I became acquainted with this dish while living in San Francisco: a comforting curry with a thick yellow sauce enveloping soft potato cubes, carrots and succulent chicken.
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It’s a dish that’s simply a pleasure to eat, which is why it was my go-to at Farmhouse Kitchen Thai, a Thai fusion restaurant I loved. It's colorful and joyful, offering fantastic Asian cuisine tailored to Western tastes. There, it was served with Indian roti bread, but in Israel, my home recreation finds that ready-made Malawach offers a quick solution not far from the original.
Two tips before starting:
- Yellow curry paste is available in most Asian sections. I recommend using Blue Elephant brand (a 70g packet is suitable for this recipe).
- No kaffir lime leaves? It's a pity, but you can manage without them.
Ingredients (for 3 servings):
- 3 chicken steak units
- A bit of oil
- Salt, black pepper
- 1 onion
- 3 medium potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1/2 cup green onions, green part only
- 2 heaped tablespoons yellow curry paste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 cups water
- 2 fresh kaffir lime leaves
- 1 can (400 ml) coconut cream
- For frying: a bit of neutral oil
- For garnish: about 1/3 cup coriander leaves
- For serving: Malawach cut into triangles and/or white rice
Instruction:
- Prepare the chicken: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius with the grill setting. Drizzle the chicken with a bit of oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool and cut into cubes. Set aside.
- Peel the onion, potatoes, and carrots. Quarter the onion and potatoes and slice the carrots into 2 cm thick rounds (using a julienne peeler for a festive shape). Cut the green onions into thick segments.
- Heat oil in a wide pot. Add the onion and potatoes and sear until slightly browned. Reduce to medium heat, add curry and sugar, and stir. Immediately add water. Insert the kaffir leaves, cover the pot, increase the heat, and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium and cook for about half an hour until the potatoes are soft.
- Add the coconut cream and carrots, stir, and bring to a boil again. Add the chicken cubes. Continue cooking (uncovered) for about a quarter-hour or until the sauce thickens. Once ready, remove the kaffir leaves, add the green onions, mix, and turn off the heat.
- Prepare the Malawach according to the instructions and cut into nice triangles.
- Sprinkle coriander over the dish and serve, possibly with rice. Enjoy your meal.
- Dana Reicher is a food blogger specializing in Asian cuisine. Instagram: danareicher TikTok: dana_reicher