Healthier Easy Thai Chicken Curry Chiang Mai Style 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.

CHIANG MAI CURRIED NOODLES (KHAO SOI GAI)

Steps:

• First, make the pickled chilli & shallots: Put the chilli and shallots in a small bowl and pour the vinegar over. Add some salt and let it sit to pickle while you make the curry.
• In a large saucepan, heat the 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Add the curry paste and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for 5 mins, then add the curry powder and chilli flakes. Cook for 1 min more, then add the coconut milk, coconut cream, stock, fish sauce and lime juice. Bring to a simmer.
• Chop the chicken into pieces and add to the curry. Cook for 15 mins or until tender.
• Boil some water in a large saucepan for the noodles. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a small wok - it's ready when a small piece of bread sizzles when dropped in. Add 75g of the noodles to the wok in 4 batches until they bubble up and go crispy. Use a wire mesh ladle or slotted spoon to remove them and drain on kitchen paper.
• Boil the remaining noodles for 2-3 mins until al dente, then drain. Divide the noodles between 4 bowls. Pour the curry over each and top with coriander, beansprouts, some drained pickled chilli & shallots, spring onions and a drizzle of chilli oil. Top with the crisp noodles and devour while it's hot.

CHIANG MAI ROAST CHICKEN (KAI YAANG)

Steps:

• Make the Sweet Chile Dipping Sauce: To a small saucepan, add water, vinegar, and sugar; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, roughly slice chiles and garlic. Place in a food processor with salt and pulse to a rough chop; add to the pot. Turn heat to low to maintain a steady simmer and cook, uncovered, until the liquid thickens slightly and becomes just slightly syrupy, 8-12 minutes. Cool to room temperature. The sauce will thicken further as it cools. Makes ¾ cup. You can store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for months; the flavor improves as the ingredients continue to meld.
• Make the Tamarind Dipping Sauce: To a small saucepan, add water, palm sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind paste. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Add chile powder; whisk to break up the palm sugar and tamarind pulp. Continue cooking on a low simmer, 5-8 minutes. Pour dipping sauce into a bowl and cool to room temperature. Makes about 1½ cups. You can store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for weeks.
• Make the Fried Shallot Oil: Set a fine-mesh strainer over a heat proof bowl. Set aside. Pour oil into a shallow pan a half-inch high. Set pan over high heat until oil is lightly bubbling, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the shallots by peeling, slicing in half, then thinly slicing with the grain into a julienne. When the oil is bubbling, turn heat to low and add the shallots and stir. Don't be tempted to rush the process with high heat: cook, stirring and scraping the sides occasionally and adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle sizzle, 5-10 minutes.
• When the oil stops bubbling and the shallots are starting to brown but still look raw, turn off heat. The residual heat will continue cooking the shallots. Continue stirring and flipping the shallots until they are a deep golden brown and crispy, another 1-2 minutes. Pour shallot oil through the strainer, reserving the flavorful oil. Gently shake the strainer to remove as much oil as possible, then transfer the shallots to paper towels to drain and cool in an even layer. As they cool down, they'll crisp up. Makes about ¼ cup fried shallots and ½ cup shallot oil. Storage: Fried shallots can be stored in a container, uncovered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. Alternatively, cool the shallots completely, then place into an airtight container with a silica gel packet (available online) to keep fresh for several weeks. Shallot oil can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
• Brine: Whisk salt and sugar with 10 cups water in a large mixing bowl until the sugar and salt fully dissolve, 5 minutes.
• Slice lemongrass into 2-inch pieces; slice a 1-inch piece of ginger; place in mortar. Add white peppercorns, then lightly pound to bruise and slightly crush. Add to the brine. Place garlic cloves in the mortar; lightly pound and add to the brine. Roughly chop cilantro stems, briefly pound in mortar, and add to brine. Cut green onions into 3-inch pieces and add to brine.
• Place chicken breast-side down in a Dutch oven. Pour brine over the chicken to submerge. (If chicken isn't completely submerged, weigh it down with a plate.) Cover and refrigerate, 4-6 hours.
• Stuffing: Trim lemongrass ends and remove woody outer layer; slice into ⅛-inch rings. Firmly pound in the mortar until fragrant, 10 seconds. Add the salt and pepper, pound briefly. Roughly chop garlic with peel, add to mortar and pound, about 10 seconds. Roughly chop cilantro stems before adding to mortar and pestle; pound to lightly bruise. (Note: You can also use a food processor and pulse a couple times.)
• Remove chicken and discard the brine. Place chicken upright, cavity-side down, in a colander to drain. After draining, place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire rack; tuck wings under the breast. Spoon stuffing into the cavity. Place chicken, uncovered, back into the refrigerator to dry out, 6-8 hours.
• Marinade: In a small bowl, stir fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and pepper until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove chicken from refrigerator after 6 hours. Brush liberally with marinade on the top and sides (it's not necessary to brush the underside). Place chicken back in refrigerator, uncovered, 2 more hours.Basting glaze: In a small bowl, stir together honey and water. Set aside. 1 hour before roasting chicken, preheat oven to 350 F, preferably convection. (If your chicken is on the larger side, raise the heat to 375 F.)
• Roast chicken: Remove chicken from refrigerator, place directly into the oven, and roast for 15-20 minutes. Raise temperature to 400 F, baste chicken with fried shallot oil, rotate pan and continue roasting, 15 minutes. Raise temperature to 425 F, baste again with shallot oil, rotate pan and continue roasting, 15 minutes. Baste with honey glaze, rotate pan and roast for a final 7-8 minutes. (Total roasting time will be about 1 hour.)
• Chicken is done when skin is glossy and golden brown, and a thermometer inserted between the leg and thigh registers 155 F. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes. (Chicken will continue cooking as it rests.)
• Serve: Place rested chicken on a cutting board. Using a cleaver or sharp knife, split chicken down the center of the breast bone. Turn chicken halves onto their sides; one half at a time, cut the wings off, followed by legs and thighs at the joint. Then, cut between the joint of each leg and thigh. Cut each breast into three pieces. Serve on a platter with Sweet Chile Dipping sauce and Tamarind Dipping Sauce. (Note: Stuffing is meant to be an aromatic-it's not inedible, but it shouldn't be eaten.)

