Malaysian Spicy Coconut Chicken Curry
Myra Waldo, 1954
My mum’s favourite cookbook was Myra Waldo’s The Complete Round-The-World Cookbook from 1954. It would take her to all corners of the globe, and we were her guinea pigs. This sweet, coconutty dish became her favourite, and ours, too. It’s not one bit authentic, but it is addictive. Serve with plain or sticky rice.
Prep 30 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Serves 4
100g fresh coconut, finely grated
50g piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
20g fresh turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped (or ½ tsp ground turmeric)
1 red chilli, roughly chopped, seeds, pith and all
2 tsp ground star anise
1 tbsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar
2½ tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped (150g net weight)
1 kg boneless and skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 4 pieces
Salt and black pepper
1-2 limes – zest grated, to get 1 tbsp, and juiced, to get 1 tbsp
2½ tbsp plum (or apricot) jam
130 ml full-fat coconut milk, plus 1 tbsp extra to serve
2 tbsp coriander leaves, picked
Put a large saute pan for which you have a lid on a medium heat and, once hot, dry-fry the grated coconut, stirring often, for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Tip into a bowl, and set aside one tablespoon to garnish.
Meanwhile, put the ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli, star anise, coriander seeds and three tablespoons of water in the small bowl of a food processor and blitz to a coarse paste, scraping down the sides a few times as you go.
Heat the oil in the same saute pan on a medium-high flame and, once hot, fry the onion, stirring now and then, until softened and lightly browned – about seven minutes. Add the spice paste and cook for another two minutes, until fragrant. Add the chicken, a teaspoon and a quarter of salt and a good grind of pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is no longer pink on the outside – another seven minutes or so – then stir in the lime zest, jam, coconut milk, 120ml water and the toasted coconut. Bring the mix up to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and leave to cook for 40 minutes. Remove the lid, turn up the heat to medium and cook, stirring now and then, for seven minutes more, or until the chicken is tender and the sauce is thick and rich. Stir in the lime juice.
Transfer to a shallow serving platter and drizzle with the extra coconut milk. Sprinkle with the reserved toasted coconut and the coriander leaves, and serve warm.
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