Monday, February 27, 2017

BAKED CURRY CHICKEN IN FOIL

It is common that during festive season, most families especially the Nyonyas would prepare at least one curry chicken dish.  But, it wasn’t so at my mother in-law’s place during this year’s Chinese New Year. She has prepared a menu without curry chicken from the eve until after.  For me, it seems like something is missing or incomplete without a curry chicken.  Honestly, I do miss this dish then.  When I came back to my ‘nest’ after a week, this is the first curry I prepared in my kitchen. 
You may be wondering why I didn't cook a pot of it then.  The situation was, I couldn't as I was supposed to prepare dishes with ingredients that were bought by my in-law.  She didn't buy the ingredients for curry chicken. You may also be wondering why I'm sharing this post long after CNY. It's because I was so busy right after the CNY with company accounts to prepare for submission etc.  I'm back now, what a relief.
Coming back to this dish, there is no usual frying or  cooking over the stove.  This is curry chicken baked in an oven.  First, I prepared the paste which is then fried,  marinate the chicken pieces with it, place them in foil trays and just baked them for 30 minutes.  While baking, my kitchen was filled with the nice aroma of a yummy curry.
So this is it, aromatic, tasty and spicy baked curry chicken which I considered a rather healthy version as not too much oil is used to  sauté the curry paste.  Isn't this awesome.
Recipe adapted from Yum Yum Magazine No. 87 with modifications
Ingredients
[serves 3]
2 large chicken whole legs – skin removed and cut bite size pieces
1-2 blades pandan leaves – washed and cut into sections
1 tsp salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
Ingredients for Curry Paste [blend and mix]
4 shallots - peeled
2 stalks lemongrass – cut small pieces
3 candlenuts
4 red chillies – cut small pieces [I added some small chillies]
50 ml coconut milk
50 ml water
½  tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
  1. Season chicken with salt.  Set aside in the fridge.
  2. Blend the ingredients for curry paste until fine. 
  3. Heat up a non stick wok, sauté blended curry paste in oil until aromatic and oil separates.  Seasoned with salt and sugar, then add in the coconut milk and water.  Bring to boil until fragrant and paste is slightly thick.  Cool before marinating chicken with it. You can prepare until this stage and bake the chicken just before serving.
  4. Arrange chicken pieces in an aluminium foil tray, top with pandan leaves and cover with a piece of foil.  Seal the edges well.
  5. Heat oven to 200 degrees C, then baked chicken for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
  6. Remove and serve hot.
Cookbook Countdown

This post is linked to Cookbook Countdown Event #14  hosted by  Joyce and Emily of Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking [Makan2] Forays

14 comments:

  1. Hi Kimmy,
    So glad to have you back and posting great recipes again. Going to try out this baked chicken curry this weekend as I think it's such a convenient method of cooking and it will be a great picnic food with some french loaf or plain rice. Have a lovely week ahead.
    Florence

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  2. Kimmy, I find this recipe quite interesting. So unusual that the chicken is marinated with the curry paste and the baked. I must try it to experience the taste!

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  3. Hi Kimmy,
    Totally agree with you that there is always curry chicken during CNY in a Nyonya household. I remember my mother used to cook a big pot of it every year. Your baked curry chicken looks really delicious! Only this one dish alone is enough to eat with rice! Tambah nasi!

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  4. Hi Florence, I'm glad my 'life' is back to normal after completing my duties for CNY etc. Hopefully, there won't be other ad hoc matters arising so that I would have more time to try new recipes and share with all in my blog. The baked curry chicken is good and a great idea to go with bread.

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  5. Hi Phong Hong, you must try this. It's a good recipe for busy people like us. I intend to make more this curry paste so that I can get to enjoy curry chicken in a jiffy.

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  6. Hi Joyce, I didn't realise this until my hubby told me he didn't really enjoy the meals at his mum's place. Something nice is missing. Anyway, we got to enjoy this dish, yum yum in the comfort of our home.

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  7. Hi, Kimmy ..
    My baked curry chicken is in the oven now ..
    Thanks for sharing ...

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  8. Hi, hope you like this curry and enjoy it.

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  9. I LOVE curry of any kind. This curry looks wonderful. I bet it has tons of flavor since it I marinated in the sauce before baking.

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  10. Hi Margaret, this is a lovely curry and easy way to prepare. I liked this so much that I have made another batch and may use it to bake a curry pork ribs soon.

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  11. Quick question Kimmy...does this taste like rendang chicken?
    This is such an interesting way to cook curry

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  12. Hi Eddie, I prefer this to rendang curry because less coconut milk is used and preparation is much easier yet the flavour is awesome. This is great from potluck gathering. Quite extraordinary.

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  13. Hi Kimmy,
    Thanks for the recipe. I tried it today and it was great. I have bookmarked lots of your recipes, they are relatively fuss free and yummy

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  14. Hi Anonymous, thanks for the feedback. I love this dish too. It's awesome. No choice, as an always 'busy' lady who loves home-cooked food, I need all the fuss free, healthy recipes, hahaha! Happy cooking and enjoy.

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