Recipe: Yellow Thai Chicken Curry with Potatoes (Gang Garee Gai)

Yellow Thai chicken curry, seen as Gang Garee Gai or Kaeng Kari on English menus, is one of the most fragrant and hearty curries in Thai cuisine.

The essence of making Thai curries is to heat the thick creamy part of the coconut milk until the oil and milk separates, and then frying it with curry paste until it becomes fragrant. If you get this part right, the rest is simple. If the coconut milk does not split, it may be because emulsifiers were added to it. If this is the case, just fry the curry paste with coconut milk until it is fragrant. If you cook the curry long enough, the coconut milk will eventually split.

If you are not making your own curry paste, make sure you buy a good quality one, as this will make all the difference. A paste made in Thailand is your best bet. The Mae Ploy or Mae Sri brands are preferred.

Yellow curry paste is a combination of lemon grass, garlic, shallot, galangal, dried red chilli, corriander seed, kaffir lime peel, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and cardamom.

Yellow Thai Chicken Curry with Potatoes (Gang Garee Gai)
- 250mL - 400mL of coconut milk (I used 250mL. Using a bit more will make it creamier)
- 2 Tbsp yellow curry paste
- 1 pound of chicken
- 1 large onion, cut into 4 wedges
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 cups of water
- 4-5 Tbsp fish sauce (start with 4 and add another if you want more taste)
- 1 tsp palm sugar

Method
1. In a large pot, heat the thick creamy part of the coconut milk (the part that rises to the top) until the oil and milk separates. Add the curry paste and fry until fragrant. Add in the rest of the coconut milk and chicken and cook for 1 minute. Add water, fish sauce and onions and simmer until the chicken is cooked. If using chicken thigh or legs, cooking time is approx 30 minutes. If using chicken breast only, cooking time will be slightly shorter.

2. Add the potatoes and simmer until potatoes are cooked, approximately 15 - 20 minutes. Stir in the palm sugar and mix well. Serve hot with Jasmine rice.