Hong Kong curry chicken

Name: Hong Kong curry chicken
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cantonese
Ingredients: Chicken thigh 600 g; Potato 2, about 400 g; Onion 1; Carrot 1; Curry paste 2 tbsp; Coconut milk 200 ml; Evaporated milk 2 tbsp; Fresh ginger 3 slices; Garlic 3 cloves; Shallots 3; Salt ½ tsp; Sugar 2 tsp; Cornflour 1 tsp; Superior stock 250 ml; Cooking oil 2 tbsp

咖喱雞

BraisedChickenWeeknightKids like itOne pot, one mealGood reheatedEasyhands-on 30 min · start to finish 1 hr

“Give it time. It is better again tomorrow.”

Ingredientsserves 4

街市Chicken thigh· boneless thigh in 4 cm pieces; or half a chicken chopped, or twelve wings600 g

街市Potato· peeled, in chunks2, about 400 g

街市Onion· in wedges1

街市Carrot· in chunks, optional1

雜貨舖Curry paste· plus a teaspoon of curry powder for the marinade; if using powder instead, two tablespoons of powder and a tablespoon of paste2 tbsp

雜貨舖Coconut milk200 ml

雜貨舖Evaporated milk2 tbsp

街市Fresh ginger3 slices

街市Garlic3 cloves

街市Shallots3

雜貨舖Salt· for the marinade; more to taste at the end½ tsp

雜貨舖Sugar· one to marinate, one to season2 tsp

雜貨舖Cornflour· for the marinade1 tsp

雜貨舖Superior stock· or water250 ml

雜貨舖Cooking oil2 tbsp

Method

Marinate the chicken fifteen minutes in the salt, a teaspoon of sugar, the cornflour and a teaspoon of curry powder. Peel and chunk the potatoes and fry them in two tablespoons of oil until the edges brown; lift out.
In the same pan fry the ginger, garlic and shallots until fragrant, then the onion wedges until soft and sweet.
Add the curry paste (or curry powder plus a spoon of paste) and fry it in the oil for a minute until it smells toasted rather than raw; HK01 says this is the step that decides the dish.
Add the chicken and turn it until every piece is coated, then the stock or water and the potato (and the carrot if using); bring to the boil, lid on, low heat for fifteen to twenty minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk and evaporated milk and simmer five minutes uncovered until the sauce coats a spoon; season with sugar and salt. Do not let it boil hard once the coconut is in, or it splits. The chicken is done when a piece cut open shows no pink and the juice runs clear.
Serve over rice, or the cha chaan teng way with fried dough sticks or toast to mop up the sauce.

Take care

Contains milk (evaporated milk); curry pastes and powders may contain shrimp, peanut, mustard or sesame, so read the allergen line on the packet. Coconut is not a declared tree-nut allergen in Australia. Chicken must be cooked through: no pink when a piece is cut open, and the juice runs clear.

The story

Hong Kong curry is the port's curry: the South Asian and Malay curries that came with the colony's South Asian police, soldiers and traders and the returnees from South-East Asia, domesticated by Cantonese cooks into something mild, sweet and coconut-rich; HK01 puts it plainly, that Hong Kong curry does not chase heat and takes coconut to round it off. The potato-and-onion home version is the same curry as the cha chaan teng's curry chicken rice and the fish-ball stall's sauce.

Same technique

Braised beef brisket with white radish

Braised chicken with dried shiitake

Soy sauce chicken

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.