Northern Thai Herb Curry Chicken — Gaeng Kae Gai
A Northern Lanna herb curry of chicken simmered in a clear water-based broth with red curry paste, dried chillies, sweet basil, climbing wattle, and acacia leaves, finished with fish sauce over jasmine rice for a herbaceous bitter-spicy bowl.
Thai
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Soak 8 dried Thai red chillies in 100ml warm water 5 minutes until softened. Pound chillies with 10 garlic cloves and 120g shallot halves in a mortar to a coarse paste. Halve 120g pea aubergines and cut 120g acacia leaves into 4cm lengths. Measure out 40g red curry paste, 40ml fish sauce, 2 tsp palm sugar, and 40g sweet basil leaves.
Bloom
Heat 4 tbsp oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat 1 minute. Add chilli-garlic-shallot paste and red curry paste together, fry 2–3 minutes until deeply fragrant, the oil turns red, and aromas of warm chilli and shallot fill the kitchen.
Sear
Add 440g bone-in skin-on chicken thighs skin-side down over medium-high heat, sear 3–4 minutes until skin is golden and surfaces are coated red. Flip and sear 2 minutes on the flesh side to seal in juices.
Simmer
Pour in 1200ml water over medium heat with fish sauce and palm sugar. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and cook 15–18 minutes until chicken is fork-tender, broth turns golden-red, and oil pools clearly on the surface.
Build
Drop in pea aubergines and acacia leaves over medium heat, simmer uncovered 4–5 minutes until vegetables are tender. Fold in sweet basil until just wilted.
Plate
Transfer curry to bowls and serve over 150g cooked jasmine rice per person. Spoon broth and vegetables over rice, ensuring the basil leaves garnish the top.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.