Filipino Chicken Curry

January 12: National Curried Chicken Day

We have cooked different chicken curries for our blog before. But Islander seems to have gone back to the basics with her family’s Filipino-style chicken curry recipe for National Curried Chicken Day. This tasty dish is sometimes served at Filipino buffets and fiestas.

The Philippines were ruled by the Indianized kingdom of the Hindu Majapahit, Khmer Empire and Buddhist Srivijaya for 2,000 years before the islands were colonized by Spain. There is still a big population of Indians in some areas. Thus, the Indian culture has influenced Filipino cuisine. This recipe fuses Indian curry spices with sour patis (Filipino fish sauce) to give this dish its distinct flavor.

For a Filipino fusion food, try this Pinoy-style chicken curry recipe on National Curried Chicken Day.

Recipe

• 1-2 pounds chicken legs or thighs
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 tablespoon patis (fish sauce)
• 3 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 cup water
• ½ – 1 cup baby carrots
• 1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk
• 1 bell pepper, cut into large squares
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Prepare the vegetables by cutting the potatoes, onion and bell peppers. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot. Cook the potatoes on medium high heat for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don’t stick to the pot. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. In the same pot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and lightly brown the chicken pieces. Add the onions and garlic to the chicken and sauté until the onions have softened. Season with patis (fish sauce).

Sprinkle in the curry powder. Stir well with the water. Add the carrots and potatoes. Cover, lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the coconut milk. Mix in the bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 10 minutes. Transfer to a large serving bowl. Serve hot with rice.

Notes

• Bottled patis (fish sauce) may be found in the Asian section of some grocery stores or in Asian markets.
• Search our blog for more chicken curry recipes.
• Find more Filipino recipes under the ethnic section of our Theme Menus.