Chicken in Peanut Curry Sauce

This is a mild chicken curry. Note that the peanuts are unsalted, the dish is given a salty enough flavour by the fish sauce. A good tip for making the chicken tender is to cut across the grain.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp of peanut oil
• 2 tbsp of chilli sauce (or 1 tsp chilli powder)
• 1-2 tbsp of madras curry powder
• 2 cups of coconut milk
• 1kg chicken breast fillet(cut into thin strips)
• 3 tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar
• 4 tbsp of lemon or lime juice
• ½ tsp of ground cummin
• ½ tsp of ground coriander
• 200g of roasted unsalted peanuts
• 4-5 basil leaves

Method

1. Heat oil in pan or wok. Add curry, ground cummin and coriander † and cook spices until aroma plateaus.
2. Add half a cup of coconut milk and stir into the spices.
3. Add chilli sauce (if chilli powder is used add with other spices in 1) †
4. Add chicken and stir fry (if the mixture is too dry then add a little water)
5. While the chicken is cooking, blend the peanuts with one cup of coconut milk into a smooth paste.
6. Add the balance of the coconut milk to the pan or wok and then stir the sugar, fish sauce and bring to a high simmer(do not boil the coconut milk )
7. Slowly add the peanut paste and stir well into the sauce.
8. Simmer for approx 6-7 minutes
9. When ready to serve add the lemon/lime juice and basil leaves.
10. Serve hot with boiled rice