CHICKEN IN GREEN CURRY AND PAPAYA

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 8

 

4 teaspoons cooking oil

2 whole chicken; cut into 8 pieces each, skin removed

4 tablespoons thinly sliced peeled ginger

3 tablespoons fish sauce

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 small green papaya, peeled and diced large

1 medium size yellow or sweet onions, peeled and sliced thinly

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cans of light coconut milk

1 to 2 tablespoons green curry

1 teaspoon turmeric powder – (this is luyang dilaw, if using the fresh luyang dilaw, add about 3 tablespoons minced)

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder – optional

1 teaspoon cumin – optional

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 cup chopped cilantro leaves or (unsoy in tagalong)

Heat 2 teaspoons of cooking oil for about 30 seconds using a large sauté pan. Use medium to high heat. Add chicken cutlets and cook chicken for about 10 minutes until slightly brown and cooked.

Add ginger, fish and soy sauce and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. (You may add more fish and soy sauce at the end of the process if you feel that you need more).  Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the same pan. Add onion and papaya and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes until papaya is soft and onion is brown.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.

Add chicken to the pan with the papaya mixture and add the coconut milk, green curry, turmeric powder, cinnamon powder and cumin. Increase the heat to high and bring chicken dish to boil; about 8 minutes. Then adjust heat to medium and let it simmer for another 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.

You may now add salt, pepper, fish sauce and soy sauce if you want to. Add the bell pepper and cook for another minute. Stir in chopped cilantro and turn off the stove. Serve hot.

Notes:

Ginger not only adds taste, it also removes the “lansa” taste.

In this dish, you can add potato in lieu of papaya, add raisins, and chorizo and call it “ curry con pastel.”

To make this as one pot dish, add carrots, corn, squash.

Adding turmeric makes a lot of difference. Cinnamon and turmeric makes it an Indian fusion of some sort and yet still taste very good.

Use light coconut milk since you are not using broth for sauce. Light is healthier.

Green curry is spicier so be careful. Do not add all at once.