recipe – chicken eggplant curry

Yes, more curry recipes! When Stephen started dating me, he became exposed to all different types of foods he hadn’t tried before. While some of the foods were a flop, I’m really happy to know that Thai food is now one of his favorites!

Check out some of my recent curry recipes such as Curried Chickpea Lentils and Potato & Pea Curry if you’re interested

The ingredients needed are easily obtainable, and also easily interchangeable. Don’t want chicken? Sub beef. Don’t want eggplant? Try zucchini. The best part about this recipe is that the jar of curry sauce (like I’ve used on the potato & pea curry), gives most of the flavor you need.

I generally choose skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs just because of the flavor (and psttt they are SO much more cheaper). Sear them skin-side down first, then flip over.

Yes, I know you just seared the chicken skin, but please please listen – add some water to cover the top of the meat and boil before bringing to a simmer. It should take about 20 minutes, but it’ll be worth it. Once done cooking, remove the chicken pieces to cool because you’ll need to shred it.

In a separate pan, saute onions for a few minutes. Add chopped carrots shortly thereafter. 10 minutes total or until onions are translucent.

In the meantime, prep the eggplant. Remove all the skin with a potato peeler, and chop into same size dices. Throwing into the pan may sound easy, but you need to make sure that the eggplant touches the bottom of the pan to brown up.

About 10 minutes after, the eggplant pieces should have browned up against the pot. Add the coconut milk and chopped tomatoes and stir.

In the meantime you should have been shredding the chicken pieces. Throw away the bones and fatty parts, and put the chicken meat pieces to the side. Now is the time to add the chicken pieces back in. Add some cilantro and it’s ready to serve.

Serve on top of rice of your choice. There is a good amount of liquid to be sopped up, but totally delicious. I know I keep using the jarred curry sauce, but it’s quite useful especially when in a pinch.

 

—ingredients—

• 4 pcs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or about 1.5 lbs of chicken)
• 2 small onions or 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped,
• 1 large eggplant, skin removed and chopped into 1/2 inch squares
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 3-4 oz of red curry paste (my jar was 6.8 so I used about half) – I’m not sure if Roland is Gluten-Free, but Thai Kitchen Red Curry is if you’re looking for a GF option
• 1 can of coconut milk (I only had “lite” but it’s the same either way)
• Dash of fish sauce (optional)

 
—directions—

1. Season both sides of chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In a large sided pot, add vegetable oil on high heat. Once to temperature, add the chicken skin side down and bring temperature to a medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, then flip each piece over. You’re trying to get a nice crust on each side; don’t worry about cooking the chicken all the way through.
2. Once both sides are nice and crispy, lower the heat and gently pour in just enough water to cover the top of the chicken. It will be around 5 cups, but don’t bother measuring; just stop the water until it reaches the top of the chicken.
   Bring pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes with a lid slightly ajar. * See #7 below
3. In the meantime, cook your veggies in a separate pot. The onions first, for just about 5 minutes on medium-high with a little bit of oil, then add the carrots and celery. Should be about 10 minutes total.
4. In that same time, you should be peeling your eggplant and chopping it into about 1/2 inch pieces. Throw them in once temperature has been brought up to a solid high heat. Continuously, occasionally stir (if that makes sense) for the next 5 minutes or so. You want the eggplant to latch on to sides of the pan for brownness, but release once you begin stirring to brown another side of the eggplant.
5. It could take up to 10 minutes more, and additional oil if it was lacking, but soon the eggplant should be browned on most sides. Add the entire can of coconut milk and the chopped tomatoes.
6. Taste and season. I used about 1 tb of pepper and just short of 1 tb of salt. Use what’s best for you. Also adding chopped cilantro or parsley helps. Turn off heat. Throw a dash of fish sauce (literally, a dash) into the mix and taste.
7. Separately, the chicken that was boiling should have come out of the pot by now, and resting in the refrigerator to become room temperature. Shred the chicken pieces directly into the eggplant coconut milk pan (off heat). It may take a few minutes since a lot of chicken can come off those 4 pcs of thighs.
8. Give it a few stirs with the chicken and additional seasonings, and serve atop rice of your choice.
9. Side note: the chicken broth can be saved in lid-tight containers for up to 6 months if you ever need.