Not your traditional roast chicken but a mighty fine rendition, I must say. Homemade Penang curry paste spiced up these super crispy yet succulently moist thigh cutlets along with sweet, caramelised pumpkins wedges and a fragrant curry sauce. Don’t be alarmed….if you don’t have the time to make the curry paste then a good store bought brand would be totally fine. I have to say though, if you do have the time…….do yourself a flavour favour and make the made from scratch version. It rocked!
Prep time: 20 Minutes (add another 20 if making the paste) Cooking time: 30 Minutes
$$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
4 large chicken thigh cutlets (bone in, skin on), or 8 small
500gm of kent or Jap pumpkin, seeds removed and sliced into 8 thin wedges
2 tbs of Ems Penang paste http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/penang-curry-paste/
2 tbs of peanut oil
Juice of 1/2 a lime
For the Curry Sauce:
2 tbs of Ems Penang Paste
400ml of coconut cream
170ml of coconut milk
Juice of 1/2 a lime
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 tbs of fish sauce
1 tbs of brown sugar
1 bunch of Gai Larn, rinsed and cut into 4cm batons
1 cup of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Coriander sprigs and sliced red chilli for garnish
Steamed rice to serve
Pre heat the oven to 200°C
Place the curry paste, peanut oil and lime juice in a large bowl and mix to combine. Place the chicken cutlets in the bowl and rub the paste mixture into the chicken so that they are evenly coated. Set aside.
Place the pumpkin wedges in a large roasting pan, leaving enough room for the chicken thighs, drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper.
Heat a large frypan and a dd a small amount of oil. When the pan is nice and hot, fry the chicken thighs on both sides for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Transfer the chicken to the roasting pan with the pumpkin and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
In the same pan that the chicken was fried in, add a little more oil if needed and add the curry paste. Fry for approximately 60 seconds or until aromatic and then pour in the coconut cream. Stir well to combine and allow to come to the boil. Once boiling reduce to a low simmer and add the lime leaves, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and allow to simmer and reduce for 15 minutes. Have a taste and adjust any seasoning if necessary. You should have a perfect balance of hot, salty, sweet and sour. Pour in the coconut milk and stir to combine and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Just before serving pop the gai larn and coriander leaves in the sauce and allow to wilt for a minute or two.
To serve, divide steamed rice between four serving plates and spoon over the sauce and gai larn, reserving a little sauce for the top. Remove the chicken and pumpkin from the oven and place them on top of the rice, spooning over any remaining sauce. Garnish with chilli slices and coriander sprigs and serve.
Yum yum yum all the way home. Another dish my parnter couldn’t stop raving about. 🙂
Cheers Jacqui! Did you use the made from scratch paste or a store bought?
I used shop bought. Usually I don’t like anything out of a jar but I don’t have a food processor and didn’t think I could create the paste manually. Next time I might try putting it in my ninja bullet. (I have the worlds dodgiest kitchen equipment – but usually get by.)
Nevertheless it was to die for 🙂
I’ve made this twice now, once having made the paste freshly and once with the left over frozen paste.
It is divine, the flavours are amazing. I roasted the pumpkin but cooked the chicken in the sauce. The best bit is leftovers for work the next day, had to hide some for this!
Cheers Julie, I had fun creating this one! Thanks so much for the feedback, Cheers Em 🙂
I made this last night and I was amazing. I made my own paste from scratch with plenty leftover for freezing as I will definitely be making this again ?
Cheers Tracy! It’s so much nicer than store bought, don’t you think? ???
Definitely!
I did use butternut quash instead of pumpkin as they were out of season. It worked really well
Here in Oz we look at butternut squash and pumpkin as one and the same. Strange mob here Down Under 😉
This was absolutely amazing, my husband and Mum couldn’t get enough. Excellent recipe! I will definitely make this again.
Thanks Frances! So happy to hear you all loved the recipe 🙂