Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cari Ga)

People sometimes ask me "Does anything ever NOT work out?"

Well, this would be one of them. Vanessa hated it. I thought it was merely mediocre. I don't know, the whole thing just lacked PUNCH. I mean, there was good heat to it, just not hitting all of the right spots, I guess.

This recipe comes from "The Ultimate Curry Bible" which is written by Madhur Jaffrey, who is sort of a household name (from a few decades back). This is the second recipe we've had from the book and the second disappointment. We're thinking of writing the publisher and having the word "Ultimate" stripped from the title.

That's not to say that you couldn't play around with it to make it better. Having not cooked it before, I was reluctant to tinker with it too much the first time around. Looks like I'll have two more chances to rescue this (for leftovers) as Vanessa has vehemently stated that she will not be having the leftovers.

Good luck!

UPDATE: We tried this again, getting rid of the vegetables and just having the sauce, jasmine rice and the chicken after it sat for a few days and the flavor was MUCH better. Looks like we may not burn that book just yet!

2 ½ tablespoons hot curry powder
4 chicken legs, about 1.15 kg, skinned and divided into drumsticks and thighs
140 g shallots, peeled and chopped
1 stick lemon grass, the knot at the end removed and the bottom half cut crossways into fine slices, or 1 teaspoon ground lemon grass
2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 dried hot red chillies, crumbled
4 tablespoons corn or peanut oil
1 stick cinnamon
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, about 225 g, peeled and cut Into 8 pieces
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 small waxy potatoes, each about 90 g, peeled and halved
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2" chunks
1 tablespoon fish sauce (nuoc mam)
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
350 ml coconut milk, from a well-shaken can

Rub 1 1/2 tablespoons of the curry powder all over the chicken pieces and set aside. Put the remaining curry powder, shallots, lemon grass. ginger, garlic and chillies in a blender along with 4-5 tablespoons water. Blend until smooth, pushing down with a rubber spatula when necessary.

Pour the oil into a large, preferably non-stick, lidded pan and set over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the cinnamon and bay leaf. Stir once, then add the onion. Stir and fry until the pieces turn brown at the edges. Put in the paste from the blender. Fry, stirring at the same time, for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the tomatoes. Stir and fry until they have turned to a paste. Add the chicken pieces. Stir for a minute. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for a further 7-8 minutes, lifting the lid now and then to stir. Now put in the potatoes, carrots, fish sauce, sugar and 250 ml water. Stir and brinng to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 25 minutes.

Taste for salt and add as much as you need. Stir. Add the coconut milk. Stir and cook, uncovered, for a further 3-4 minutes.