Chicken Curry

This is the kind of curry my mom made when I was growing up, which is more along the line of Chinese-Malaysian curries as compared to the Malay or Indian version. As with most of my mom’s recipes, the dish comes without any actual measurement of the ingredients – everything was just “agak-agak”, meaning “more or less”. That can get pretty frustrating somedays – there would be times when I would get the flavor too diluted and other times, too spicy. Then in the process of fixing this problem, I would end up with too much meat and not enough gravy or vice versa. Finally, I managed to get the taste just right, with the correct proportion of meat to gravy – delicious! Here goes:

2 heads garlic (about 2 – 2½ ounces EACH before trimming), peeled
1½-inch ginger (about 1½ ounces before trimming), peeled and cut into small chunks
1 large onion or several small onions (about 13 – 15 ounces total before trimming), peeled and cut into small chunks
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 packet Yeo’s Malaysian Curry Powder (1.76 ounces)
3 – 3½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (8 – 10 pieces)
2 (14-ounce) cans or 1 (32-ounce) package Swanson Chicken Broth
6 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2½ pounds before peeling), peeled and cut into big chunks
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
3 teaspoons salt or to taste

1. Place garlic and ginger in the work bowl of food processor; process until finely minced. Add onion chunks and continue to process until smooth, stopping as necessary to scrape down sides of bowl.
2. Heat oil in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. Add processed mixture, cook, stirring frequently until fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes. Then, add the curry powder and continue to cook for another minute or two.
3. Increase heat to medium-high, add the chicken, and cook, stirring to coat with the curry paste mixture, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Add chicken broth, stir to mix, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent the curry from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
5. About 15 to 20 minutes later (if using frozen chicken, I would wait another 15 minutes), add potatoes, stir to mix, and continue to cook until chicken and potatoes are tender.
6. Add coconut milk and salt to taste, and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Serve hot/warm with Nasi Lemak, or just plain steamed rice or toasted bread (dip the bread in the curry to soak up the delicious gravy).