Vietnamese chicken curry

Ingredients

• 2 kg chicken thighs and legs

For marinade

• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp curry oil paste
• 1 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 dessertspoon sugar
• 2 x 400 ml tins coconut juice
• ½ tin coconut cream
• 8 garlic cloves, sliced
• vegetable oil
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 taro
• 1 large potato
• lemongrass
• 2 bird's-eye chillies, for garnish

Marinating time 30 minutes

Instructions

Chop the chicken into pieces keeping the bone. Mix the tomato paste, curry oil paste, curry powder, salt and sugar and rub into chicken pieces.  Leave to marinate for 30 minutes. 

Peel the sweet potato, taro and potato and chop into large chunks.

Fry the garlic in vegetable oil and just as it begins to brown add the chicken pieces. Fry until the flesh is just firm and the pieces are brown on all sides Ã¢â‚¬â€œ approximately 10 minutes.

In a large saucepan, add the 2 cans of coconut juice and heat. Transfer the chicken into the coconut juice. Smash the lemongrass stalks and add to the chicken and juice and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Clean the frypan for reuse. Pour in half a cup of vegetable oil and shallow fry the pieces of potato, taro and sweet potato. This helps to keep their shape when added to the curry.

Add the root vegetables to the curry. Replace the lid and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add the coconut cream and chopped fresh chilli.