← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 1.3 kg bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, chopped into large pieces
• 2½ tbsp mild curry powder (Vietnamese or Madras)
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• 1½ tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Shallot, minced
• 4 lemongrass stalks, 1 finely minced, 3 cut into lengths and bruised
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 600 g Sweet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 2 Carrot, cut into thick chunks
• 1 Onion, cut into wedges
• 600 ml water or chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves or curry leaves
• 400 ml coconut milk, divided
• 1 tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 bunch Thai basil
• crusty baguette or rice vermicelli, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Rub the chicken with the curry powder, turmeric, salt, sugar, half the garlic and shallot and the minced lemongrass. Leave for 30 min, or overnight in the fridge.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Fry the sweet potato for 5 min until lightly golden on the edges (this helps it hold its shape), then lift it out.
3. In the same oil, fry the rest of the garlic and shallot and the onion for 2 min. Add the chicken and brown it for 5 min, turning, until the spices smell toasty.
4. Pour in the water, add the bruised lemongrass and bay leaves and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for 20 min.
5. Add the carrot, sweet potato and three-quarters of the coconut milk. Simmer uncovered for 15–20 min until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is falling from the bone (75°C / 165°F).
6. Stir in the rest of the coconut milk and the fish sauce and warm for 2 min without boiling hard. Taste for salt. Serve topped with Thai basil, with baguette or noodles for dipping.

Tips

• A dish of salt, pepper and lime juice on the side for dipping the chicken is the Saigon way.
• Serve it with baguette only if gluten is fine; rice vermicelli keeps it gluten-free.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Vicky Pham Delightful Plate Hungry Huy