The other night we had dinner over at our friend's house. A missionary visiting from France who spoke at our church last Sunday stayed with them. For his last night we decided to have dinner together, sort of a pot luck. I didn't have time to prepare a main dish as we toured him around the area during the day (though I made some French clafoutis for dessert in his honor). Hubby and I just decided to get a couple of rotisserie chicken as our contribution. 

We had a lot of food! One of the roasted chickens was not even touched so we had to bring it home. As I was wondering on what to use the chicken for, I remembered that I haven't yet made any Filipino curry version for the blog. While we normally use uncooked chicken when we make curry in the Philippines, I thought using the already roasted one would make cooking easier and shorter, too. Besides, you can always use another idea on how to use left-over chicken, right? This is one such recipe! 

Filipino chicken curry is a little different compared to our Asian neighbors. Technically, it doesn't really use a curry powder mix but simply rely on ginger, perhaps some turmeric, too for flavor. Since ginger and turmeric are often included in curry mixes and recipes anyway, I think this qualifies as curry, too. However, I decided to add some curry powder and some sweet potatoes to the mix (hubby is trying a more paleo-friendly diet these days and I am joining him, too). Bell peppers were also incorporated for flavor and color. If you wish to make it more traditionally Filipino, you can use green unripe papaya instead of sweet potatoes or sweet peppers. Unfortunately, I didn't have any papayas when I made this but feel free to sub if you do. Likewise, the sugar (or a little honey as sub) is not meant to make this curry sweet but simply to balance the flavors of the dish. As with any cooking, simply adjust to taste. If not doing a paleo diet, be sure to enjoy this with some Jasmine rice!!! This is a very tasty dish so we hope you try it soon! :)

Filipino Coconut Chicken Curry

By: Manila Spoon
July 9, 2015



Gluten-free, paleo-friendly, healthy and delicious is this Filipino-style coconut chicken curry flavored with fresh ginger and other spices. We added some sweet potatoes and bell peppers for extra nutrition and yum!

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
• 6 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 2-inch long fresh Ginger root, peeled and sliced
• 2 Tablespoons Red Curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground Turmeric
• 1 Sweet Potato (Yam), peeled and chopped into cubes
• 3-4 cups left-over Chicken or 1 ( 3-lb) Rotisserie Chicken, chopped or cubed
• 1 1/2 cans Coconut Milk plus 1/2 can water (use 14 oz can for measurement)
• 2 Tablespoons paleo-friendly Fish Sauce
• 1 large red Bell pepper, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon brown Sugar (or Honey for paleo), to taste
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy cooking pot with a lid. Saute the garlic, onion and fresh ginger until aromatic about 1-2 minutes. Adjust the heat to the lowest setting and add the curry powder and ground turmeric to the onion mixture and stir.
2. Add the sweet potatoes and chicken. Pour the coconut milk plus 1/2 a can of water, fish sauce and some freshly ground pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and then simmer on low for 8-10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
3. Add the chopped bell peppers and the brown sugar or honey to balance out the flavor (not to make it sweet). Cook for another 2 minutes or until the peppers are heated through. If the sauce becomes too thick, simply add some more water. Adjust the seasoning if desired. Garnish with some chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Yield: Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cooking Time: 15-20 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

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