There are many versions of Filipino Chicken Curry. The Filipino Chicken Curry recipe I am featuring below is easy and simple using creamy coconut milk and yellow curry.
The most bizarre curry dish I had was during one of our visits to see my Lolo and Lola in Isabela (Cagayan Valley Region). We were gathered around my grandparents’ narrow dining room. The long table had it’s usual setting, with dinner plates turned over plastic placemats ( to prevent dust falling on the plate), a spoon on the right side, and a fork on the left.
A drinking glass with room temperature water covered with Tupperware coasters is found above the spoon. The help sets down a plate of steamed rice followed by a serving dish of yellow chicken curry.
The bone-in chicken is chopped up into small pieces so that it can feed the whole table. There was nothing odd about the yellow sauce at first until I saw white cloudy specks floating in it. I pointed it out to my mom who called the help who then called the driver. Apparently, my grandparents’ driver cooked the curry. He rushed inside the house and eagerly stepped in the dining room. He looked like a Chef presenting his new creation to his fans. Mom asked what the little white fluffy bits were that seemed out of place in the yellow curry sauce.
Manong answered: “Ma’m Sky Flakes yan! pampasarap at pampalapot ng sauce!” (Translation: Ma’m, those are soda crackers! It makes the sauce more delicious and thicker too!)
The driver’s enthusiasm for cooking and experimenting made an impression on me. I was a young girl then but it made me realize that ingredients are a medium. Anyone can be artistic, creating their own dishes or putting their own spin on an original recipe. The cooking pot or kaldero (kahl-deh-roh), stove or kalan (kah-lahn), and ladle or sandok (sun-dok) are the tools. The serving dishes are the canvas for presenting.
What goes well with Filipino Chicken Curry Recipe?
- Cauliflower (steamed or riced)
- Rice
- Dumplings
- Noodles or Pasta
Filipino Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons oil
- 1/8 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/8 cup thinly sliced ginger
- 1/8 cup bell pepper strips about 15 strips
- 2 small to medium dried bay leaf
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 3 medium potatoes quartered
- 2 medium carrots sliced
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add oil in wok on medium low heat
- Sauté onions, garlic ginger, bay leaf and bell pepper
- Wait for onions to be translucent
- Add chicken thighs
- Add fish sauce
- Mix together
- Cover and cook for 15 minutes
- Uncover and mix gently
- Add curry powder
- Cover and cook for 15 minutes
- Add coconut milk
- Add potatoes, mix well
- Cover and cook for 15 minutes
- Add carrots and mix
- Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until carrots are cooked through
- Adjust fish sauce or salt and pepper to taste
Notes
Want more yellow curry? Here’s a Thai Yellow Curry Paste by Wok & Skillet
Want to try a Filipino favorite? Here’s a recipe for Easy Chicken Adobo
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