How to cook Vietnamese chicken curry: gently rich, tender meat and potatoes that hold together

Vietnamese chicken curry has a golden sauce of moderate body, a gently rich coconut taste and the aroma of lemongrass and spice without being heavy. The chicken should be tender with its skin intact, and the potato cooked through and nutty while keeping its edges. This recipe for six uses a searing technique for the chicken, careful handling of the potato, and coconut milk added in two stages.

Quick facts

• Serves: 6 people.
• Preparation: 45 minutes.
• Marinating the chicken: 45 minutes.
• Cooking: 60-75 minutes.
• Eaten with bread, rice noodles or rice.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg of chicken thighs, or free-range chicken cut into pieces.
• 400 g of potato, 300 g of sweet potato, 250 g of carrot.
• 400 ml of coconut milk and 1.2 litres of coconut water or stock.
• 4 stalks of lemongrass, 5 shallots, 4 cloves of garlic, 30 g of ginger.
• 25-35 g of unsalted curry powder.
• 40 ml of fish sauce, salt, sugar and pepper.
• Cooking oil, onion and fresh herbs.

Choosing and preparing the ingredients

Thighs and wings stay moist better than breast. The potato should be firm and the sweet potato unbruised; cut them into 4 cm pieces so they stand up to cooking. Pure coconut milk gives the richness, but read the label to avoid a sweetened version. Curry powder varies from brand to brand in both heat and salt.

Marinate the chicken with two thirds of the curry powder, the chopped lemongrass, shallot, garlic and ginger, 25 ml of fish sauce, a little sugar and pepper, in the fridge. Once cut, soak the potatoes briefly in cool water and pat them dry; you can sear them lightly to set the surface. Bruise and tie the remaining lemongrass.

Step 1: sear the potatoes and the chicken

Sear the potatoes in a little oil until lightly golden, then lift them out. In the same pot, lay the chicken skin side down and sear it in batches. There is no need to cook it through; the point is to hold the shape and build aroma.

Step 2: fry the spices without burning them

Lower the heat, add the remaining shallot, lemongrass and curry powder and stir for 20-30 seconds. Powdered spices burn very quickly; add a little liquid as soon as they smell fragrant. Scrape up the brown layer on the bottom if it has not blackened.

Step 3: stew the chicken

Add the chicken, the bundle of lemongrass, the stock and about half the coconut milk. Bring it to the boil, skim, then lower the heat and leave the lid ajar for 25-35 minutes. The chicken must reach at least 74C in the thick part; a free-range bird may need longer to become tender.

Step 4: add the vegetables in order of firmness

Add the carrot and potato first, and the sweet potato about 5-8 minutes later. Keep it at a gentle simmer and stir as little as possible. Test each kind with a chopstick, and lift out the pieces that are already tender if the others are still firm.

Step 5: add the rest of the coconut milk at the end

Once the chicken and potatoes are just right, add the remaining coconut milk and bring it back to a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil. Season with fish sauce, salt and sugar. Splitting it into two additions lets the coconut blend into the base while keeping a fresh aroma.

Step 6: adjust the body of the sauce

If it is thin, lift out the chicken and potatoes and reduce the liquid gently; if it is thick, add hot water. Do not mash a lot of potato to thicken it, as the sauce turns floury and sets quickly when cool. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Ten small tips that are easy to apply

1. Use thighs or free-range chicken.
2. Cut the potatoes into large, even pieces.
3. Marinate the chicken in the fridge.
4. Sear the potatoes so they keep their edges.
5. Fry the curry powder only very briefly.
6. Sear the chicken in batches.
7. Keep the pot at a gentle simmer.
8. Add the potatoes in order of firmness.
9. Split the coconut milk into two additions.
10. Season once you know the final consistency.

Common mistakes and how to rescue them

The potatoes have fallen apart

They were cut too small or cooked too long. Lift out the pieces that are still whole, strain the fragments out of the sauce and put them back when you serve.

