Braised Chicken With Coconut Milk And Curry Recipes

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 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.

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.

CHICKEN CURRY WITH SWEET POTATOES AND COCONUT MILK

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil. Brown chicken pieces, in batches if necessary, until golden all over, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a plate.
• Stir scallion, ginger, garlic and chiles into pot and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in curry paste and cook 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk and sweet potatoes. Arrange chicken pieces on top of potatoes, placing breast meat on top. Pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of chicken. Bring to a boil. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large dry skillet over medium heat, toast coconut flakes until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mustard seeds and toast until they begin to pop, 1 minute more. Transfer to a bowl and season with a pinch of salt.
• Transfer chicken and sweet potatoes to a platter. Return Dutch oven to the stove and simmer over medium-high heat until cooking liquid has thickened to a saucelike consistency, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle with the coconut and mustard seed mixture and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing.