Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Ca Ri Ga)

Vietnamese Chicken Curry aka Ca Ri Ga is a dish that I loved to eat when I was still living with my parents. Once in a while, Chau and I will have a craving for curry and whip up a pot. If you like curry like I do, stay tuned to see how I made this curry.

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken thighs (I used skinless, boneless), cut into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut (see pic) - I used 4 since we like potatoes
2 carrots, peeled and cut (see pic)
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks of lemongrass, smashed and cut (see pic)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
2 cans of chicken broth, 14 oz each
2 can of water, use chicken broth can
1 red chili pepper, sliced (omit if you do not like spicy)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
1 Tablespoon Madras curry powder, can add more to suit your taste (can be found at most Oriental food market in the spices aisle)
2 teaspoon sugar
1 can coconut milk or cream, we like to use coconut cream, the cans come in 14 or 17 oz, we like it coconutty so we use 17 oz.
Oil

Chicken marinade:
2 Tbsp Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fish sauce or 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder or black pepper

 

Step 1:
Cut your chicken thighs into 1-2 inch pieces. Marinate with fish sauce or salt, pepper, curry, onion and garlic powder. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 2:
In a pot, lightly oil and saute garlic, onion and lemongrass for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add bay leaves, chicken broth, water, fish sauce or salt, chicken bouillon powder, and 1 Tablespoon of curry powder. Mix well. Taste, you may add more curry powder to your taste. Be careful not to add too much. Turn heat on high.

Step 3:
In a large pan, lightly oil and sear your chicken then add to broth. In the same pan, lightly oil and saute carrots and potatoes. You want to lightly brown the carrots and potatoes on all sides before adding to the broth. This helps the carrots and potatoes stay intact after adding them to the broth.

Step 4:
Once the broth boils, turn down to medium low heat and simmer for additional 20 minutes. Add your coconut milk or cream. I prefer to use coconut cream instead of coconut milk. Stir gently to incorporate the coconut cream. Taste your broth, if you need more salt, add extra fish sauce or salt. Discard bay leaves and lemongrass before serving.

Traditionally, we eat Ca Ri Ga with french bread. Alternatively, you can serve with white rice or even vermicelli rice noddles. Good luck and enjoy!