Anonymous Tue May 23 19:35:18 2006

2 onions -- rough chopped

5 cloves garlic -- rough chopped

1/2 inch pc fresh root ginger

-- peeled and chopped

2 sticks lemon grass -- roughly chopped

2 red chilies seeded and chopped

--habaneros or Thai chilies

1 tablespoon fish sauce -- (nam pla)

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

4 tablespoon Veg. oil

3 pounds chicken, cut into 8 curry pieces

4 green (or two black) cardamom pods

2 tablespoon rough chopped coriander/cilantro leaf

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

*Curry pieces: cut off both legs and thighs together taking as much meat as possible from

the carcass at the top of the thigh, separate legs and thighs. Cut down along breast as far

as wing at side of breast bone to expose ribs, cut through ribs at top along length of breast

bone, cut through ribs at bottom of breast as far as wing, cut wing at joint with body and

remove breast and wing as one piece, cut into two approximately one third along breast

from wing. Grind the first 7 ingredients (i.e. up to and including the turmeric) together into a

smooth paste (food processor/pestle and mortar etc). Heat oil in wide frying pan or wok

and add paste, stir-fry until moisture has evaporated and paste has started to brown. Add

chicken pieces and stir well, scrape bottom of pan to prevent sticking. Cover tightly and

simmer for 35-45 minutes - there should be enough liquid given off from the chicken

during cooking but check now and then and stir. If chicken does get too dry and starts stic

king/burning (and it's never happened to me) add a tablespoon or so of water and stir in,

scraping residue off bottom of pan. Shortly before chicken is ready slit open cardamom

pods and extract seeds, crush seeds in pestle and mortar and add to chicken with

coriander leaf, stir and simmer for a further minute or so, taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve with plain rice or coconut rice. Drink beer: Singha, Bintang or Tiger beers are

excellent, Pilsner Urquell is good too. Ken Hom has a similar recipe but he omits the Nam

Pla and adds 1 tbs. dry sherry and two tbs. soy sauce just before the simmering which

makes it much more like a Straits Chinese or Nonna dish. Source: Sophie Grigson's Meat

Course, Network/BBC Books, London, 1995, ISBN: 0 563 37173 0, an excellent book for all

sorts of meat cooking) Posted to the BBQ List by Carey Starzinger on Mar 27, 1996.