Braised Chicken With Coconut Milk And Curry Food

THAI CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper.
• Melt the coconut oil over medium-high heat in a large, ovenproof skillet. Add the chicken and sear on both sides until deeply golden brown. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the bell pepper, leek, garlic, and ginger, and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, until slightly softened.
• Stir in the curry paste. Cook for 5 additional minutes, stirring often. Slowly pour in the coconut milk while stirring to combine. Return the reserved chicken to the skillet.
• Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. The chicken will be fully cooked when a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees F, and the juices run clear. (Note: Smaller chicken breasts may be done closer to the 15-minute mark.)
• Top with cilantro. Serve with rice and fresh sourdough bread for mopping up the sauce if desired.

COCONUT CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• Trim the chicken thighs of excess fat and cut into 1/2- 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.
• 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.
• 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 1/2 cups water and bring to a near boil. The broth will thin out as the chicken starts to release its juices.
• 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.
• 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.

ONE-POT BRAISED CHICKEN WITH COCONUT MILK, TOMATO AND GINGER

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry and season with salt and pepper. In a deep 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook, undisturbed, until nicely browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and brown the other side, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Turn heat to medium-low, add the onion and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, cinnamon and red-pepper flakes, and cook until the garlic and the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt.
• Add the tomatoes with their juices and the coconut milk, and stir until combined, scraping up any brown bits that have formed at the bottom of the pan. Nestle the chicken back into the skillet along with any juices that have accumulated. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide the rice, if using, among bowls and plate the chicken on top, spooning additional sauce over it. Scatter with cilantro and a squeeze of lime, if you like.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH COCONUT MILK AND CURRY

Steps:

• Pat the chicken pieces dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Pour enough oil into a large dutch oven to cover the bottom. Heat over medium high and lay as many pieces of chicken in the pan that will fit without crowding. Cook, turning as necessary, until browned on all sides. Adjust the heat to keep the the oil sizzling but not too hot. Remove chicken from the pot and repeat with the remaining pieces.
• Pour off all but 1/4 c of the fat from the pot. Add the sofrito, curry powder, and cloves and cook until the liquid has evaporated and the sofrito is sizzling. Lower the heat and whisk in the flour, then continue whisking until the flour absorbs all of the oil. Slowly pour in the chicken broth and coconut milk while continuing to whisk. Season lightly with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat.
• Return the chicken to the pot, and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 25 minutes. Check the chicken a few times as it cooks to make sure the sauce is staying at a gentle simmer. Turn the chicken pieces over and move them around a bit too in order to make sure everything cooks evenly.
• Serve chicken and sauce over rice.

COCONUT MILK-BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place a rack in top third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Stir coconut milk and curry paste in a 3-qt. baking dish to combine (or, use a medium skillet if that's what you've got). Add lemongrass, ginger, and garlic.
• Season chicken with salt (hold back a bit since curry pastes often have a lot of salt). Place in baking dish and spoon some liquid over. Bake, occasionally spooning liquid over, until chicken is browned, tender, and cooked throughout (the joint should be reasonably easy to flex), 60-75 minutes.
• Transfer chicken and sauce to a platter. Top with coconut flakes and cilantro. Serve with rice and lime wedges alongside.