baked chicken curry by Bent Street Kitchen
It's probably dangerous to mess with a classic but I had a really clear vision and taste of how I wanted this dish to be. There are many forms of chicken curry but with this recipe I'm paying homage to food usually found in Hong Kong style cafes.
Hong Kong style cafes were really popular back in the 1980s and they typically served a mix of Hong Kong or Macau style Western food. Menus would typically have cheese and egg sandwiches, thick white toast with condensed milk, baked pork chop on rice, tomato sauce steak with rice, baked seafood in cream sauce served with spaghetti, black coffee with lemon and even a cold glass of Horllcks (yes, the malted milk drink).
There are some Hong Kong style cafes around Sydney's Chinatown but I haven't been to one in ages. I often go to the cafes in Hong Kong with my family.
When I was creating this dish in my mind, I was thinking of mixing some cooking styles. I wanted a full curry flavour, golden brown chicken skin, waxy roasted potatoes instead of the usual boiled texture you get in curries and caramelised red capsicum that you only get from roasting.
I think this dish is absolutely delicious. I'm so pleased it turned out the way I hoped it would. Of course, now I'm already thinking of stretching the fusion vibe further by adding some cheese and turning it into a curry chicken rice bake. Stay tuned!
Ingredients:
700 g chicken wings, wing tips discarded and excluded from weight, cut in half at the joints
2 medium-sized red delight potatoes, peeled, cut into 4 cm chunks, at a 60 degree angle to maximise surface area and reduce cooking time
1 red capsicum, deseeded, cut into 4 cm squares
1 brown onion, cut lengthwise into 2 cm wide wedges and separated into single pieces
1 long green chilli, optional
4 T light soy sauce
4 T Shaoxing wine
3 T curry powder
2 t sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1 T vegetable oil
Method:
In a large bowl, mix soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, curry powder until well combined. Add chicken and potatoes and coat with marinade well. Marinate for 1 hour, stirring once or twice to make sure it marinates evenly. I suggest taking it out of the refrigerator, half an hour before you plan to put it in the oven to reduce cooking time.
Preheat oven to 200 °C.
Heat 1 T vegetable oil in a fry pan over medium high heat. Add onions and fry for 1 minute and until the onions are well coated with oil. Set aside. I fry the onions first instead of just adding them raw with the rest of the ingredients because this keeps the onion from stewing instead of caramelising while in the oven.
Place chicken and potatoes into a large baking dish along with green chilli, onions, capsicum and coconut milk. Mix well and spread evenly. Cook for 30 mins then remove from oven and give meat and vegetables a turn so they brown evenly. Return to oven and bake for another 20-30 mins. It is done when the juices run clear from the chicken and you can easily slide a knife into the potatoes. Serve with steamed rice.
Serves 4.
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