank you!
Karen (Luvswesavory) says
Hi Jasline, it’s more like Indian curry style, powdery not so oily. I used very little cooking oil. Quick & easy.
Jasline N. says
Thanks Karen! I’m still thinking if I can make the curry mee style with curry powder, but I think it’ll be quite hard!
canelakitchen says
This curry chicken look wonderful! Just delicious1!!
Jasline N. says
Thanks Gloria!
Charmaine@MimiBakeryHouse says
Im here for my late supper….yummy yummy yummy…hadnt had curry for a while cos i hadnt been cooking any dishes since 2 weeks ago…
Jasline N. says
No problem Charmaine, curry and prata for supper is super shiok. Woah 2 weeks no need to cook, I also wish I can have such a break too!