Chicken Penang Curry

We have another dish that confuses us with its origins! Named after the Malaysian island of Penang, this dish is well known across central & southern Thailand.

I'm a real fan of making life easier by using quality, ready made curry paste, though there are certain Thai curries for which I highly recommend you make the paste fresh, such as my Chiang Mai Thai Curry recipe, which would simply not be the same without the bold flavours that can only be found with fresh ingredients.

When using ready made curry paste, I would only use brands that I know are authentic & preferably made in the recipe's country of origin. For me, there's nothing worse than a westernised version of an exotic dish. It often lacks the subtle flavours and intensity of spice that the original version provides. This is an incredibly easy, quick & healthy dish, perfect for a week night dinner. Serve with a side of basmati or jasmine rice. Because I love Thai food, I permanently have a jar of chillies pickled in rice wine vinegar, in the fridge. A drizzle of the vinegar & a few pickled chillies go marvellously with this dish.

4 Servings

Ingredients:

50gr Penang curry paste

2 tbsp sunflower oil

600ml coconut milk

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

700gr chicken breasts, diced

2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)

1 red pepper, sliced

A handful of fresh green bean, tops & tails removed

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat.

Add the curry paste & fry off in the oil to release the flavours. You will need to stir & scrape the bottom of the wok constantly to avoid it sticking to the bottom.

Slowly add in the coconut milk & bring to a simmer.

Add the sugar, fish sauce, chicken & kaffir lime leaves.

Simmer 5 minutes before adding the red pepper & beans.

Simmer a further 5 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through.

Chicken breast is easily over cooked so try not to cook it for too long. A good way to check is to slice in half one of the largest pieces of chicken. If it is white all the way through then it is cooked. There should be absolutely no shades of pink. Enjoy!