Chicken Curry Filipino Style

Chicken Cooked with Curry Powder
in Coconut Milk

How to make Chicken Curry Filipino style?

This Filipino recipe is a creamy stew with a mild curry flavor, cooked with coconut milk, potatoes and bell peppers and seasoned with fish sauce or patis.

Curry powder is a mixture of several spices -- turmeric, cumin, coriander, to name a few. Some even have curry leaves. The spiciness of the curry depends on the blending of these spices, thus, we mellow out with the coconut milk in this recipe. It is still important to choose the kind of curry powder you buy, as they vary in heat intensity and spiciness.

The flavor varies from Indian variety to Thai, from hot to mild so try to find one that will suit your taste.

If you like the Indian curry, you can buy the McCormick brand. It's reddish brown and with quite a strong curry taste. The taste is usually heavy with cumin, coriander and chili powder, the kind you usually get with a Roti Canai(a Malaysian breakfast flatbread dipped in Lentil Curry).

For a more subtle taste, I like to use the brand found in most Asian supermarket which is deep yellow rather than reddish, having a lot more turmeric than other spices.

Another option is the Golden Curry Brand, a Japanese favorite. It comes in Mild, Medium and Hot so you can pick your heat preference.

When stored in the pantry, the spiciness and potency of the curry mellows out over time. I usually add less in the beginning and put more towards the end depending on my taste preference.

Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk

YOUR CHICKEN CURRY FILIPINO STYLE RECIPE SHOPPING LIST:

Chicken Thigh and Legs
Curry Powder
Red and Green Bell Peppers
Canned Coconut Milk
Potatoes

IN THE PANTRY:

Garlic
Onions
Fish Sauce or Patis
Pepper
Cooking Oil, for sauteing

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds Chicken - Thigh and Legs, cut into serving sizes
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 cup Red and Green Bell Peppers, cut in thick strips
2 cans Coconut Milk
3 medium Potatoes, cubed
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium Onions, chopped
2 tablespoons Fish Sauce or Patis
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
2 tablespoons Cooking Oil, for sauteing

PREPARATION TIME : 10 minutes

COOKING TIME : 30 minutes

1 In a large pan, saute the garlic and onion. Add the chicken pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.

2 Add the curry powder and fish sauce. Cook for a minute before stirring in the coconut milk.

3 Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer for 10 minutes.

4 Add the potatoes and bell peppers and simmer for another 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Season with ground pepper.

5 Serve with rice.

(Learn more about COOKING RICE, THE FILIPINO WAY.)

Filipino Chicken Curry

BENG'S TIPS

When I make any chicken stew, I remove the chicken skin and save it for chicken skin chicharon. I don't like the texture of soft chicken skin and it adds more unnecessary fat in the sauce.

If you want to add chicken breast with the thighs and legs, remember that breasts cook faster that thighs and legs and can be rubbery and bland when overcooked. So add it together with the potatoes on Step 4 for less cooking time.

When buying coconut milk for cooking a savory dish, look for one with 0(zero) sugar content on its Nutrition label. Unless you don't mind a slight hint of sweetness for this dish, go for coconut milk with 0 sugar.

I like my chicken curry Filipino style differently, I like it real creamy, with the coconut milk rendering fat so I cook it a little longer. I take out the chicken and potatoes and reduce the sauce further until the sauce is real thick and rendering fat... but then, that's just my personal preference.

I found the powdered coconut milk at my local Walmart supermarket here in Central NJ - it's not as pure as the canned coconut milk but it's more creamy and a lot cheaper, too -- it's made in Malaysia. I just add ambient or room temperature water. Do not add directly to the hot pan as it's not soluble in hot liquid.

BENG'S TIPS

If you want to add chicken breast with the thighs and legs, remember that breasts cook faster that thighs and legs and can be rubbery and bland when overcooked. So add it together with the potatoes on Step 4 for less cooking time.
When buying coconut milk for cooking a savory dish, look for one with 0(zero) sugar content on its Nutrition label. Unless you don't mind a slight hint of sweetness for this dish, go for coconut milk with 0 sugar.
I like my chicken curry Filipino style differently, I like it real creamy, with the coconut milk rendering fat so I cook it a little longer. I take out the chicken and potatoes and reduce the sauce further until the sauce is real thick and rendering fat... but then, that's just my personal preference.
I found the powdered coconut milk at my local Walmart supermarket here in Central NJ - it's not as pure as the canned coconut milk but it's more creamy and a lot cheaper, too -- it's made in Malaysia. I just add ambient or room temperature water. Do not add directly to the hot pan as it's not soluble in hot liquid.