Today, I went to my local market as usual and surprising to get the free-range meat chickens from organic raised sold at the market. They are fresh and grow in the natural environment in the farmer's backyard.
Free-range chicken is slightly less meat because they get to run around and use their muscles and had a more firm and dense texture. They are perfect for low heat and slow cook which goes really well with this week's topic on Hive Top Chef, "Low and slow".
I'll prepare free-range chicken or also known as organic chicken to cook in the most simple spicy coconut curry. I just need very basic ingredients for this recipe, all I need was the free-range chicken, eggplant, and coconut curry. This fragrant Slow-Cooked Coconut is absolutely delicious and served on a bed of rice.
This Slow-Cooked Coconut and Free-Range Chicken Curry is very simple, and there are a few special components for this recipe.
I do twice boiled!!! Yes! I need to cook the free-range chickens first until it’s tender. I normally cook it in light coconut cream. By just sauté the free-range chickens with the grind of garlic, shallots, coriander seeds, black pepper, and shrimp paste.
Then bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes until possible can pierce through the chicken meat without force but should not cook until it falls off the bone yet. Because I will continue cooking it for a little more like 15-20 minutes with the coconut spicy curry paste for the second boil.
Finally, add the eggplant and keep simmering more for about 10 minutes to tenderize the eggplant and garnished it with Thai basil, kaffir lime leaf, and red dried Thai chili.
It is very possible to use normal chicken meat but I particularly like free-range chicken. The slow cooking makes it meltingly tender and the bones add a lot of flavor to the curry
INGREDIENTS
- 500 Gram Free-Range Chicken
For First Boiled
- 300 Gram Light Coconut
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- 4 Shallots
- 1 Teaspoon Shrimp paste
- 5 Dried Red Chili
- 1/2 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
For Second Boiled
- 250 Gram Coconut Cream
- 2 Tablespoon Freshly Made Store-Bought Yellow Curry Paste
- 3 Eggplants
- 2 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Palm Sugar
- 10 Dried Red Chili
- 7 Kaffir Lime Leaves
- 1 Cup Thai Basil
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FIRST BOILED
STEP 1 - Grind the Spices and Herbs
This dish started with my favorite chili paste was all pounded in a stone mortar. Place the shallots and garlic in a stone mortar, finely grind, and release the fragrance aroma and wetter. Then add shrimp paste, dried chili, coriander seeds, and black peppercorns to the stone mortar and finely grind until smooth.
Then add the cumin powder into the curry paste then grind them together. And pounding goes on until everything in the mortar is mashed into a paste. Then move the mixture of chili paste aside.
STEP 2 - Sauté the Chili Paste
Add the oil into the wok on the stove with medium heat, then quickly add the grind of chili paste into the wok. Then whisk all the paste until the smallest pieces of paste start to slightly char and change to a darker color or until it releases its fragrance aroma. When the curry paste is cooked, carefully place the chicken into the wok one by one to a wok.
And let it slightly cook on one side then gently flip to another side and whisk the chili paste and the chicken together and let all the ingredients sit without stirring for about 2-3 minutes so it'll develop more flavor.
Once the chicken is cooked for 30%, then pour the light coconut cream into the wok. Then heat the stove to high heat and let all the curry broth bring to a boil.
Step 3 - Simmer the Free-Range Chicken
Move all the ingredients into a stew pot. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and bring it to a boil and simmer until the chicken is tender for about 30 minutes over very low heat gently stir occasionally to avoid the chicken from burning.
Once the chicken is soft and tender, then turn off the heat and set them aside.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SECOND BOILED
STEP 1 - Sauté the Coconut
Pour half of the coconut cream into the hot wok over medium heat and lets it boil and stirred continuously. Then drop the yellow curry paste and whisk it together.
STEP 2 - The Second Boiled
Pour another half of coconut milk for the second time and whisk together. Bring the coconut curry to a boil. Then add the first boiled chicken into the wok and bring to a boil and simmer the chicken for about 15-20 minutes.
STEP 3 - Add the Eggplants
Once the curry is boiled then add the eggplant to the wok.
STEP 4 - Seasoning
Heat the wok to high heat and keep stirring and lets every piece of eggplants sink in the curry until the eggplants are cooked. Then add the fish sauce and palm sugar for the taste. Then lid on the wok and simmer until the curry is thick enough for about 10 minutes, and stir occasionally to avoid the curry from burning.
STEP 5 - Garnish
Once the curry is thick enough, add the basil, dried chili, and kaffir lime leaf.
STEP 6 - Platter
Here is my Slow-Cooked and Twice-Boiled Coconut Chicken Curry served with warm Jasmin rice.
The free-range chicken had juicier, more delicious, and better textured meat.
This hearty delicious free-range chicken curry is a simple way to slow cook the free-range chicken with Thai-style curry to make at home.
Many thanks for reading my recipe and hope you guys have a great week.
