Ca Ri Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Curry)

Ingredients

• 800 g chicken thigh, boneless and cut into large chunks
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 4 garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 lemongrass, stalks bruised and cut into 5 cm lengths
• 6 dl chicken stock
• 450 g sweet potato, cut into 3 cm chunks
• 2 carrot, cut into thick diagonal slices
• 4 dl coconut milk
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 4 tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 baguette, cut into lengths

Method

1. 1.

   Marinate the chicken in curry — Toss the chicken chunks with the curry powder, turmeric, half the garlic, the ginger and 1 tbsp of the fish sauce until every piece is coated in yellow. Leave to marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes.

2. 2.

   Brown the chicken — Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken in two batches, about 4 minutes each, until the edges are deep gold. Return it all to the pot.

3. 3.

   Sweat the onion and lemongrass — Add the onion, lemongrass and remaining garlic and fry for 3 minutes, until the onion slumps and the pot smells strongly of lemongrass. Scrape up the spiced crust stuck to the base as you stir.

4. 4.

   Simmer in the stock — Pour in the stock, bring to a bare simmer, cover and cook gently for 15 minutes so the thighs start to give.

5. 5.

   Add the root vegetables — Add the sweet potato and carrot, cover again and simmer for 15 minutes, until a knife slides into the sweet potato without resistance but the chunks still hold their shape.

6. 6.

   Finish with coconut milk — Stir in the coconut milk, the remaining fish sauce and the sugar and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, until the sauce is silky but still loose enough to pool. Fish out the lemongrass, scatter with cilantro and serve with baguette for dipping.