CHIANG MAI NOODLES (THAI CHICKEN KHAO SOI)

Steps:

• Preheat a Dutch oven or 4-quart (or larger) heavy soup pot over medium-low heat until it feels warm. Add the curry paste, oil, shallot, ginger, and dry spice seasonings - coriander, turmeric, cumin, and garam masala powder. Saute over medium-low heat for 1 minute.
• Add ½ cup coconut cream and keep sauteing over medium-low heat until you can see the oil starts surfacing to the top and is separated from the paste, about 3 minutes or longer. Stir often with a wooden spoon so that the paste won't get burnt.
• Add the chicken and gently stir to coat the curry paste over the drumsticks. Add the remaining coconut cream, water, fish sauce, sugar, and lime leaves, if using. Give it a stir then cover the pot and bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Then, lower the heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, cook the noodles in a separate pot, following the package instructions.
• Once the chicken has fallen off the bone tender, taste and start seasoning the broth further with fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice to taste. The flavor should be savory, sweet, a little spicy, and zesty sour flavor.
• To serve, you can shred the chicken or serve a whole drumstick as people do in Thailand. Add the boiled noodles to individual serving bowls with chicken and a few spoonfuls of hot broth. Garnish with fried shallots, pickled chinese mustard greens, sliced shallots, and bean sprouts, if using. Serve with extra lime wedges on the side. Serve hot.

HEALTHIER, EASY THAI CHICKEN CURRY- CHIANG MAI STYLE

Steps:

• Mix chicken with curry paste, fish sauce, palm sugar and curry powder. Mix well. And leave for 30minutes (or longer).
• Put oil in a wok and saute the chicken and marinade until the outside of the chicken starts to turn white.
• Add water and bring it to the boil.
• Add 3/4 of the peanuts, 3/4 of the ginger and tamarind juice. Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce becomes thick (add more water if the sauce is too thick).
• Garnish with remaining slices of ginger and peanuts.
• Serve with steaming rice.

CHIANG MAI CURRY NOODLES (KAO SOI)

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and then add the garlic. Toss well and add the red curry paste, mashing and stirring to soften it in the oil, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook 1 to 2 minutes, tossing now and then to brown it evenly and mix it with the curry paste.
• Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, turmeric, soy sauce, sugar and salt and stir well. Bring to a gentle boil and adjust heat to maintain a lively simmer. Cook about 10 minutes until meat is cooked through.
• Stir in lime juice, remove from heat and cover to keep curry warm while you prepare the noodles.
• Cook the noodles in a large pot of rapidly boiling water until tender but still firm, as little as 2 minutes for fresh noodles and 7 minutes or more for dried. Drain, rinse well in cold water, drain again and divide the noodles among individual serving bowls. Ladle on hot curry, and sprinkle each serving with the shallots, cilantro and green onions. Serve hot and garnish with crunchy noodle nests as noted in description if using.

CHIANG MAI CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• Dice the chicken into 1/2" cubes.
• Heat the oil, fry the garlic for 1 minute.
• Add curry paste and fry for 2 minutes.
• Add the rest of the ingredients as well as 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 1 hour (if using pork, simmer 1 1/2 hour).
• Serve with steamed rice (jasmine or basmati).

CHIANG MAI CURRY NOODLES

Steps:

• heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat, and then add garlic. toss well and add red curry paste, mashing and stirring to soften it in the oil, about 1 minute add chicken and cook 1-2 min, tossing now and then to brown it evenly and mix it with curry paste. add coconut milk, chicken broth, turmeric or curry powder, soy sauce, sugar, and salt and stir well. bring to gentle boil and adjust heat to maintain lively simmer. cook about 10 min, until meat is cooked through. stir in lime juice, remove from heat, and cover to keep curry warm.
• cook noodles in large pot of rapidly boiling water, until tender but still firm, as little as 2 minutes for fresh chinese noodles. drain, rinse well in cold water, drain again, and divide the noodles among individual serving bowls. ladle on hot curry and sprinkle each serving bowl with shallots, cilantro, and green onions. serve hot.