I love Vietnamese food! But whether I’m ordering it at a restaurant or cooking it at home, I either have pork or seafood. I’m not sure I’ve ever ordered or made a chicken dish. That needs to change, and I’ve found the perfect recipe to do that. I’m also excited that get to try deep frying the vegetables. It’s something I never do, and I always love trying new things. Let’s give this chicken curry recipe a whirl!
This post was originally published on March 20, 2018. The text and photos were updated on August 11, 2021. The review and rating have not been changed.
Although there is some waiting involved with the marinade and extra care taken with the root vegetables, this curry recipe is fairly easy to make. This is, yet another recipe, that I have been lucky enough to grow up eating as a child.
The Ingredients
The most exotic item needed for this chicken curry recipe was lemongrass, and my usual grocery store doesn’t carry it. That meant a special trip to Whole Foods, so I decided to buy everything I needed there. It was pricier than Publix for sure, but sometimes convenience is worth a little extra.
I’m glad this recipe is flexible as to what cut of chicken can be used. I wanted to try chicken breasts with the bone and skin, but I don’t own a meat cleaver. There’s no way I could have cut chicken with bones into small pieces for this curry.
The first time I made this recipe, I opted to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead since that is my husband’s favorite cut. When I decided to update this post, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Turns out we both liked the thighs better as they were more flavorful and juicy.
I also made a change to the curry powder I used when I updated this post. On my first try, I used a bottle of generic curry powder. This time, I wanted to stay as true to the recipe as possible and get the recommended brand.
However, in the recipe posts’ comments, I found out the brand of curry powder the author recommends, D&D Gold, has changed their recipe. There were a lot of complaints about it. I did some research, though, and found a brand that is comparable (at least based on the comments I read). It is Quoc Viet Foods Curry Soup Base, and it made a huge difference in the flavor!
The Process
This chicken curry recipe took a while to prepare, but the effort was very much worth it. Here’s how the times broke down:
- 5 minutes to make the marinade and cut up the chicken
- 4 hours to marinate the chicken (The second time I made this recipe, I marinated the chicken for 2 hours, and it was just as good.)
- 10 minutes to prep the vegetables
- 52 minutes to cook
- 5 hours 7 minutes total
The Prep Work
The first part of this recipe was very easy. I had the chicken cut up and marinating in the spice mixture within 5 minutes. I took it out of the refrigerator just before the 4 hours was up so it could come up to room temperature. That’s when I prepped the vegetables, and I let the oil for deep frying them heat up at the same time.
Frying the Vegetables & Chicken
Let’s talk deep frying. I don’t have a fryer, so I used a 32-ounce bottle of canola oil in a small saucepan with the heat set on 8 (out of 10). As a result, I had to fry the vegetables in 3-4 batches for 5-10 minutes before they just started to turn golden. I was surprised at how not greasy they were when they were done, but I still drained them in a mixing bowl lined with paper towels.
One more thing about frying the vegetables: Step 3 says to fry the onions and carrots, but that should be potatoes and carrots. The author specifies that in his post, so ‘onions’ is a typo. Update: The author has corrected the recipe.
I browned the chicken in a large pot while the vegetables were frying. It sounds like a lot going on at once, but it really wasn’t. It was pretty easy to do with the long breaks between the batches of vegetables, and I had both ready at the same time.
Assembling the Curry
Then it was time to put it all together. I used a 5.3-quart pot, and it was barely big enough to hold everything. And I did have to use the full 3 cups each of chicken broth and water to cover all the meat and vegetables. Next time I’ll use a larger pot—at least 6 quarts.
My chicken curry turned out to be very yellow, whereas the author’s pictures show a redder color. I’m guessing the yellow was from the curry powder I used. You might have different results.
