The trick to shortening the cooking time is to use fillets, and thighs are the default here at home. Skin-on as much as possible. They cook fast and they don’t dry out the way breast meat does.
But tomatoes? Do curry dishes include tomatoes? Well, if you had asked me that a decade ago, I’d say that’s ridiculous. But after eating curries in Thailand (north, central and south), I know better. There are so many ways to cook curry and curry with tomatoes is just one of them.
Tomatoes
Fresh? That would be nice so long as they are plump and juicy. The chicken cooks in the tomato juices and coconut cream so you need tomatoes that can provide a generous amount of juice; otherwise, you will need to add a bit of broth to compensate.
If plump and juicy tomatoes are not in season, there’s always canned tomatoes. That was what I used in this dish. Canned tomatoes have the correct tartness and enough juices to make sure that your curry will still have enough sauce by the time the chicken is cooked through.
Browing the chicken
You’ll need a pan that’s wide enough to contain the chicken pieces in a single layer. This is crucial for the first step — browning the skin.
Tomato curry sauce
Add fish sauce and curry powder (and, optionally, chili powder for more heat), stir and cook the chicken until lightly browned. Add onion, garlic, ginger, cloves and a small portion of a cinnamon stick and continue cooking until the onion slices go limp.
Pour in a can of tomatoes. You may use diced, whole or pureed. Then, cook over low heat for about 15 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and your chicken tomato curry is ready.
25-minute chicken tomato curry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 500 grams chicken thigh fillets (preferably skin on) cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 ½ tablespoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon chili poweder (optional)
- fish sauce
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 cloves or ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 small piece cinnamon bark
- 1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 1 thumb-sized piece ginger peeled and chopped
- 400 grams diced tomatoes (canned is used here)
- 1 cup coconut cream
Instructions
- Coat the cooking pan with oil and set on the stove over high heat.
- Spread the chicken pieces skin side down, leave for a minute and sprinkle in the curry powder (and chili powder, if using). Cook, stirring, until the chicken loses its raw appearance.
- Season with two tablespoons of fish sauce then add the cumin, coriander, cloves, onion, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, until the onion slices soften.
- Add the tomatoes and coconut cream.
- Bring to a boil then lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes.
- Taste and add more fish sauce, if needed.
- Serve with rice.
