Malaysian Chicken Curry

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
• 2 lemongrass stalks, bruised
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 tbsp Malaysian curry paste, or rempah paste
• 700 g chicken thigh fillets, cut into large chunks
• 400 g waxy potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2 x 400ml tins full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• steamed jasmine rice and roti, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened and translucent, with the edges just starting to catch gold.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant — don't let the garlic burn or the whole curry turns bitter.
3. Stir in the curry paste and fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens a shade and the oil splits from the spices. This is the bloom — raw paste tastes dusty, bloomed paste tastes of itself.
4. Pour in one tin of coconut milk and stir to loosen the paste into a smooth, rust-coloured sauce. Season the chicken generously with salt before it goes in, then add the pieces and turn to coat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the potato halves and chickpeas, pour in the second tin of coconut milk, then stir in the fish sauce and sugar. The coconut milk does the breaking-down here — it pulls the paste into a glossy, unified sauce rather than a gritty one. Bring back to a gentle simmer.
6. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes give to the tip of a knife with no resistance and the chicken is cooked through. The sauce should be glossy and lightly thickened — if it looks tight, splash in a little water.
7. Fish out the lemongrass and lime leaves. Taste, season, taste again — most of the salt is coming from the fish sauce, but it may want another splash, or a pinch more sugar to balance. Adjust now, not at the table.
8. Spoon the curry into bowls alongside steamed jasmine rice, with torn roti on the side for mopping the sauce.