Guys Love Cooking weekend recipe: Vietnamese chicken curry

It's easy to think the Guys are simply taking us back to Vietnam in this installment of our weekly collaboration. In reality, Guys Love Cooking note the complexity of this seemingly simple dish, with inspiration from all over South Asia. We have been spoiling you with some serious cake recipes for the last couple of weeks. We hope to have inspired you to make an attempt to impress your family and friends. One thing we have been lacking lately is some good old Vietnamese food. It should be quite clear by now that Vietnamese cuisine has creativity written all over it. That does not mean throwing anything in the pot, but adding and balancing the right ingredients according to your own taste. This is not always the case with other cuisines, where measurements are key. While we ask you to follow today's recipe closely if you aren't used to making these types of dishes, if you have a bit more experience and practice you’ll have a better understanding of the spices and herbs. Then you can be more adventurous, make it to your own preference, and it will still taste wonderful. Our recipe for this weekend is the Vietnamese take on chicken curry. You can find tons of different variations out there, and the measurements will always be different. This version comes directly from Ho Chi Minh City, and directly from Hoang’s childhood. This is how his momma makes it. If you like lemon grass, this is what you need. It can be served with rice or noodles, but we ate our version with baguette. The name of the dish and its ingredients give away the fact it is a mix of different cultures, from India to Thailand and of course the French colonial history with its baguette. Enjoy this melting pot of flavors with a touch of history.

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Total Time: 60 minutes Yield: 8-10 servings in a medium soup bowl

Ingredients

Chicken thighs or whole chicken (with orwithout bones): 2 kg, cut into 3-cm (1.2-inch) chunks Curry powder: 3-4 tbsp Onion: 1, minced Garlic: 5 cloves, minced Shallot: 3, minced Taro: Between eight and ten Sweet potatoes: About four or five Coconut milk: 400 ml (13.5 fl oz/1 3/4 cup) Condensed milk: 3 tbsp Chicken stock: 500 ml (2 cups) Lemongrass: 4 sticks, halves and crushed/flattened alongside Salt Chilli (optional) Thick slices of Baguette or rice noodles to serve with the curry

Method

Marinate the chicken with curry powder and 1 tsp salt for at least two hours, or overnight, in a refrigerator. Meanwhile, peel the taro and sweet potatoes, cutting them into big chunks and soaking them in water. Bring the chicken stock to a with 1.2 liters (5 cups) of water and lemongrass in a big soup pan. Stir-fry the minced garlic, shallots and onion in a non-stick frying pan on high heat until lightly golden. Then add in the chicken and continue to stir-fry for about 5-10 mins until firm. Add it to the soup pan and simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in the same frying pan, stir-fry the sweet potatoes and taro chunks (after removing from water of course) over high heat for about 5-10 minutes, then add them into the soup pan as well. Add the coconut milk, condensed milk into the soup pan. Simmer the chicken curry for another 15-20 mins or until the potatoes and taro are softened. Adjust to taste with salt and chili (optional). Serve hot with baguette or rice noodles