This was my first attempt to recreate a Vietnamese curry that I loved in Vancouver; however, the curry from my memories had large meatballs while this is a more traditional cà ri gà – a chicken curry. Still, it was delicious and a relatively quick curry with a short ingredient list to make on a weekday; it really helped with my curry craving that day! We sopped up the gravy with a baguette, as is done in Vietnam (so I’ve read, I’ve not been) but you can also serve it with rice or noodles.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

I didn’t have a proper Vietnamese curry powder (I found a photo of this brand but I have no idea what is available in London)and so, on the advice I found online, substituted a very yellow (yup, lots of turmeric) Malaysian curry powder (Yeo’s brand in the packet). If you need a bit more heat, add some chili paste in but check first if you’re using a Malaysian powder – most have some chilli powder in the blend. Do make sure you give it as long a simmer as you can; too short a time and you’ll still be able to taste the raw spices.

Vietnamese Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry
adapted from this recipe.
serves 2-3.

Approx. 500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and cut into large chunks
1 large orange-fleshed sweet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large potato (floury), peeled
2 large shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stick lemongrass, left whole but smashed
a thumb sized lump of ginger, minced
4 tbsps curry powder
2 tbsps sunflower oil
160 mL coconut milk
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsps fish sauce
salt
2 spring onions, finely sliced
a few sprigs of coriander

Mix the chunks of thigh fillet together with 2 tbsps of the curry powder and a good pinch of salt. Set aside.

Prepare all your vegetables. Cut the potato in half and then chop one half into large chunks and cut the other half into small pieces. These small pieces will help thicken the curry.

Heat a pot over medium heat and add the sunflower oil to heat. When hot, add the shallots, garlic and ginger and saute until the shallots are soft and the ginger and garlic are fragrant. Add the rest of the curry powder and the lemongrass and continue frying for a couple of minutes.

Throw in the chicken and cook until no raw bits appear. Add the coconut milk and then cover with water. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Add the vegetables, add water if required (to cover them all) and continue simmering – probably another 20-30 minutes. The vegetables should be soft and the smaller bits of potato disintegrating into the sauce. As well, there shouldn’t be a raw curry powder flavour to the curry; if there is, continue simmering, adding water if it gets too thick.

Stir in the sugar, fish sauce and salt to taste. Dish out into bowls and top with the spring onion and coriander.

Serve with white rice or noodles or a baguette on the side.