Singaporean Chicken Curry
Updated February 9, 2022
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus 40 minutes’ marinating
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (2½ pounds)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 ½ teaspoons ground white pepper
Fine salt
¼ cup ghee or canola oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 cinnamon stick, preferably Indian
3 cardamom pods
1 whole star anise
4 whole cloves
4 fresh or 8 thawed frozen pandan leaves, knotted
2 teaspoons Kashmiri chile powder or other ground red chile
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground fennel
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
¼ cup coconut milk
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
10 grams carbs; 188 milligrams cholesterol; 573 calories; 20 grams monosaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 44 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 791 milligrams sodium; 34 grams protein; 2 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and combine with the lime juice, 1 tablespoon garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1½ teaspoons white pepper, and 1 ½ teaspoons salt in a large bowl. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 40 minutes.
- Step 2
In a large wok or Dutch oven, heat the ghee over medium-high. When the ghee is hot and shimmering, wipe the marinade off the chicken and add the chicken in a single layer. Sear until light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Step 3
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion, remaining 1 tablespoon garlic and 1 tablespoon ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, star anise and cloves, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the pandan leaves, chile powder, ground coriander, ground turmeric, ground fennel and remaining 1 teaspoon white pepper, and stir until it smells lovely, about 10 seconds.
- Step 4
Add the chicken and stir until it is completely coated with the aromatics. Pour in the chicken broth, and bring the mixture to a near boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer briskly to concentrate the flavors, 5 to 8 minutes. Add salt to taste. Turn off the heat and use the curry to prepare nasi biryani.
Private Notes
Comments
Where do get pandan leaves??
"Stir until it smells lovely" may be my new favorite direction.
Neat recipe. Like lotteries, "a tax on the innumerate", premade (pricey) curry-mixes leverage naivete. Instead, buy bulk whole-spices (which last years) and grind batches as needed, in a few minutes, with a dry grinder. Also, the homemade stuff's likely better: * Freshly ground spices are more potent: less time to volatilize. * Vendors favor cheap spices (turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek) over pricey ones (cardamom, cloves, nutmeg/mace): ratios may be off versus traditional recipes.
Agree with the suggestions to leave out the pandan leaves. Lived in the region and only came across sweet dishes with pandan. Lots of fragrant spices in the recipe, no need to muddle the flavors. Curry leaves are highly recommended if you can find in a South Asian grocery store.
First time making a curry. Did not use panda leaves. Glad I marinated the chicken overnite. Doubled the spices and sauce. Loved it ...... but not truly until the day after.
My Malaysian husband says it’s not spicy enough to be Singaporean but he says it’s still tasty. It is a perfect dish for me who loves southeast Asian food but can’t handle spice. Perfect for all ages. The sauce is addictive. Pandan requires a lot of time for the flavor to show so I think it’s ok to leave out. Will definitely make again!