The sauce has split

The heat was too high after the coconut milk went in. Lower it, stir gently and add a little hot water; do not let it boil hard.

The curry is bitter

The spice powder burnt. Move the part that is not stuck to the bottom into a clean pot and dilute it with coconut water; a strong burnt taste is hard to fix.

The chicken is dry

The breast was cooked for as long as the thigh. Lift it out early, slice it and spoon the curry over; next time add the breast later.

Organising the kitchen so the dish is ready on time

Read the whole recipe before you start, then weigh and sort the ingredients into groups: raw food, cooking seasonings, vegetables that are eaten as they are, and the finishing touches. A knife, board, pair of tongs or plate that has touched raw meat or seafood must not be reused for cooked food until it has been washed. Having a clean tray ready to receive the finished items saves you rushing at the last minute.

If you are cooking for a crowd, finish the parts that can be kept cold in advance, and leave the herbs, the frying or grilling and the assembly until close to the meal. Note down when each stage started, the actual temperatures and how much liquid you used. These small notes are more useful next time than adding seasoning by feel.

Scaling the recipe up or down

When you double it, use a wide pot so the chicken is not stacked too deep, and split the searing into several batches. Start the curry powder at 1.5-1.7 times, because the aroma can build quickly.

When you double the recipe, choose a wider pot or pan rather than stacking the food in layers. Start strong seasonings at about 1.7 times and taste afterwards, because the surface area for evaporation and the saltiness of the ingredients do not scale linearly. When you halve it, switch to smaller equipment to keep the depth of liquid and the rate of heat transfer appropriate.

Serving and presentation

Serve the curry with crusty bread, fresh rice noodles or rice. Add the herbs and thinly sliced onion at the very end. With noodles, blanch them separately and ladle the curry over at the table so the sauce does not go cloudy.

Preparing ahead and storing

Cool it quickly in shallow containers. Curry thickens as it chills, so add a little water when reheating. Use it within 3-4 days and reheat to 74C; frozen potato can change texture, so the chicken and the sauce are the best parts to freeze.

Cooked food should not sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Divide leftovers into shallow containers, chill them promptly and use them within 3-4 days; when reheating, bring the whole portion to 74C. Only reheat what you are going to eat, and throw the dish away if there is an odd smell, sliminess or anything unusual, rather than tasting it to check.

Allergy and safety notes

Fish sauce contains fish; coconut milk matters to anyone allergic to it; ready-made curry powder may contain mustard, wheat or anti-caking agents. Bread contains gluten.

Pregnant women, young children, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system should eat food that is cooked right through and avoid cross-contamination. Always read the label on packaged seasonings, as fish, shrimp, soy, wheat, egg, milk or peanut can turn up where you would not expect them.

Checking the dish before you serve it

Do not rely on the times given in a recipe alone, because the size of the ingredients, the type of pot and the power of the hob all differ. Check the safe temperature, the tenderness, the amount of liquid, the colour and the smell together. Taste a small amount after letting it cool for a few seconds; food that is too hot usually makes salt and sweetness harder to judge. Add seasoning only in small amounts, stir or turn it just enough, and wait for the flavour to settle before seasoning again.

Move the finished dish to a clean bowl or plate, wipe the rim neatly and add the garnish close to serving time. If the dish has to wait, keep it hot properly but avoid carrying on with a strong heat, which dries the meat, softens the vegetables or thickens the sauce. Note down the quantities you actually used, the timings and the adjustments that worked, so the next attempt is more consistent.

Cleaning up after cooking

Let the oil or the pot cool to a safe temperature before you deal with it, but put the cooked food away within the proper time before you tidy the kitchen. Wash up working from the clean areas towards the ones that touched raw food. Cloths and sponges that have picked up meat juices need washing or replacing, and the worktop, cupboard handles and tap are worth wiping down too, as they are often touched during preparation.