Indonesian white chicken curry
Heady spices like coriander and cumin mingle with coconut milk in this lovely chicken curry, one of my favorite childhood dishes. I鈥檝e tweaked it a little to make it simpler to prepare but don鈥檛 worry, it鈥檚 just as tasty.
The slow oven technique (thank you and for sparking the idea!) mimics my mom鈥檚 more traditional method鈥搒he slow-braises her chicken on the stovetop for hours until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender! Don鈥檛 crank up the temp too high or the coconut milk will curdle. You can also add green beans and carrots for a no-fuss veggie accompaniment to the meal.
Indonesian white chicken curry
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 whole cloves
1 (3-1/2 to 4) pound chicken
Fine sea salt
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
1 can water
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar
6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
Chubby 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into 4 pieces
2 ounces shallots, roughly chopped
1 stalk lemongrass,
6 to 8 dried chilies
Garnish:
Cilantro
Parsley
Green onions
Fried shallots
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Preheat a small cast-iron skillet for 2 to 3 minutes on high, or until smoking. Reduce the heat to medium and add the black peppercorns, coriander and cumin. Toast until aromatic and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and let cool. Grind the spices in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Or put the whole spices in a spice bag.
3. Pour the coconut milk and water into a large Dutch oven or cocotte large enough to fit the chicken. Add the ground spices, salt, and sugar, and stir to mix. Drop in the garlic, ginger slices, shallots, lemongrass, and dried chilies.
4. Rub 1 teaspoon salt all over the chicken and place it in the Dutch oven breast side-up.
5. Cover and slow-braise in the oven for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, carefully flipping the chicken halfway, until the chicken measures 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer and is extremely tender. Garnish with cilantro, parsley and/or green onions, and fried shallots. Serve with steamed rice or noodles.
Notes:
Whole spices offer the best flavor but if you have ground spices in the pantry, by all means use them. However, ground and whole spices aren鈥檛 1:1 in weight or volume. It all depends on the spice but for e.g., 1 teaspoon coriander seeds equals about 3/4 teaspoons ground. This has conversion recommendations.
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